Only five men have captained England to an Ashes series win in Australia since the end of World War Two: Len Hutton (1954-55), Ray Illingworth (1970-71), Mike Brearley (1978-79), Mike Gatting (1986-87), and Andrew Strauss (2010-11).

Ben Stokes has called on his side to “create history” and if he can start with a win in Perth, it’ll be a promising sign. England haven’t won a men's Test match in Australia since that memorable series in 2010-11.

Here's a reminder of the series results this century:

• 2002-03 - Australia won 4-1
• 2006-07 - Australia won 5-0
• 2010-11 - England won 3-1
• 2013-14 - Australia won 5-0
• 2017-18 - Australia won 4-0
• 2021-22 - Australia won 4-0

I’m sure you already mapped out your sleep schedule but here’s a reminder of what we have to look forward to over the next couple of months…

• First Test: 21-25 November (02:20 GMT), Perth
• Second Test: 4-8 December (04:00 GMT), Brisbane
• Third Test: 16-20 December (23:30 GMT), Adelaide
• Fourth Test: 25-29 December (23:30 GMT), Melbourne
• Fifth Test: 3-7 January (23:30 GMT), Sydney

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

The Test Match Special team are in Australia, providing ball-by-ball coverage of all five Test matches on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.

Click the ‘listen live’ button at the top of this page or head to BBC Sounds.

Australia captain Steve Smith: "I would've had a bat as well. Hopefully it seams all over the place now. I think the cracks will come into play, they always do. If we get the ball in the right areas, there'll be something there."

On missing Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood with the ball: "Big losses but we've got to deal with what we've got. Scott Boland has done outstanding every opportunity he's had. Brendan Doggett has been outstanding in Sheffield Shield for years and deserves an opportunity."

England captain Ben Stokes: "We're going to have a bat. We'll try and get some runs on the board and see where we are at the end of the day.

"It's been a long build-up as always. We're finally here. We can't wait to get going. We've got a clear goal of what we want to achieve in Australia and it starts today.

"[Mark Wood]'s had a bit of time out with injury. He's worked incredibly hard. He's raring to go out here as are Jofra and the rest of the boys."

Srinivas Vijaykumar
CricViz analyst

Image source, Getty Images

Brendan Doggett will become the 472nd player to debut for Australia in Tests when he features in the opening Ashes Test at Perth Stadium on Friday.

Doggett gets his opportunity after regularly being part of the Test set-up in recent times: first when India toured Australia last year, and as a reserve player in the squad for the World Test Championship final against South Africa in June.

The right-arm fast-medium bowler made his first-class debut in October 2017 and has since played 50 matches, taking 190 wickets at a healthy average of 26.5.

He made his first-class debut for Queensland, featuring in four Sheffield Shield seasons, before moving to South Australia at the start of the 2021-22 season.

Since moving to South Australia, his numbers have improved with 110 wickets at an average of 24.5 compared to his 56 wickets at 30.8 playing for Queensland.

Doggett's recent form for South Australia has played a big part in his inclusion in the Test set-up.

In Sheffield Shield matches since the start of the 2023-24 season, he has taken 78 wickets in 15 matches at 21.7 and with a strike-rate of 38.1.

Of the 18 bowlers with 50+ wickets in the Sheffield Shield in this timeline, only Scott Boland (37.5) has a better strike-rate than Doggett.

The majority of the England players in the touring Ashes squad haven't faced Doggett in any form of professional cricket.

Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue have previously faced him on one occasion each, the former in a Big Bash League (BBL) game in January 2025 and the latter in an England Lions v Australia A first-class match a month later.

In matches featuring Doggett with ball-tracking data in our database, albeit all from T20s in the (BBL), he has operated generally in the 84-86mph range.

In the BBL, he's got a good record bowling slightly short of a good length, averaging 20 at a strike-rate of 15 with deliveries in the 8-9m range.

On this Perth Stadium pitch with the extra pace and bounce, it'll be interesting to see Doggett's returns with the red ball.

No surprises from England, who have opted for a five-man pace attack. Spinner Shoaib Bashir misses out.

You can read more about England's pace evolution here.

For Australia, Marnus Labuschagne has been recalled at number three after returning to form in the Sheffield Shield.

Jake Weatherald makes his debut at the top of the order while Brendan Doggett is the new face in the bowling attack.

England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer.

Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Brendan Doggett.

Ben Stokes calls tails - it's tails! A positive start!

England will bat first.

Yes, hello there!

After weeks (ok, months) of build-up, anticipation, sniping, and analysis, day one of the 2025-26 Ashes is finally upon us.

For the next seven weeks, it’s all about England vs Australia. Can Ben Stokes become the first England captain to win a men’s Ashes series down under since Andrew Strauss in 2010-11?

Toss and team news coming right up!

IT'S TIME!!!

Image source, Getty Images