Travis Head’s blistering century completes an astonishing eight-wicket win for Australia in the first two-day Ashes Test since 1921, as England suffer a crushing defeat in the first 2025 Ashes Test in Perth.
MATCH REPORT: Head leads Australia to crushing defeat of England
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Travis Head’s 69-ball century in Perth helps Australia take a 1-0 series lead against England in the Ashes.
Makeshift opener Travis Head smacked an explosive 69-ball century to power Australia to victory in a high-octane first Ashes Test on Saturday as England meekly surrendered in the Perth Stadium cauldron.
Chasing 205 to win, Head slammed 123 as the hosts romped home on the second day by eight wickets in an electric start to the five-match series. Marnus Labuschagne was not out on 51, and Steve Smith was on two.
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Head’s heroics came on the back of a blistering spell from the marauding pace pair Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc after lunch that prompted a stunning England collapse.
The tourists were cruising at 65-1 and building an ominous second-innings lead, but Boland and Starc left them reeling with four wickets in as many overs.
A ruthless Boland accounted for Ben Duckett (28), Ollie Pope (33) and Harry Brook (0) in the space of 11 balls, then two deliveries later, Starc sent Joe Root packing for eight.
When Starc removed skipper Ben Stokes (2), England were flailing at 88-6 and the veteran paceman had bagged a 10-wicket haul for only the third time after his first innings 7-58, a career-best.
England were partially rescued by a crucial 50-run stand between Gus Atkinson (37) and Brydon Carse (20) before being rolled for 164 at tea.
When they returned, Usman Khawaja again failed to show as an opener as he battles back stiffness, with Australia signalling their intent by sending in Head.
Head, who has opened nine times previously in Test cricket, quickly got into his destructive rhythm, crunching some lovely boundaries, including big sixes off Carse and Mark Wood.
He made it look easy, making a mockery of the struggles other batsmen had on the bouncy track, bringing up his half-century in 36 balls, passing 4,000 Test runs in the process.
Looking to emulate him, debutant Jake Weatherald also went on the attack, but it cost him, out for 23 after a mistimed pull shot was taken by Ben Duckett off Carse.
An unruffled Head kept the pressure on, slamming four boundaries in one Stokes over and sending a six back over the head of Jofra Archer on his way to a 10th Test century.
He eventually fell to Carse, going for another big hit.
Australia resumed on a paltry 123-9 in their first innings and added just nine before Nathan Lyon was removed by Carse for four to leave England with a 40-run advantage.
Stokes was the star of the show, claiming 5-23 off just 36 balls to give England a golden opportunity to win a Test in Australia for the first time since the 2010-11 series.
They had all been out for 172 at the hands of Starc on day one.
Australia were banking on the 35-year-old to emulate his exploits in the second innings, and he whipped the sold-out Perth Stadium crowd into a frenzy when he removed Zak Crawley in his first over.
The veteran consigned Crawley to a pair, diving to his left in an incredible feat of athleticism for a memorable caught-and-bowled.
Duckett and Pope settled in, safely reaching lunch at 59-1.
But Scott Boland began to find his radar when they returned.
Duckett edged to Steve Smith in the slips, then Pope did the same to wicketkeeper Alex Carey before Brook repeated the feat to Khawaja.
After a first innings duck, Joe Root was desperate for runs, but he was no match for the relentless Starc, dragging a thick edge onto his stumps to cap a miserable start to the series.
Brendan Doggett then cleaned up Jamie Smith (15), Carse and Archer (5).
England went down to a crushing defeat in the first Ashes Test after Travis Head’s blistering century completed an astonishing Australia fightback in Perth.
In the first two-day Ashes Test since 1921, Head dismantled the England attack with the second-fastest Ashes hundred of all time, made off only 69 balls.
Head’s 123 led Australia to their target of 205 in 28.2 overs – just a session of batting. An eight-wicket victory puts the home side 1-0 up in the five-match series.
It was a devastating and rapid turnaround by the home side, who gave up a first-innings lead of 40 and were 105 behind when England reached 65-1 just after lunch.
Led by Mitchell Starc’s 10-wicket haul, helped by some awful visiting batting, then pulling off a masterstroke to promote Head up the order, Australia extended English pain in this country. The record stands at 14 defeats and two draws in 16 Tests since 2011.
England lost six wickets for 39 runs in 11 overs. A horror spell of 3-0 in six balls accounted for Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Joe Root, ripping the guts out the middle-order.
Though Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse swiped a half-century stand, England were rolled over for 164 in 34.4 overs. They lost their last nine wickets for 99 runs.
Australia faced making the highest score of the match in order to win, only for Head to play one of the all-time great Ashes innings.
England were shellshocked. The pace bowlers that ran rampant over the Australia batters only 24 hours below were reduced to a rabble. The partisan Perth crowd revelled in the chaos.
The only question was whether the game would bleed into a third day. Head ensured England have extra time for a post-mortem before the second Test, a day-nighter in Brisbane, begins on 4 December.
TAYLOR Swift has asked model pal Gigi Hadid to be a bridesmaid for her blockbuster marriage to Travis Kelce, a source close to the superstar has told The U.S. Sun.
The multiple Grammy winning singer and NFL star fiancée are set to tie the knot next summer at a yet-to-be-revealed location.
But an insider has confirmed to The U.S. Sun that Taylor wants longtime friend Gigi, 30, to be part of the bridal party.
It’s understood the pair spoke about the plans during a dinner in New York City on Monday night.
Hadid, according to our source, was “thrilled” as she “wasn’t expecting” to be asked and accepted immediately.
The U.S. Sun also understands fellow pop princess Selena Gomez is also set to be named in the bridal party.
The insider says the Cruel Summer singer has already finalized a list and plans to tell everyone involved in person to ensure they know exactly what they mean to her.
“Taylor wants to start the wedding process this way — building her bridesmaid group and getting everyone involved in the preparations, celebrations, and planning,” said the source.
“She wants it to be fun and memorable for everyone, with parties, trips, and time spent together leading up to the big day.”
The global superstar also plans to get advice from Selena, who has already been through a planning process following her wedding with Benny Blanco earlier this year.
She wants tips on food, flowers and any other organizational issues to ensure her special day really is one to remember.
Taylor was pictured with Hadid in Manhattan, in a rare appearance after taking a step away from the limelight recently.
In light of stalker issues and fears over public safety, she has been seen less in public, and has even been avoiding watching Kelce in action for the Super Bowl chasing Kansas City Chiefs.
The U.S. Sun revealed last weekend that the couple are now spending a whopping $8 million on security.
The location of the wedding is yet to be confirmed, with the couple contemplating venues in United States and Europe, including their beloved Italy.