Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope shared a defiant 59-run stand to stretch England’s lead and put them in firm control on day two of the first Ashes Test in Perth on Saturday after dismissing Australia for 132.
The visitors were 59-1 at lunch, leading by 99, with Duckett on 28 and Pope not out 24, digging in after the irrepressible Mitchell Starc again pounced in the first over.
The veteran Australian consigned Zak Crawley to a pair with a stunning caught-and-bowled at full stretch, diving to his left in an incredible feat of athleticism. Starc, who claimed a career-best 7-58 in the first innings, has now taken a wicket in the opening over of a Test 25 times.
An explosive opening day of searing pace saw an astonishing 19 wickets tumble. Australia resumed on a paltry 123-9 and added just nine runs before Nathan Lyon was removed by Brydon Carse for four, with the quick ending with 3-45. But inspirational skipper Ben Stokes was the star of the show, claiming 5-23 off just 36 balls, giving England a golden opportunity to win a Test in Australia for the first time since the 2010-11 series.
It culminated a stunning comeback after they were all out for 172 at the hands of a marauding Starc. Australia were banking on the 35-year-old to emulate his exploits in the second innings in the absence of injured strike bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. He whipped the sold-out Perth Stadium crowd into a frenzy when he removed Crawley, but that was as good as it got for the hosts. Duckett and Pope settled in, exploiting some uncharacteristically loose bowling from Scott Boland in particular to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Joe Root is due in next, but in a scare, he appeared to hurt his left ankle while playing football in a warm-up session before the game got underway. Root was out for a duck in the first innings as he hunts an elusive first Test century in Australia. AFP
