Makeshift opener Travis Head blasted a blistering 69-ball century to propel Australia to victory in a high-voltage Ashes opener on Saturday, as England wilted in the heat of the Perth Stadium cauldron.
In a thrilling start to the five-match series, Head hit 123 while chasing 205 to win as the hosts won by eight wickets on Day 2. Steve Smith was on 2 and Marnus Labuschagne was not out at 51 as the Aussies took a 1-0 lead.
“Wow, what a couple of days. It’s been unbelievable,” Head said after the match. “The emotions are pretty high.
“They (England) were seriously good out there yesterday and started to drag it back, so we knew we couldn’t afford to let the game slip. To be able to contribute the way I did, it feels pretty special.”
After lunch, Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc, the roving speed duo, had a scorching spell that caused England to crumble spectacularly, setting the stage for Head’s heroics.
With four wickets in as many overs, Boland and Starc left the tourists reeling as they were cruising at 65-1 and creating a menacing advantage in the second innings.
In just 11 balls, a merciless Boland dismissed Ben Duckett (28), Ollie Pope (33), and Harry Brook (0). Two deliveries later, Starc dismissed Joe Root for 8.
England were struggling at 88-6 when Starc dismissed captain Ben Stokes (2). The seasoned pacer had taken a career-high 10 wickets for the third time following his first innings of 7-58.
After a pivotal 50-run partnership between Brydon Carse (20) and Gus Atkinson (37), England were bowled for 164 at tea.
“Little bit shell-shocked there,” said Stokes. “Travis Head was phenomenal, jeez that was some knock.
“We tried 3-4 different plans there, he was going like a train. The runs were coming through quickly, he is really hard to stop when he plays like that.”
Australia signaled their intention by sending in Head, as Usman Khawaja once again failed to show as opener, struggling with back stiffness.
Head, who has opened nine Test matches before, got into his destructive stride right away and crunched some beautiful boundaries, including massive sixes off Carse and Mark Wood.
He made the task look effortless, exposing the difficulties others faced on the bouncy surface. He raced to a 36-ball fifty and crossed 4,000 Test runs along the way.
Trying to follow his approach, debutant Jake Weatherald counterattacked too, but paid the price — dismissed for 23 after a mistimed pull found Ben Duckett off Carse.
Head maintained the pressure, hitting four boundaries in a single Stokes over and hitting a six over Jofra Archer’s head en route to his tenth Test century. In the end, he fell to Carse while going for another big hit.
Earlier, after starting the first innings at a pitiful 123-9, Australia gained just nine runs before Carse dismissed Nathan Lyon for four, giving England a 40-run lead.
The hero of the show was Stokes, who claimed 5-23 off just 36 balls, giving England a fantastic chance to win a Test in Australia for the first time since the 2010–11 series.
On day one, Starc had completely destroyed them for 172.
Australia was counting on the 35-year-old to repeat his feats in the second innings, and when he dismissed Zak Crawley in his opening over, the sold-out Perth Stadium crowd went crazy.
The veteran condemned Crawley to a pair with a stunning caught-and-bowled, flinging himself left in a remarkable display of athleticism.
Duckett and Pope then steadied things, guiding England to 59 for 1 at lunch. But once play resumed, Scott Boland quickly rediscovered his rhythm.
Duckett nicked off to Steve Smith in the slips, Pope followed by edging to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, and Brook then repeated the pattern, offering a catch to Khawaja.
After a first-innings duck, Joe Root badly needed runs, but he couldn’t withstand Starc’s relentless accuracy, chopping a thick edge back onto his stumps to complete a grim start to his series.
After that, Brendan Doggett cleaned up Jamie Smith (15), Carse, and Archer (5).
