PERTH: England elected to bat first against Australia in the Ashes series opener on Friday after captain Ben Stokes won the toss under clear blue skies at Perth Stadium.
After naming a 12-man squad for the match, the visitors opted to go full-tempo in the starting side, omitting off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in favor of Brydon Carse.
“We’ll try to get some runs on the board and then see where we’re at,” Stokes said. “We’ve got to pull off everything we want to achieve out here in Australia, it starts today.”
Australia’s Steve Smith, captaining the injured Pat Cummins, struck an upbeat tone after losing the toss.
“Hopefully it will be nailed all over this morning. I think the cracks will come into play, they seem to every year,” Smith said. “I think if we get the ball in the right areas this morning, there will definitely be enough there.”
Australia awarded first Test caps to specialist opener Jake Weatherald and fast bowler Brendan Doggett, who put his hand up for selection with 13 wickets in two matches for South Australia in a dynamic start to the domestic Sheffield Shield season.
“He kind of glides through the crease, makes it look quite easy,” pace spearhead Mitchell Starc said of Doggett.
“So, yeah, he’s got some air speed, he’s got some good skills, some swing, some seam and he’s coming off a hot streak, so hopefully that continues this week.”
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood
