Excitement high as aggressive England take on aging Aussies in Perth Ashes opener
Australia v England | 1st Ashes Test | Friday 21st to Tuesday 25th November | Perth Stadium, Perth | 04:20am
The last five matches between these two sides see them sharing the spoils evenly with two wins each and a draw. The two most recent games were wins for England.
Australia are currently the world’s top ranked Test team while England are second. Meanwhile in the latest cycle of the World Test Championship Australia are sitting top of the table with 100 percent, while England are sixth at 43.33 percent.
Australia’s squad is very old with just one player, Cameron Green, younger than thirty. Stats suggest that if Ian Botham and David Gower were added to the England squad that the average age of the squad would still be younger than Australia’s.
Australia are without two of their key first choice bowlers in Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood.
Scot Boland, who will play in the absence of Pat Cummins has the best bowling average of any player in Test cricket in the last 100 years.
Australia may be missing two of their key quick bowlers, but they are still able to boast three bowlers in the top ten of the Test rankings – Boland, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc.
Gus Atkinson is England’s highest ranked bowler tied at ninth on the list with Starc.
England boast three batsmen in the top ten, including the players at one and two on the list, with Joe Root and Harry Brook at the top of the list and Ben Duckett at nine.
England have a fairly settled squad. The main question ahead of the series opener is if they will go for an all-pace attack or if they will have a spin option. The choice of the final spot looks to be between spinner Shoaib Bashir and Mark Wood.
Venue: Perth Stadium
There have only been five Tests played at the Perth Stadium since it replaced the WACA as the home of cricket in Western Australia.
Australia have won four of the five Tests they have played at the Perth Stadium.
England have never played a Test at Perth Stadium.
Each of the five Tests at Perth Stadium have been won by the side batting first.
The average first innings score at the ground is 395.
The highest score made at the venue was Australia’s 598 for four in 152.4 overs against the West Indies in 2022.
The lowest score at the ground was Pakistan’s fourth innings capitulation from 2023 when they were all out for 89.
Weather:
The weather for the duration of the Test looks to be good with no rain predicted. It is set to be warm and breezy in Perth with the temperature on the west coast of Australia set to be in the low to mid-twenties for the bulk of the game. The wind and sun will dry the pitch, but rain is unlikely to cause any delays. Expect this match to go the distance.
Form (most recent game first):
Australia: W, W, W, L, W.
England: L, D, W, L, W
Key player:
Australia, Scott Boland: Surprisingly Boland is not a first-choice player but given the absence of Hazelwood and Cummins Boland will get the nod and what a replacement he is. With a bowling average of 16.53 he has the best average of any Test bowler in more than 100 years. With 62 wickets in just 14 Tests his strike-rate of 36 is quite phenomenal. His best figures of 6/7 in an innings were taken against England. Boland tends to make the most of the opportunities that come his way, and on a pitch that is expected to offer pace and bounce he could be a serious handful.
England, Joe Root: He is the number one ranked batsman in the world, and he averages 51.29 across his illustrious career. Root’s CV is phenomenal, but one key item is missing – a Test century in Australia. That’s something he will want to set right, as at almost 35 years old, this is probably his last Test tour to Australia. Root comes into the series in excellent form having scored three centuries in his last five Test innings (all against India).
Verdict: England
This is shaping up to be the closest Ashes series in a long time, and this game will undoubtedly be close. England are a team that is building, while Australia are a team where most of the players (while undoubtedly excellent cricketers) are past their prime. Australia are without key bowlers in the form of Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins which is a blow. While Scot Boland is a phenomenal replacement, there’s also likely to be a debut for Brendan Doggett. Cummins, who is critical as a leader, not just a bowler, is set to be back for the second Test and England will be eager to get a first win under their belt before the Aussies get their big gun back.
