England reached 105/4 in 23 overs at Lunch on Day 1 of the first Ashes Test in Perth, after surviving a blistering opening burst from Mitchell Starc and a sharp strike from Cameron Green just before the break.
Sent in to bat after winning the toss, England were rocked early when Mitchell Starc dismissed Zak Crawley for a duck in the very first over of the series. The left-arm quick set the tone immediately, beating the bat repeatedly and finding movement that troubled the top order.
Starc returned soon after to trap Ben Duckett LBW, before delivering the biggest blow of the morning—removing Joe Root for a seven-ball duck, England’s batting anchor falling to a wobble-seam delivery that kissed the edge. England slipped to 3/12, stunned inside the opening hour despite choosing to bat first.
But England found a brief rescue act through Ollie Pope and Harry Brook, who counterattacked impressively. Pope was calm and compact, while Brook played with swagger, stepping out, taking on pace, and finding the boundary to shift some pressure back onto Australia. Their partnership of 55 runs looked set to take England safely to lunch.
However, just when the visitors seemed to stabilise, Cameron Green struck with the final ball before the break, trapping Pope LBW for 46 off 58 balls. The England review couldn’t save him—ball-tracking showed umpire’s call, clipping leg stump.
At lunch, Harry Brook remained unbeaten on 28 (41), with Ben Stokes on 4 (7), looking to rebuild after a session dominated by the Australian pace attack.
Mitchell Starc was the standout, bowling eight overs for 3/24, while Cameron Green’s late strike ensured Australia held firm control heading into the second session.
