Australia ran riot in Perth as the hosts wrapped up the Ashes opener inside two astonishing days — the first time an Ashes Test Down Under has finished so quickly in more than a century. Travis Head’s blazing 69-ball hundred and Mitchell Starc’s ten-wicket match haul headlined a contest that will be remembered for its brutality and brevity.
A Two-Day Ashes Test — First in 100 Years
The match, lasting just 847 balls, became the third-shortest Ashes Test ever and the shortest on Australian soil. Only two Tests from the 1888 series in England were shorter. It also marked the sixth time in history that an Ashes Test ended within two days — the first since 1921.
England, bowled out twice in just 405 balls, were blown away by relentless Australian pace, suffering their ninth consecutive defeat in Perth across WACA and Perth Stadium.
Head Lights Up Perth With a Record-Breaking Blaze
Travis Head produced one of the greatest counterpunches in Ashes history, smashing a 69-ball century — the joint-fastest hundred by a Test opener and the fastest ever in a fourth-innings chase. His eventual 123 became the highest fourth-innings score by an Ashes opener in the 21st century.
Head’s assault meant Australia motored at 7.23 runs per over, completing a 205-run chase in just 28.2 overs — the fastest ever scoring rate in any successful chase of 200+ in Tests.
Starc’s Ten-for and English Batting Collapse
Mitchell Starc claimed figures of 10/113, becoming the first Australian since Shane Warne in 2005 to take a ten-wicket haul in an Ashes Test. England’s batting, meanwhile, crumbled under pressure — opener Zak Crawley bagged a pair, joining a short and grim list of English openers with that unwanted milestone.
Scott Boland added his own nugget of history, reaching 50 Test wickets at home in just 1639 deliveries — the fastest by any bowler in Australia.
A Test for the Ages
As Australia celebrated an eight-wicket win in what will be remembered as one of the most explosive and statistically rich Ashes Tests ever played, England were left with hard questions ahead of the second Test — none bigger than how to recover from a defeat delivered with such startling speed and dominance.
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