England talked big but delivered little in Perth, slumping to a heavy eight-wicket defeat as Australia's Travis Head blasted a 69-ball century, one of the fastest in Ashes history, to seal a remarkable comeback win.
In the first Ashes Test to finish inside two days since 1921, Head’s blistering 123 carried Australia to their target of 205 in only 28.2 overs, giving them a commanding 1–0 lead in the five-match series.
Two-dayer, which we love when we're on the right side… Head's innings was out of this world.
Australia Rally After Early Deficit
The scoreboard looked dire for Australia earlier in the day. After conceding a 40-run first-innings deficit, they were effectively 105 behind when England cruised to 65-1 shortly after lunch.
But the game flipped dramatically. Mitchell Starc—who had already torn through England for seven wickets on day one—continued the assault. Poor English shot selection and the bold call to promote Head up the order deepened the visitors’ woes.
Australia have now beaten England in 14 of their last 16 Tests at home.
Starc Leads the Attack with 10 Wickets
With Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood unavailable, Starc shouldered the load and delivered a match-defining 10-wicket haul.
Unbelievable… a lot on his shoulders. The way he bowled to take seven was incredible.
Scott Boland and Brendan Doggett added crucial wickets, while Jake Weatherald recovered from a shaky start to support Head during the chase.
What followed for England was a collapse for the scrapbook. Six wickets tumbled for 39 runs across 11 chaotic overs, including a brutal sequence in which Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, and Joe Root all fell in the space of six balls.
A short-lived counterpunch from Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse steadied things, but England were finally dismissed for 164, losing their last nine wickets for 99.
Head Ends It Before Day Three
Chasing 205, Australia turned the pursuit into a parade. Head dismantled the same England attack that dominated the day before, thrilling the Perth crowd and ensuring the match didn’t last a third day.
Little bit shellshocked… when Head's going like a train, he's very hard to stop.
Still, he found positives in England’s day-one bowling effort and urged his team to regroup ahead of the day-night Test in Brisbane on December 4.
Brief Scores: England: 172 & 164 all out in 34.4 overs (Gus Atkinson 37; Scott Boland 4–33) Australia: 132 & 205/2 in 28.2 overs (Travis Head 123; Brydon Carse 2–44) Result: Australia won by 8 wickets
