England’s Perth collapse hands Australia crushing Ashes Test victory

England's Perth collapse hands Australia crushing Ashes Test victory

England surrendered a commanding position in the first Ashes Test on Saturday, collapsing from 59-1 to 164 all out in just 26 overs after lunch on day two, as Australia secured a decisive victory in Perth. The middle-order collapse-three wickets in six deliveries without scoring-proved fatal, undoing England's 99-run lead and handing the hosts a dominant win.

Middle-order failures repeat past mistakes

The dismissal sequence exposed familiar flaws. Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, and Joe Root-England's top three batters-all fell to loose drives outside off stump, edging deliveries they might have left alone. Analysts noted that historical data suggested Pope's, Brook's, and Root's dismissals would have been left 68-72% of the time on average. Yet England's aggressive approach, a hallmark of the Stokes-McCullum era, backfired spectacularly on Perth's bouncy pitch.

Scott Boland, ineffective in the first innings (0-62), adjusted his length in the second, dragging deliveries back to tempt drives. The tactic worked: Pope nicked to slip, Brook edged his third ball, and Root's inside edge shattered his stumps. Mitchell Starc's dismissal of Root marked his ninth wicket of the match.

"It's just really poor batting. Driving on the up in Perth has been a mistake for decades-this isn't new."

Justin Langer, former Australia coach and Perth native

Critics condemn 'inexcusable' repeat of 2023 errors

Former England captain Michael Vaughan called the collapse "inexcusable," citing parallels to the 2023 Ashes and last year's Test in India, where England's batters squandered advantages with reckless shot selection. "Are you improving? Are you getting better?" Vaughan asked rhetorically. "This team made the same mistakes at the worst possible time."

Phil Tufnell, analyzing the dismissals, emphasized Australia's tactic: "They bowled wide, sixth or seventh stump, rising. Why bowl straight? Get the bat away from the body." The strategy exploited England's tendency to drive aggressively, even when conditions demanded restraint.

Perth's pitch exposes England's tactical flaw

The defeat underscored a persistent dilemma under Stokes and McCullum: balancing aggression with adaptability. While their attacking style has yielded successes, Perth's pace and bounce demanded patience. "You've got to take 25-30 balls to get in here," Langer said. "Very, very poor batting by England."

Boland's adjusted length-no deliveries fuller than five meters in the second innings-forced errors. England's batters, eager to dominate, instead gifted wickets. The loss, dubbed the "Pasting in Perth," marks their worst Ashes defeat in Australia in years, leaving the team "bruised and beaten," as one commentator noted.

What's next

England must regroup quickly, but the damage may linger. With the series now level, questions about their ability to adapt under pressure will dominate the build-up to the second Test. For Australia, the win reaffirms their dominance at home, led by Travis Head's century and a clinical bowling performance.