Ben Stokes Shines With Five-Wicket Haul As England Gains First-Innings Advantage In Ashes Opener

perth : On a chaotic opening day of the Ashes, Ben Stokes won the toss and watched his team score 172 before taking a five-wicket haul to give England a first-innings advantage in the first cricket test on Friday.

Day 1 featured pre-series excitement with the bowlers dominating on a sunny day in front of over 51,000 spectators at Perth Stadium.

Mitchell Starc took a career-best 7-58 as Australia edged England in the second session. Jofra Archer showed that England’s five-man pace arsenal would not be left behind by taking wickets in the first over in Australia’s reply. While the home team was ahead 123-9 in the last minutes, they were still trailing by 49 points.