Ashes 1st Test LIVE Score, AUS vs ENG: Ben Stokes and co. aim to end decades-long drought in Perth

By_shalini oraon

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Ashes 1st Test LIVE Score, AUS vs ENG: Ben Stokes and co. aim to end decades-long drought in Perth

The hallowed turf of the Perth Stadium, baking under the relentless Western Australian sun, is more than just a cricket pitch this morning. It is a stage for history, a fortress to be stormed, and the setting for a psychological battle that will define a series. As the first ball of the 2023-24 Ashes series is moments away from being bowled, the narrative is stark and compelling: England, under the revolutionary leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, are not just here to compete. They are here to shatter a decades-long drought and conquer the final frontier of Australian cricket.

The Weight of History

For any English cricketer, winning the Ashes in Australia is the ultimate accolade. For the current generation, it is a ghost that needs exorcising. You have to go all the way back to the 2010-11 tour, led by the imperturbable Andrew Strauss and powered by the relentless batting of Alastair Cook, to find the last time England emerged victorious down under. Since that 3-1 triumph, two subsequent tours have been exercises in humiliation: a 5-0 whitewash in 2013-14 and a 4-0 drubbing in 2017-18.

The city of Perth itself is a house of horrors for England. Their last Test victory at the WACA, the old ground synonymous with fearsome pace and bounce, came in 1978. Since then, it’s been a near-unbroken string of Australian victories. The shift to the new, state-of-the-art Perth Stadium has done little to change England’s fortunes; the aura of the West as Australia’s impenetrable stronghold remains. This is the daunting historical backdrop against which Ben Stokes walks out for the toss.

“Bazball” Meets Its Ultimate Test

The buzzword that has dominated world cricket for the past 18 months is “Bazball.” England’s hyper-aggressive, risk-embracing, result-oriented brand of Test cricket, forged by Captain Stokes and Coach McCullum, has revitalized the format and turned their team’s fortunes around. They have chased down mammoth fourth-innings targets, declared boldly, and turned potential draws into thrilling victories. But the question hanging over this entire tour has been: can it work against Australia, on their own bouncy, fast-bowling-friendly pitches?

The Australian attack, led by the metronomic Pat Cummins, the fiery Mitchell Starc, and the relentless Josh Hazlewood, represents the most disciplined and potent challenge the “Bazball” philosophy has ever faced. They will not be intimidated by a high strike rate; they will see it as an opportunity. The key battle in the first hour, and indeed the entire Test, will be England’s top order against Australia’s pace trio. Will Zak Crawley’s booming drives sail over the slips or find their way into them? Can Ben Duckett’s unorthodox stroke-play handle the extra bounce? The world is about to find out.

Team News and Key Battles

As the teams are announced, the line-ups tell their own story.

Australia is leaning on its proven formula. The top order of David Warner, Usman Khawaja, and Marnus Labuschagne is settled and hungry to set a platform. Steve Smith, ever the technician, will be licking his lips at the prospect of a true Perth wicket. The only minor surprise is the inclusion of Scott Boland as the third seamer, his impeccable line and length chosen as the perfect foil for Starc’s raw pace. Nathan Lyon, the veteran off-spinner, will relish the bounce he can extract.

England, true to their new identity, have made a bold call. The experienced James Anderson and Ollie Robinson will lead the attack, with the express pace of Mark Wood being held in reserve, perhaps for later in the series. The monumental inclusion is that of 19-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, a testament to the team’s fearless approach. His wrist-spin could be a weapon or a liability, but under Stokes, he is being backed to be a match-winner. The batting is as aggressive as expected, with the returning Jonny Bairstow adding further firepower to the middle order.

LIVE: The First Session Unfolds (A Narrative)

· 10:00 AM Local Time: Pat Cummins wins the toss and, as expected, chooses to bat first on a pristine, hard wicket. The roar from the crowd is deafening. Advantage Australia.
· 10:30 AM: The first session is a war of attrition. England’s opening bowlers, Anderson and Robinson, are disciplined, bowling a tight line just outside off-stump. David Warner is watchful, while Usman Khawaja looks solid. The scoreboard ticks over slowly.
· 11:15 AM: BREAKTHROUGH! Ollie Robinson, with a ball that seems to stop on the pitch, induces a leading edge from Warner. The ball loops to Ben Stokes at gully, who takes a sharp catch. The Barmy Army erupts. AUS 45/1.
· 11:45 AM: The partnership that Australia needed. Labuschagne and Khawaja are beginning to settle. The latter brings up a patient fifty, a innings of immense value. England’s fielders are chirpy, but the pressure has momentarily eased.
· 12:15 PM: Ben Stokes brings himself on. It’s a gamble. His first over is milked for easy runs. But in his second, with a ball that is 12 overs old, he produces a moment of magic. A searing yorker, reversing just a fraction, smashes through Khawaja’s defence. He’s gone for a well-made 62! The stadium is silenced. AUS 108/2.
· LUNCH: AUS 112/2. An even session? Perhaps. Australia will be satisfied with the runs on the board but frustrated at losing two set batters. England will be ecstatic with their discipline and the two crucial wickets. The game is perfectly poised.

The Stakes for the Days Ahead

As the players walk off for lunch, the enormity of the task for both sides is clear. For Australia, a first-innings total of 400-plus is the minimum requirement to put the “Bazball” theory under maximum scoreboard pressure. For England, every wicket they take from here, especially the big ones of Smith and Labuschagne cheaply, will be a blow against not just the Australian lineup, but against the psychological fortress they have built over decades.

The drought in Perth is more than a statistic; it’s a mindset. Ben Stokes and his band of revolutionaries have built their legacy on breaking conventions and defying history. Over the next four days, in the furnace of a Perth summer, we will discover if their bold, brilliant, and often bewildering approach is truly the stuff of legend, or if the old cricketing gods of Australia, armed with pace, bounce, and a deep-seated will to win, will once again prove too powerful to overcome. The first chapter of this epic saga is being written, and it is already unmissable.