The Ashes: Head leads Australia to crushing defeat of England
BBC Online :
England went down to a crushing defeat in the first Ashes Test as Travis Head’s blistering century completed an astonishing Australia fightback in Perth.
In the first two-day Ashes Test since 1921, Head dismantled the England attack with the second-fastest Ashes hundred of all time, made off only 69 balls.
Head’s 123 led Australia to their target of 205 in 28.2 overs – just a session of batting. An eight-wicket victory puts the home side 1-0 up in the five-match series.
It was a devastating and rapid turnaround by the home side, who gave up a first-innings lead of 40 and were 105 behind when England reached 65-1 just after lunch.
Led by Mitchell Starc’s 10-wicket haul, helped by some awful visiting batting, then pulling off a masterstroke to promote Head up the order, Australia extended English pain in this country. The record stands at 14 defeats and two draws in 16 Tests since 2011.
England lost six wickets for 39 runs in 11 overs. A horror spell of 3-0 in six balls accounted for Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Joe Root, ripping the guts out the middle-order.
Though Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse swiped a half-century stand, England were rolled over for 164 in 34.4 overs. They lost their last nine wickets for 99 runs.
Australia faced making the highest score of the match in order to win, only for Head to play one of the all-time great Ashes innings.
England were shellshocked. The pace bowlers that ran rampant over the Australia batters only 24 hours below were reduced to a rabble. The partisan Perth crowd revelled in the chaos.
The only question was whether the game would bleed into a third day. Head ensured England have extra time for a post-mortem before the second Test, a day-nighter in Brisbane, begins on 4 December.
Where do England go from here? They have suffered some crippling defeats in Australia. This will be among the most painful of all-time.
Everything was in England’s favour: their bowlers spooked Australia on day one, their batters had control on the second morning, and Australia were hit by injuries to Usman Khawaja and Nathan Lyon.
The way England unravelled was alarming in its speed and concerning for the rest of the series. Australia have not only become the first team to win a Test at this ground batting second, they have done it from behind in the game and without injured captain Pat Cummins.
Much talk will centre on the pitch and the clatter of wickets. At 847 balls bowled, this was the shortest completed Ashes Test since 1888.
The fact is, England were ‘Bazballed’ to defeat. When their batters tried to attack too early on the second afternoon, they let Australia back in. When Head gave England a taste of their own medicine, Stokes’ team wilted.
Perth was supposed to be England’s chance to start the tour with victory. Somehow, they must regroup for Brisbane, and the day-night conditions in which Australia hardly ever lose.