Last Updated on 5 months ago by Charbel Coorey
And breathe. The craziest rollercoaster ride that is the last two days has come to an end. England, 59/1 at lunch and leading by 99, were smashed by eight wickets just a few hours later.
Usman Khawaja, struggling with back spasms, didn’t open again. This time, Australia were prepared. Given the talk of batting potentially getting easier after the 30-over mark, there may have been the temptation to keep Travis Head at number five and try time his entry point to perfection.
However, there was no need for such overthinking. Travis Head is made for the big occasion. Opening the batting for the ninth time in Tests, the left-hander produced one of the all-time Ashes knocks on a memorable Saturday afternoon, taking the English pace attack apart in an unbelievable onslaught.
Ben Stokes tried to remain upbeat. Jake Weatherald’s wicket sparked a celebration from Stokes to get his team going again after the opening stand yielded 75. But, the captain was soon left speechless as Head continued on his merry way, smashing England’s short-pitched barrage to all parts of Optus Stadium.
With England clearly targeting the body, Head created different angles by either giving himself room or getting inside the line and hitting fine. The execution was outstanding, leaving England shellshocked and devoid of answers. 205 looked a defendable score in such a low-scoring game. 28.2 overs later, the game was over.
Travis Head 123 (83) and Mitchell Starc 11 wickets lead Australia to thumping eight-wicket win in opening Ashes Test
Earlier, England surrendered the advantage courtesy of more poor batting in the second session. They fell from 65/1 to 104/7 in the blink of an eye, before eventually getting bowled out for 164.
Ben Stokes’ team batted just 67.3 overs across both innings. It further raises the question of whether the Bazball style can deliver when it matters most in the biggest series.
Mitchell Starc (3/55) was outstanding again. His magnificent caught and bowled in the first over gave Australia an opening. He then dismissed Joe Root and Ben Stokes (yet again) as Scott Boland (4/33) found his groove after a disappointing first innings.
In the chase, Jake Weatherald (23) started confidently before Marnus Labuschagne played his most intentful Test innings in some time. Australia’s number three looked switched on from the word go, punishing anything too straight or slightly short in an excellent showing. By the end, he was backing away and smashing short deliveries in the V. A sight to behold.
“This is beyond outrageous from Travis Head. This is one of the more remarkable hundreds in Test history. He doesn’t just write his own scripts, he directs them & then also stars in them & it’s always something you’ve never seen before,” wrote SEN Cricket’s Bharat Sundaresan on X (formerly Twitter).
Here are some of the reactions to Australia’s eight-wicket win.
Australia take a 1-0 series lead into the day/night Test in Brisbane starting December 4. England, after bowling so well and ruthlessly yesterday, have plenty of work to do to bounce back in the series.
