England captain Ben Stokes shakes fingers with Australia captain Steve Smith through the coin toss earlier than the beginning of play on November 21, 2025 on the Perth Stadium, Perth, Australia. — ReutersÂ
PERTH: England elected to bat first towards Australia within the Ashes sequence opener on Friday after captain Ben Stokes gained the toss below clear blue skies at Perth Stadium.
After naming a 12-man squad for the match, the guests opted for all-out tempo within the beginning facet, leaving out off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in favour of Brydon Carse.
“We’ll try and get some runs on the board and then see where we are then,” Stokes mentioned. “We’ve got to clear all of what we want to achieve out here in Australia, it starts today.”
Australia’s Steve Smith, standing in as captain for the injured Pat Cummins, struck an optimistic tone after shedding the toss.
“Hopefully it seams all over the place this morning. I think the cracks will come into play, they seem to every year,” mentioned Smith. “I think if we get the ball in the right areas this morning, there’ll be enough there for sure.”
Australia awarded first take a look at caps to specialist opener Jake Weatherald and quick bowler Brendan Doggett, who put his hand up for choice with 13 wickets in two matches for South Australia in a dynamic begin to the home Sheffield Defend season.
“He sort of glides through the crease, makes it look pretty easy,” tempo spearhead Mitchell Starc mentioned of Doggett.
“So, yeah, he’s got some air speed, he’s got some great skills, some swing, some seam and he’s coming off a hot streak, so hopefully that continues this week.”
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Inexperienced, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Mark Wooden
