They said it would happen fast. But no one said it would be that fast, just one day into this seismic Ashes series.
A whirlwind day that went at 100mph, with bowlers almost as fast on the speed gun. Mitchell Starc led the way with a spectacular seven-wicket haul, only to then be outmuscled by Jofra Archer and Mark Wood – and then outshone by Ben Stokes. This was a day for heroes, and on one of the most mind-bending days of cricket anyone could wish to witness, England found theirs.
Stokes’s five-fer was his sixth in Test cricket and turned the game from one in the balance to one England are now in control of. Their lead at the end of day one is 49, a scarcely believable turnaround from a couple of hours earlier when they had been bundled out for 172.
For all the hype ahead of the series, the pit in your stomach as England batter after England batter trudged back to the changing rooms was closer to heartache than heartbreak. How on earth had we fallen for it again? Australia five, England nil. Cash it up and head home.
Stokes’s act was the final and most decisive of the day, but it would be wrong to start there. England had been clear in their plans from the outset that they wanted to hit Australia with pace.
For years, they have spoken of the desire to have a “battery” of fast bowlers to call upon, but even they couldn’t have dreamed that the stars would align such that both Jofra Archer and Mark Wood would be fit for day one of the Ashes. The duo are unquestionably the two fastest bowlers England have ever produced, and had only ever played a Test together once before, all the way back in 2020. It was worth the wait.
On a Perth wicket widely considered as one of the fastest in the world, Archer took just two balls to strike as poor Jake Weatherald, on debut, was hit on the shin, and such was the impact that he fell on all fours. The onfield decision was not out, but upon review, the cruel replay froze on the frame where Weatherald was stranded in mid-air and then went on to show the ball crashing into the stumps.
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You couldn’t keep your eyes off it, not least Cameron Green, who wore a bouncer from Wood flush in the grille, and staggered drunkenly backwards – only to narrowly avoid falling on his stumps. Cricket often looks fun, but this didn’t.
But with each 90mph delivery, a roar of approval went up from the England fans in the stadium that was met with a grimace by those backing the home team. At the start of Australia’s innings, 28 balls were bowled before they scored their first run. This was the first time that the 60,000-seater Perth Stadium had been sold out for a Test match. They got their money’s worth.
Perth Stadium is a hulking arena. Built on a peninsula within the city, it dominates the local landscape with all routes leading to it. The England team are staying in a hotel a kilometre down the road. Step out of the front door, turn your head to the right, and it fills the skyline. Both Stokes and Brendon McCullum have described this as the biggest series of their lives. This morning, the group gathered and made the walk towards history together. Support staff and all. They knew the significance of the occasion and rose to it.
According to CricViz, this was the fastest an England team had ever bowled since ball-tracking records began in 2006. Stokes, for all his superhuman qualities, is arguably the slowest of the bowlers on show. But for what he lacks in raw pace, he makes up for in aura. He has been determined in the build-up, occasionally engaging in journalists’ questions, but often giving short shrift answers.
Even Michael Atherton wasn’t immune, with Stokes responding to a question on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast about just how exciting it must be to have Wood and Archer together as a captain with: “It’d be exciting to see any of the seven bowlers we have out here together as a pairing to be honest, Ath.” And to be fair, he was right.
Stokes’s legend is already made, but an Ashes win in Australia would see him lifted into the echelon of being arguably England’s greatest ever cricketer. In the face of such pressure and with extreme media scrutiny over the style of play he and McCullum have been so committed to for so long, he made his mark on the series at the earliest possible opportunity.
Whisper it quietly. And even quieter in case he hears, but he didn’t bowl that well. A frazzled Australian batting line-up played fast and loose to Stokes in the knowledge that Wood or Archer awaited if they didn’t cash in now. It wasn’t until the 28th over that he brought himself on as the fifth bowler, but just 10 overs later, he had a five-wicket haul and Australia had slumped from 69 for four to 123 for nine. Travis Head, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc were caught in the ring or on the boundary. The tailender Scott Boland was caught in the slips. But the wicket of Cameron Green illustrated Stokes’s power to bend the game to his own will.
The ball before Green was dismissed, Stokes gestured to his fielders at mid-off and mid-on to get straighter. Waving his arms to bring them further and further in and leave a massive gap on the offside through cover for Green to target. A wide ball followed. Green chased it, edged it, and fell for it. Stokes roared in celebration. The game is played in the mind as much as it is on the field.
In all, 19 wickets fell on what will go down as a historic day of Ashes cricket. It’s just one day, in which the barometer of English cricket being in tatters or on the brink of history swayed violently. But as the team wandered off at the close, they waited for their captain to lead them even there. Stokes waved them away, safe in the knowledge they’ll be back tomorrow to do it all over again.
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