First Test Highlights Australia VS. England at Perth

Mitchell Starc became the twenty-third bowler to take 100 Ashes wickets. He is the fourteenth Australian bowler to complete the feat.
Starc's 7 for 58 in England's first innings is the best by any bowler at Perth Stadium surpassing Mohammed Shami's 6 for 56 for India against Australia in 2018-19.
The first innings of each side saw the twelfth occasion between England and Australia of one opener on both sides making a duck in the same innings. Seven of these occasions have been in the side's first innings, five in the second innings.
It is the fourth occasion where both sides have started with an opener making a duck and where the first wicket has fallen on 0. The Perth Test is, though, the first such occasion in the first innings, the other three being in the second innings.
The nineteen wickets to fall on the first day is the second-highest number for the first day of a series between England and Australia. Twenty fell at The Oval in 1882. This was a one-Test series where the Ashes originated after England's seven-run defeat. If this Test is excluded, the nineteen wickets at Perth during the 2026 Test is the most in an Ashes series.
England's first-innings collapse from 160 for 5 to 172 all out is only their joint-sixteenth worst collapse from five wickets to being all out against Australia. Their worst such was at Melbourne in 1990-91 when they went from 148 for 5 to 150 all out.
Australia's first innings start of 31 for 4 is their worst start at the loss of the fourth wicket against England since their 17 for 4 at Trent Bridge in 2015.
England's second-innings collapse from 65 for 1 to 104 for 7 i.e. 39 runs is their joint-twelfth worst against Australia from one to seven wickets. Nine of these occasions have been in Australia and their worst is 18 at Sydney in 1886-87.
Ben Stokes's 5 for 23 in Australia's first innings is the best by an England captain against Australia surpassing Gubby Allen's 5 for 36 at Brisbane in 1936-37.
Zak Crawley became the fourth England opener to record a pair against Australia. All four instances have been in Australia: Trevor Bailey at Melbourne in 1958-59; Dennis Amiss at Adelaide in 1974-75 and Michael Atherton at Melbourne in 1998-99.
Crawley's pair is the ninth by an England opener against all opposition and the 103rd anywhere in the order for England.
England's match aggregate of 336 is in fact only their 37th lowest against Australia in two completed innings. Twenty six of these have taken place in Australia.
Travis Head's second-innings century is the second quickest by balls (69) in Ashes history. Adam Gilchrist's 57-ball century in 2006-07 leads the way and was also scored at Perth but at the WACA ground.
In lasting just 67.3 overs (or 405 balls) in the match, England faced their third-lowest number of balls in two completed innings against Australia. Their only lower numbers were at Melbourne in 1903-04 (325) and at Lord's in 1888 (388 balls).
The only other occasion of there being three opening partnerships of 0 in the same Ashes Test was at Brisbane in 1950-51. The only other such occasion was between Australia and Pakistan at Sydney in 2023-24.
Starc's match analysis of 10 for 113 is the best at Perth Stadium beating his own 9 for 97 against New Zealand in 2019-20.
Starc's figures are also the seventeenth best for Australia against England in Australia. Monty Noble's 13 for 77 at Melbourne in 1901-02 heads the list.
The Test is the twenty-sixth in Test history to finish in two days. The last was South Africa against India at Cape Town in 2023-24 whilst England and Australia have featured in seven such Tests, five being between 1882 and 1890. It is the third such match played in Australia.
The Test is the ninth-shortest by balls (847) with a result and the second-shortest in Australia. It is the third shortest between England and Australia, the others being at Manchester (788) in 1888 and at Lord's (792) in the same series.