Head shapes up as solution for Australia's opening woes
Travis Head may have batted himself into a permanent role as Australian opener after his swashbuckling 123 against England, casting doubt on the future of an ageing Usman Khawaja.
Travis Head may have batted himself into a permanent role as Australian opener after his swashbuckling 123 against England, casting doubt on the future of an ageing Usman Khawaja.
Makeshift opener Travis Head smacked an explosive 69-ball century to power Australia to victory in a high-octane first Ashes Test on Saturday as England meekly surrendered in the Perth Stadium cauldron.
Mitchell Starc said Friday he was always confident in his ability to get wickets after bagging seven on the opening day of the first Ashes Test, with more of the same needed to keep Australia alive.
Nineteen wickets fell on an opening day of carnage in the first Ashes Test on Friday, with England's attack led by skipper Ben Stokes bowling them into a position of strength after Australia dismissed the tourists for 172.
As the opening Ashes Test in Perth begins tomorrow, Bangladesh will already have a proud presence in the iconic series through elite panel umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat.
Steve Smith took a swipe Thursday at "comical" Monty Panesar after the former England spinner urged fans and players to target the stand-in Australia captain during the Ashes over his part in the 2018 "Sandpapergate" affair.
England captain Ben Stokes admitted Thursday beating "a seriously good" Australia will be tough but said his team was up for the challenge and had a golden opportunity to rewrite Ashes history.
England captain Ben Stokes called Steve Smith and Joe Root the greatest batsmen of their generation on Thursday and said keeping the Australian skipper quiet was crucial to winning the Ashes.
Australia skipper Steve Smith said Thursday it was "really exciting" to see Jake Weatherald and Brendan Doggett make their debuts in the opening Ashes Test against England, backing them to perform on the biggest stage.
Arch-rivals Australia and England resume Ashes hostilities on Friday in Perth with the hosts weakened by injuries but favourites to inflict more pain on a side with a dire record Down Under.
England named off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad Wednesday alongside four frontline pace bowlers, keeping their options open for the first Ashes Test against Australia in Perth.
Two-time World Cup winning Australian captain Ricky Ponting led the global tributes today as Mushfiqur Rahim became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to reach the historic milestone of 100 Test matches.