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Usman Khawaja didn’t open, and Jake Weatherald fell LBW to Jofra Archer on debut after Mitchell Starc took 7-58 as Australia dominated England, who were bowled out for 172.
Australia opener Usman Khawaja (PTI/AP)
Usman Khawaja didn’t open for Australia as Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne walked out to bat in the primary Test between Australia and England on the Perth Stadium.
Cricket Australia, as per reports, reasoned that the opener had taken ‘toilet breaks and stretching’. On Friday, the Aussie had spent a major amount of break day the sphere and had limited time on the sphere after his return as England were dismissed for a mere 172 of their first innings.
Weatherald’s stay on the crease was not long on his sdebut as he was trapped LBW by Jofra Archer. On the second ball of the innings, the English pacer bowld a snorter of a yorker. After the umpires rulked not out, Ben Stokes had a chat together with his team and opted for the review.
Weatherald was beaten by the pace off the deck and fell over as he looked to flick the ball to the leg side. He was pinged on the front pad because the third umpire gave him out with no bat involved.
Earlier, Mitchell Starc took 7-58 after Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first. At a packed Perth Stadium, the visitors had few answers to the 35-year-old fast bowler. Starc’s haul got here off 12.5 overs with debutant Brendan Doggett contributing with 2-27.
Harry Brook (52) and Ollie Pope (46) offered the one resistance as England crumbled after lunch.
Starc bagged three wickets in an intimidating opening spell, including Joe Root for a duck, before returning to dismiss Stokes in his first over after the break, then mopping up.
All five previous Tests on the venue have been won by the side batting first, but England did their best to challenge that.
They got off to a horror start, rocked within the opening over after Starc was handed the brand new ball in his a hundred and first Test.
The veteran strike bowler delivered as he has so persistently before, enticing a thick edge from Zak Crawley that Usman Khawaja did well to gather down low at slip, the opener gone for nought.
Starc has now taken a wicket in the primary over of an innings 24 times.
At the opposite end, Ben Duckett settled his nerves with a textbook drive off Scott Boland to attain the primary 4 of the series and followed it up with one other in the identical over.
But just because the left-hander was getting going, Starc pounced again, trapping him lbw for 21 to depart England tottering on 33-2.
That brought Root to the crease in his latest campaign for an elusive first century in Australia.
But he only lasted seven balls, edging a seaming delivery into the secure hands of Marnus Labuschagne at third slip.
Pope survived the pressure and was composed before Cameron Green was brought into the attack and he was out lbw, leaving them on 105-4 at lunch.
Brook hit Boland for a six in the primary over after the break before Starc again worked his magic, taking out Stokes’s stumps with an inswinger when the captain was on six.
A fearless Brook was unperturbed and raced to his 14th Test half-century off 58 balls before feathering a brief ball to Alex Carey, earning Doggett his maiden Test wicket on debut.
Starc then removed Gus Atkinson (one) with Steve Smith collecting at slip to offer him the seventeenth five-wicket haul of his profession.
Doggett and Starc ruthlessly wrapped up the tail with little resistance.
England, who haven’t won a series in Australia for 15 years, opted for an all-pace attack with spinner Shoaib Bashir missing out.
(With inputs from Agencies)
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin… Read More
November 21, 2025, 12:08 IST
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