Starc takes 5 to leaves England reeling in 1st Ashes test
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Ashes, Ben Stokes and England
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With a head coach from New Zealand and an aggressive style of play known as ‘Bazball,’ the England cricket team is out to topple Australia and reclaim the Ashes for the first time in a decade.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan says he "would not want to face this attack on this pitch" after the all-pace bowling line-up reduced Australia to 123-9 on day one of the first Ashes Test.
South Africa has been incredibly resilient to soak up first-half reds and still beat France 32-17 in Paris and Italy 32-14 in Turin over the last two weekends.
Pugnacious he might be, but it always felt a risk for Ben Stokes to deride anybody doubting England’s lackadaisical warm-up for this Ashes as “has-beens”. Lord Botham, Graham Gooch, Michael Vaughan – were these figures truly deserving of such disdain?
There is no question about the depth of talent in this squad, but to fulfil their potential they must learn from going out in the last 16
England pace bowler Brydon Carse echoed the thoughts of cricket fans around the world on Friday when he described the astonishing opening day of the Ashes series as "awesome".
Usman Khawaja was unable to open for Australia after an ill-timed decision to leave the field to get treatment for back spasms ahead of England 's first innings collapse in Perth on the opening day of the Ashes.
England was the first European team to confirm its presence at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Coach Brendon McCullum believes his England team are ready for an Ashes series that could "define" them. England chose not to confirm their XI for the first Test in Perth, instead waiting for the toss on Friday, with the match starting at 02:20 GMT.
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