Nineteen wickets, a rattled crowd of 51,531 and one very deliberate morning stroll to the ground – the 2025-26 Ashes could hardly have begun in more hectic fashion. Yet by stumps it was England, bowled out for 172 in under 33 overs, who walked off the happier after reducing Australia to 123 for 9.
Brydon Carse, who removed Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja, put England’s surge down to the man in charge. “Stokesy came up with that idea last night,” he said of the decision to walk through the sea of fans to Optus Stadium. “It was electric … the energy throughout the day was awesome.”
England’s captain had already won the toss, chosen to bat and then watched Mitchell Starc tear through his side for figures of 7 for 39. Zak Crawley fell to the second ball, the innings lasted only 32.5 overs – the shortest by England in an Ashes opener since records began – and the boos in the stands were growing.
At the interval Stokes pulled his bowlers into a huddle and, according to Carse, kept the instructions spare. “Stokesy kept it really simple. We had 45-50 minutes before tea, and he said to the lads with the ball, just give everything. The way Gus Atkinson and Jofra [Archer] started was phenomenal. And then after tea, that messaging was pretty similar, just do it over a longer period of time.”
Gus Atkinson, operating at around 90mph, and Archer, not far behind, pounded the deck with the new ball. Carse joined in, hitting a fuller length to account for Smith and Khawaja. When the harder Kookaburra lost its lacquer, Stokes brought himself on. In ten overs he collected 5 for 45, a spell that involved bending his back for extra bounce rather than relying on sideways movement.
“While the ball was still new, there was a lot of pace and bounce in it. And, we said as a group of bowlers, it was just about hitting the wicket as hard as we could,” Carse explained.
The five-man seam attack – Stokes, Archer, Atkinson, Mark Wood and Carse – worked precisely as the captain had hoped. Wood and Archer were used in brief, hostile bursts, a plan made possible by the additional support. With Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts yet to play a part in the series, England believe they can keep that intensity across five Tests. “I haven’t played in a lot of attacks where we’ve had five seamers, but everyone does complement each other,” Carse noted. “Hopefully that stands us in good stead throughout the series.”
Stokes’s influence runs deeper than his wickets. Before play he urged the squad to embrace the occasion by walking the final kilometre to the ground. It was a calculated attempt to feel the contest rather than hide from it. A few catcalls aside, the reception was mostly good-natured – and, if nothing else, it ensured the brains were fully awake when England collapsed with the bat.
The scoreboard at stumps offered an unusual symmetry: England’s 172 felt decidedly under-par until Australia slumped even harder. Only Travis Head looked comfortable, and when Stokes bounced him out, the visitors sensed opportunity. Cameron Green edged the same bowler late in the day, leaving Mitchell Starc – fresh from his earlier heroics – to resume on day two with the match still live.
From a strategic angle England will be wary of expecting the surface to behave identically once the shine fades tomorrow. Optus Stadium does tend to slow up, rewarding batters who are prepared to grind. Equally, 49 runs is not an impregnable lead. A quick wrap-up in the morning followed by a calmer second-innings effort with the bat – perhaps led by Joe Root, who was lbw on 27 first time round – could shift the narrative again.
Australia will point to Starc’s rhythm and the prospect of Pat Cummins finding fuller lengths with an older ball. They also know 200 on this track can feel like 300 once it flattens out. But, for now, the opening day belongs to Stokes.
England’s supporters have grown accustomed to late-afternoon turn-arounds under his watch, yet the captain continues to set fresh standards for defiance. By close of play Carse summed up the mood in understated terms: “The energy was awesome.” After 19 wickets, bruised fingers and a few bruised egos, that might be as accurate a verdict as any.
