The Ashes: Travis Head smashes Australia to two-day win after England collapse again in astonishing first Test
Travis Head’s riotous 69-ball hundred smashed Australia to an eight wicket-wicket victory on a frantic second day of the first Ashes Test after England’s batting crumbled once again in Perth.
Head (123 off 83 balls) led Australia to their target of 205 in 28.2 overs after being pushed up to open the batting as England’s pace bowlers lacked the potency and accuracy they found on day one and the movement their opponents had generated earlier on Saturday.
The tourists were shot out for 164 in their second innings following a startling collapse of 6-39 from 65-1, including a major wobble of 4-11 in 19 balls, with Harry Brook (0), Joe Root (8) and captain Ben Stokes (2) managing just 10 runs combined.
Score summary – Australia beat England by eight wickets in first Test
England 172 all out in 32.5 overs in first innings (elected to bat): Harry Brook (52), Ollie Pope (46), Jamie Smith (33), Ben Duckett (21); Mitchell Starc (7-58), Brendan Doggett (2-27)
Australia 132 all out after 45.2 overs in first innings: Ben Stokes (5-23), Brydon Carse (3-45); Jofra Archer (2-11), Alex Carey (26), Cameron Green (24), Travis Head (21)
England 164 all out in 45.2 overs in second innings: Gus Atkinson (37), Ollie Pope (33), Ben Duckett (28); Scott Boland (4-33), Brendan Doggett (3-51), Mitchell Starc (3-51)
Australia 205-2 in 28.2 overs in second innings (target 205): Travis Head (123 off 83 balls), Marnus Labuschagne (51no), Jake Weatherald (23), Steve Smith (2no); Brydon Carse (2-44)
Head thumped Stokes for four fours, including three in a row, in a 17-run 17th over while Jofra Archer’s 19th was panned for 16 as the game slipped away from England, with Head dishing out his own brand of Bazball in a Test played in fast-forward as he smoked Australia’s joint third-fastest Test century.
England had been torpedoed for 172 and then reduced Australia to 123-9 on a 19-wicket opening day, with the home side eventually rolled for 132 early on the second morning.
Mark Wood looks on in anguish during day two in Perth
After England’s second batting meltdown of the game, Head dominated stands of 75 and 117 with Jake Weatherald (23) and Marnus Labuschagne (51no) respectively, crunching 16 fours and four sixes before he holed out off Brydon Carse (2-44) with 13 runs needed at Optus Stadium.
Labuschagne’s towering six off Root’s part-time off-spin moved the scores level while stand-in captain Steve Smith’s off-side single off Carse, who dismissed Weatherald and Head, wrapped up a remarkable win for the hosts.
England have now lost 14 and drawn two of their previous 16 Tests in Australia since an innings victory at Sydney in January 2011 wrapped up a 3-1 series win under the captaincy of Sir Andrew Strauss.
Stokes’ side now need to regroup ahead of the day-night second Test in Brisbane from December 4, a game the hosts will hope to have captain Pat Cummins available for after the seam bowler sat out the series opener with a back complaint.
Head took England’s bowlers apart as Australia rushed to a 1-0 lead in the five-match Ashes series
A difficult day for England in Perth
England began day two in control, leading by 49 after the captain’s five-wicket haul on the previous evening, and Australia were only able to add nine runs to their total before Brydon Carse (2-45) had Nathan Lyon (4) caught by Ben Duckett at gully.
No 11 Brendan Doggett ended seven not out from 30 balls in his maiden Test knock after being dropped by Ollie Pope at short leg.
England, therefore, took a lead of 40 into their second innings and, once Zak Crawley bagged his second first-over duck of the game after being superbly caught one-handed by Mitchell Starc off his own bowling, Pope (33) and Duckett (28) extended that advantage to 105 – before the batting crumbled after lunch.
Scott Boland (4-33) was far too full on Friday while recording figures of 0-62 from 10 overs but found his length 24 hours later and had Duckett, Pope and Brook caught by either wicketkeeper Alex Carey or the slip fielders as Australia rallied.
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Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton dissects England’s batting toils in the second innings,, including a massive collapse of 6-39
Starc, meanwhile, accounted for Root and Stokes for the second time in the game as he completed his third 10-wicket haul in Tests after his first-innings seven-for – in England’s second dig, Root chopped on the drive and Stokes snicked a beauty to slip.
The visitors were reeling on 104-7 and leading by only 144 when Jamie Smith (15) – who had been dropped on one by Usman Khawaja in the cordon – was controversially given out caught behind down the leg-side off Doggett (3-51) after an Australia review.
TV umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat took around five minutes before deciding that the spike on Snicko was bat on ball, despite initial images suggesting the times did not line up – Smith had already started to walk off so may have felt he clipped the ball anyway.
Gus Atkinson (37) and Carse (20) revived England with an eighth-wicket stand of 50 from 36 balls, hitting two sixes apiece, before Doggett and Boland took the final three wickets between them with Carse, Archer (5) and Atkinson caught on the slog.
Then it was over to Head.
Australia skittled England for 164 in their second innings at Optus Stadium
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times UK and Ireland
- First Test (Perth): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- Second Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
- Third Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (11.30pm) – Adelaide Oval
- Fourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Fifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
