England lost the first Test to Australia by eight wickets.
The first Ashes Test in Perth hung perfectly in the balance by tea time on Day 2. Little did anyone know what was in store post Tea time. Travis Head came out all guns blazing and suddenly, it was raining boundaries and sixes in Perth. So much so that English skipper Ben Stokes had to accept in the post-match interview that the team was taken by surprise.
England had the game within their reach till the first session on the first day. The visitors gained a 40-odd run lead in the first innings after dismantling the Australians. However, after being in a commanding position in the second innings, England squandered their chances to lose three wickets within six runs to go down the spiral, handing Australia the driver’s seat.
Former English players Stuart Broad and Michael Vaughan commented on England’s loss in the first Test, and expressed their disappointment on the same. To add to that, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood returning for the next Test starting more than a week later, it will only make the job tougher for the visitors – who have not had a great start to the campaign.
“They have the tools to be really competitive, but you can’t be competitive without brains. This is going to hurt England, it’s going to damage them I think”, said Michael Vaughan in an interview.
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It is no secret that the Englishmen would be very frustrated after the rather humiliating loss to arch-rivals Australia. Moreover, this loss would sting more than an innings defeat due to a simple reason – that the English were levelled with the Australians, if not a step ahead of them. But somehow, they managed to squander their chances in the Test, which started from their batting collapse.
Once the Aussies came out to bat post tea, they did not give their counterparts a single chance to come back into the game. Travis Head single-handedly ran away with the match, scoring 123 runs in the fourth innings of the Test. To add to that, he got to a century in just 69 deliveries, which is the second-fastest century in the Ashes in terms of balls taken, only before Adam Gilchrist.
It has become a notion that the England players are stuck in playing the game in the same manner as they always do. The Bazball era has seen them change the way they look at, and approach the sport. But that has also led to mishaps, like the first Test in Perth. Former skipper Vaughan expressed that the team must pick themselves up really quickly to stay in the series.
“You remember Lord’s when they had to go to the bouncer theory, England were 1-185 – bowled out 30 overs later. Here, two years later, they’ve done exactly the same in the first Test of a massive series. Ultimately this is a big, big blow for this group of England players”, said Vaughan.
On the other hand, the Australians are being lauded for coming back into the game and breaking it open like they belonged to win. Former speedster Stuart Broad also spoke on the matter, hailing the Australians for their efforts to come back into the Test. The hosts are always known to come hard at the opposition when they are put under pressure and that is exactly hat they did in Perth.
“It’s just what Australia do. They are incredible at grabbing the game back in their favour when they are under the pump and struggling, particularly at home. But actually, all over the world. They’ve got an amazing competitive mentality as a collective”, said Broad after the game.
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