The Ashes

Travis Head says he was wary of inciting England's pace bowlers during his swashbuckling century that won Australia the first Test in Perth.

Head, who was promoted to open, blazed 123 off 83 balls to set up an eight-wicket win.

He reached his century in 69 balls - the second-fastest behind Adam Gilchrist's 57 balls in an Ashes Test - and hit 16 fours and four sixes in his innings.

"I'm very realistic that they had two blokes bowling 150 clicks," Head said on Australian radio station Triple M.

"I accidentally hit Jofra (Archer) back over his head for six at one point and calmly walked back and marked centre and was like, 'Oh my god, why did I just do that?'

"Marnus [Labuschagne] came down and was like, 'I know you're trying to act cool, but that's unbelievable'. And he's yelling and screaming, and he's hoo-hah-ing.

"And I'm like, 'Mate, get back to the other end, at any moment they can put a hole through me, they bowl 150 clicks'."

Head also revealed he got a text saying well done from Gilchrist, and he replied asking: "How you hell did you do it quicker?".

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The pitch used in the first Test in Perth has given a rating of "very good" - the highest available - by the International Cricket Council.

The match was the first Ashes Test to finish inside two days for 104 years with 19 wickets falling on day one and a further 13 on day two.

The four-tier system has "very good" as its highest mark - with the characteristics needed for that mark outlined as: "Good carry, limited seam movement, and consistent bounce early in the match, allowing for a balanced contest between batters and bowlers".

The match lasted 847 deliveries, which is the third-fewest in an Ashes Test and the second-shortest game of any Test in Australia.

Cricket Australia's chief of cricket James Allsopp said: "The match referee's 'very good' rating justifies our belief Perth Stadium produced a pitch that provided a fair balance between bat and ball.

"The dominance of some brilliant pace bowling from both sides and the frenetic nature of the contest meant the match lasted only two days."

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England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker Sir James Anderson says he "would not be surprised" if they stuck with the same side for the second Ashes Test.

They opted for a four-man pace attack in the eight-wicket defeat in Perth, with captain Ben Stokes offering a fifth option and Joe Root as a part-time spinner.

The seamers were highly praised after the first innings, but failed to replicate that in the second innings under an onslaught from Travis Head.

"It [the all-pace attack] 100% worked in the first innings. We landed a few blows," said Anderson on the latest Tailenders podcast.

"I think that will be in their heads and I would not be surprised at all if we went with the same XI.

"I just wonder whether we lack a nuance with a bit of something different and a change of pace, whether that is a spinner or a slightly different pacer.

"If I have one criticism of England in the second innings [in Perth], they became predictable. Head knew they were bowling short, so he just sat on the back foot and hit his areas.

"It felt like everything has rushed. They were bowling ball after ball, over after over rather than taking some time and slowing things down.

"They tried to bring Root on but it didn't really work and there was no frontline spinner to just bowl four overs and change the pace of the game and make it slightly different for Head and give him something else to think about."

Watch the Tailenders first Test review on BBC iPlayer.

Image source, West Australian

A compliment for England from a former Australia captain? It's hard to believe, right?

Kim Hughes, who captained Australia in 28 Tests between 1979 and 1984, is quoted in the West Australian as saying England's pace attack is the most aggressive he's seen since the fearsome West Indies attack on the 1970s and 80s.

There is a but though, obviously.

They are lacking match fitness according to Hughes and should be playing in the pink-ball game against the Prime Minister's XI this weekend.

Hughes added that the difference between England's pace attack on day one and two was "chalk and cheese" and that was because they "weren't match fit".

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Legendary all-rounder Lord Botham says England "might as well go home now" if they are unwilling to change approach for the rest of the Ashes series.

Ben Stokes' side are 1-0 down in the five Test series after an eight-wicket defeat in Perth in the opening game.

They were well positioned with a lead of 99 and nine second-innings wickets in hand at lunch on day two, but collapsed to 164 all out.

Travis Head then blazed a century as Australia wrapped up a two-day victory - the first in the Ashes for 104 years.

"It was horrendous, there's no other word for it," Lord Botham told PA News Agency.

"England need to fire up and fire up quickly. I'm fed up of hearing, 'this is the way we play'. If I hear it once more, I think I'll throw something at the television.

"If that's the way you play, you might as well go home now because it's going to be 5-0. They probably won't like me saying that but they need to need to get their heads around it. I want more pride when I see people pulling that sweater on."

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Head coach Andrew McDonald says Australia's plans will likely evolve across the Ashes to stay ahead of England despite the tourists adopting a "predictable" approach in the series opener.

Australia lead the series 1-0 after completing an eight-wicket win inside two days in Perth, bowling England out for under 180 in both innings.

It means Australia are unbeaten in their past 16 Tests against England on home soil, winning 14.

However, McDonald is unwilling to be complacent, stating there is no guarantee that the plans which worked in Perth will work again.

"I don't think we've got the wood on them," McDonald said. "The next match starts afresh from day one in Brisbane.

"What I will say about the English batting is we weren't surprised at the way they went about it.

"It was probably predictable in the way they wanted to put pressure on us, their scoring areas and the way they went about it.

"I thought our plans going in were excellent. I think a lot of our plan As worked, which is great. Will they have to change over time? I think they will."

Image source, West Australian

Australia's media have turned selectors, with the West Australian calling for Josh Inglis' inclusion for the second Test in Brisbane.

The wicketkeeper made 125 not out (107) at the top of the order in the second innings as a Cricket Australia XI beat England Lions by eight wickets at Lilac Hill in Perth.

Quoting former Australia international Aaron Finch, now commentating for Channel 7, the paper said Inglis is the "obvious choice" to bat at number five if Travis Head remains at the top of the order.

Inglis has three Test caps for Australia, scoring 119 runs in four innings, and averages 35.67 in first-class cricket.

Several papers weighed in on Usman Khawaja's future, with the Sydney Morning Herald questioning whether he should walk away from Test cricket, external and the Courier-Mail saying he has one week to save his Test career, external.

The 38-year-old struggled with back spasms during the first Test and didn't open the batting in either innings, with Marnus Labuschagne and Head stepping into the role in his absence.

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Australia captain Pat Cummins has bowled with a pink ball in Sydney ahead of the day-night Ashes Test in Brisbane.

The 32-year-old, who missed the first Test in Perth with a back injury, trained in the nets at Cricket New South Wales' headquarters on Tuesday.

Cummins, who also participated in two net sessions in Perth last week, has previously said he has "half a chance" of featuring in the second Test, which starts on 4 December.

Fellow bowler Josh Hazlewood, currently sidelined by a hamstring injury, made his return in the nets in Sydney but bowled with a red ball, indicating he isn't in the frame to feature at the Gabba.

However, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has shut down suggestions that Hazlewood will miss the entire series.

"He's working through his first week of rehab," McDonald said. "Once he gets further down the track, then we'll be in a position to communicate [updates].

"He'll be available at some point in the series."

In the absence of two of their standout pace bowlers, Australia beat England by eight wickets in the first Test, with Mitchell Starc leading the way with match figures of 10-113.

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Former Australia international and Durham coach Ryan Campbell backed England's decision not to play their first-team batters in the pink-ball warm-up in Canberra.

England's decision to skip the match against the Prime Minister's XI has been criticised following their two-day defeat in the first Test in Perth.

The batters had limited time in the middle but they will still travel to Brisbane as planned for the day-night second Test, which starts on 4 December.

"I wouldn't be sending my guys to Canberra either," Australian Campbell told the 5 Live Cricket Show.

"That shows you have doubt. The last thing this team wants is doubt."

The two-day Canberra match begins on Saturday, with England having initially planned to send the Lions because of the tight turnaround if the Perth Test had lasted five days.

England will travel to Brisbane on Wednesday and are not scheduled to train until Monday. There is the possibility of an extra training session on Sunday.

Former Australia opener Simon Katich said: "Canberra is generally a low and slow wicket and Gabba flies through and swings.

"They feel like the Gabba nets will be the best way to prepare for that.

"The thing you would challenge is there are a number players who would benefit from time in the middle."

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England lost the first Ashes Test because they do not "respect conditions" and will "keep getting egg on their face" if they do not change, says former Australia opener Simon Katich.

The tourists gave away a positive position with an batting collapse in the afternoon session of day two before Australia romped to an eight-wicket win inside two days.

Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook were all out playing attacking drives outside off stump.

"The reason we are seeing what we are seeing is because the rhetoric remains the same," Katich told BBC Radio 5 Live's Cricket Show.

"Always doubling down, always playing this aggressive cricket.

"That is fine when conditions are in your favour. They don't respect the conditions when they are against them. That was plain to see in Perth.

"If they want to go against traditions of 100-odd years of Test cricket, they will keep coming out with egg on their face."

Former England assistant coach Paul Farbrace added: "There were so many poor shots in the second innings.

"There are times when it borders on arrogance and that is when it becomes frustrating."

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England have opted against sending any of their first-choice batters to play in a two-day pink-ball game against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra.

Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope were the only top six batters to reach double figures in both innings in Perth, where England were bowled out for 172 and 164 in an eight-wicket defeat.

However, only pace bowlers Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts, and batter Jacob Bethell, will join up with England Lions in the capital - a decision that has not gone down well with BBC Sport readers in the comments sections of our articles.

"Just arrogance," said Jon Lively. "It's clear that some of our batsmen would benefit from time in the middle (Crawley and Root especially), so why not take the opportunity that's presented to you?".

Clive criticised England's head-in-the-sand attitude, writing: "Naivety, arrogance, and refusal to accept that they're wrong. If we go 2-0 down, that's the series gone. And at the end of this tour, I'd expect some resignations."

Oliver called on head coach Brendon McCullum to explain why "[Root] and others aren't playing", labelling it "madness", while Dave the Wave can't understand England's "bizarre decision".

While not supporting England's choice, Duke Wilton pointed out that playing in the match did not guarantee a return to form, nor any selection changes, singling out under-fire opener Zak Crawley in his hypothetical scenario: "What if he were to get another pair in Canberra?"

Image source, Adelaide Advertiser

Australia's media have been celebrating Travis Head on Monday, with the Adelaide Advertiser greeting the batter's return to his home city with the idea of creating a statue in his honour.

The newspaper, which renamed itself "The Travertiser" on its back page, features calls, external from fellow South Australian legends Greg Blewett and Darren Lehmann to mount a tribute to the stand-in opener.

Meanwhile, captioning images of Head's reunification with his family at Adelaide airport, the West Australian has chosen the curious headline, external of "England's Daddy".

However The Australian is in a more reflective mood, external, asking whether Head's century masked significant flaws in the Australian line-up.

It also poses a question familiar to England fans - does the Australian team do enough preparation and play too much golf?

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Australia head coach Andrew McDonald will consider reshuffling his batting order again in the future following Travis Head's match-winning century in the first Test in Perth.

With regular opener Usman Khawaja struggling with back spasms and the hosts tasked with chasing 205 on a difficult pitch, Head was promoted to the top of the order for the second innings. He blasted 123 off 83 balls as Australia won by eight wickets inside two days.

They were also forced to experiment with their batting line-up in the first innings, with Marnus Labuschagne stepping in to open alongside debutant Jake Weatherald as Khawaja had spent too much time off the field during England's innings.

Australia headed into the Ashes with question marks surrounding their batting, particularly their struggle to find a settled opening pair since David Warner's retirement in January 2024, but following Head's heroics, McDonald says he isn't averse to borrowing from limited-overs cricket and adopting a flexible batting order depending on the match situation and conditions.

"We've hypothesised around a middle order going up to the top order in the second innings if [the pitch] happened to flatten out, particularly if we need quick runs and the wicket was going to deteriorate," McDonald said.

"You do it in one-day cricket. You front-end some of your innings when you know the back-end will be difficult to chase down the runs.

"Then there's other times in one-day cricket where it's difficult up front and you back-end your innings, and you put all your power at the back-end.

"Can that transition into Test cricket? Are people ready for that? It's a conversation that we have had.

"We've had a conversation around Travis opening the batting for a long period of time … now that it's out there, happy to talk about it. Will we do it if it presents at the right time? Potentially."

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Australia's Josh Inglis pushed his case for inclusion in the the second Ashes Test with an unbeaten century against England Lions at Lilac Hill.

Inglis, opening for a Cricket Australia XI, made 125 not out to lead the home side to a target of 235.

Regular Australia opener Usman Khawaja struggled with a back injury in the first-Test victory over England at the weekend.

Khawaja's absence meant Travis Head was promoted to open in the second innings at Perth Stadium, with Head crashing an astonishing hundred in Australia's eight-wicket win.

Head's success and Khawaja's fitness leaves Australia with a decision over their team for the second Test in Brisbane on 4 December.

Inglis was the reserve batter in Australia's first-Test squad. If Khawaja does not play at the Gabba, Head and Inglis are interchangeable at the top of the order and number five.

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