A chaotic second afternoon in Perth’s Optus Stadium witnessed a revival of Australia’s Ashes hopes as Scott Boland rediscovered his bite and Mitchell Starc tightened his grip on the contest, leaving England skittled for 164 and setting up a nervy 205-run chase for the hosts in the series opener.
England had sauntered into lunch at 59-1, 99 runs ahead and seemingly in control. But the post-interval session was a rout.
Boland, wicketless and wayward in the first innings, needed only two overs after the break to rip out Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in a span of 11 balls, triggering a collapse that stripped England of the momentum and reshaped the match.
Duckett, reprieved by the TV umpire off the last ball before lunch, could not add a single run after the interval. He edged Boland to second slip on 28, and the floodgates opened.
Pope, well set on 33 and visibly furious with himself, feathered behind; Brook lasted three balls before Usman Khawaja swallowed a straightforward chance at first slip. Boland would later add the wicket of Gus Atkinson, finishing with an incisive 4-33. This was possibly the spell that had eluded Boland since stumps on Day 1.
Mitchell Starc, already the destroyer-in-chief with a career-best 7-58 in the first innings, resumed his dominance.
He removed Zac Crawley for a second consecutive duck with a stunning, full-stretch catch in his follow-through — arguably the moment of the match — before clipping Joe Root’s stumps and trapping Ben Stokes to complete a 10-wicket haul.
England’s middle order folded in a blur of poor shot selections, Root, Pope and Brook all dismissed attempting near-identical drives with the score stuck on 76. At 104-7, England were in danger of surrendering the match altogether, until Atkinson (37) and Brydon Carse (20) stitched together a 50-run stand that pushed the target beyond 200.
The innings was not short on theatre. Jamie Smith’s dismissal became the subject of a four-minute TV review, with the umpire repeatedly checking the “snicko” meter before upholding the on-field decision. An unsure Smith had half-walked, half-paused during the long deliberation.
Earlier, Australia resumed from their overnight 123-9 and added just nine runs before Carse wrapped up the innings, giving England a 40-run first-innings lead.
But on a pitch offering steep bounce and unexpected swing on Day 2, that advantage evaporated within an hour of England’s second dig.