England Captain Ben Stokes orchestrated a stunning collapse on the opening day of the 2025-26 Ashes, claiming a remarkable five-wicket haul to leave Australia teetering at 121 for nine at stumps, trailing by 51 runs in a dramatic first Test at Perth Stadium. Opting to bat under cloudy skies, England were bundled out for 172 but Stokes’ inspirational bowling turned the tide, evoking echoes of his legendary all-round exploits and positioning the visitors firmly in the ascendancy after a session that saw eight wickets tumble.
The morning belonged unequivocally to Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who unleashed a devastating new-ball spell to dismantle England’s top order and etch his name into Ashes immortality with his 100th career wicket in the series. Returning figures of 7-58 from just 12.5 overs, Starc’s lethal cocktail of inswing and seam movement accounted for opener Zak Crawley in the first over, Joe Root for a golden duck, and later Harry Brook for a gritty 52 that had briefly promised stability. The left-armer’s precision exploited the lively Perth pitch, where variable bounce and seam-friendly conditions left England’s batsmen, including Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett, struggling to adapt, ultimately restricting the tourists to a below-par total that handed Australia an early psychological edge.
Post-lunch, however, the script flipped dramatically as England’s seam attack, led by a revitalised Stokes, mounted a ferocious response that exposed Australia’s brittle middle order. Stokes, introduced for a pivotal spell, struck immediately by trapping Marnus Labuschagne lbw with a delivery that nipped back menacingly, before castling Cameron Green for 24 with a fuller inswinger that shattered the stumps. His third victim, Steve Smith, fell for a laboured 12 after a painful knock punctuated by body blows, but it was the captain’s unrelenting accuracy—maintaining an economy under three—that suffocated any momentum, as Australia lurched from 31 for three to a precarious position in the fading light.
Jofra Archer complemented Stokes’ heroics with two crucial strikes, including the early scalp of Usman Khawaja, while Brydon Carse and Mark Wood added to the chaos with probing lines that tested resolve and resilience. Wood’s express pace, peaking at 147 km/h, even prompted a concussion check for Green after a vicious bouncer struck his helmet, though the all-rounder passed protocols and resumed briefly. By tea, Australia were 103 for six, but the post-tea carnage continued unabated, with Stokes removing Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland in quick succession to complete his five-for—the most by an England captain in an Ashes innings since 2013.
As the day drew to a close, Nathan Lyon (1*) and Todd Murphy (0*) clung on grimly at the crease, but with Alex Carey’s promising 26 ending tamely to a Stokes trap at third man, Australia’s lower order faces an uphill battle on Day 2. The Perth surface, expected to quicken further, favours England’s seamers, who have now taken 17 wickets in the day—matching the most in an Ashes opener since 1909—leaving Stokes’ men poised to press for a first-innings lead and dictate terms in this perennial rivalry that has already delivered edge-of-the-seat theatre.