England Smash Records as Australia Crumble in Perth

The ongoing Perth Test has turned into a festival of records as England moved firmly into the driver’s seat after a chaotic start for both sides. On the second day, Australia were bowled out for just 132 runs, adding a mere 9 runs on Saturday morning through the Nathan Lyon–Brendan Doggett partnership before the innings folded. England needed 38 deliveries on the morning of Day Two to remove the final wicket.

Having secured a 40-run first-innings lead, England began their second innings with confidence, looking to stretch the advantage in a match that has already produced statistical surprises reminiscent of a bygone era of Ashes cricket.

England themselves were dismissed for 172 on the opening day. Interestingly, the last time both sides failed to cross 200 runs in their first innings of an Ashes Test was during the 1990–91 series at the Gabba—a testament to how rare such low-scoring affairs have become in modern cricket.

Australia’s total of 132 is now their second-lowest first-innings score at home in the 21st century. Their only worse effort came in the 2010–11 season, when they were bundled out for 98. The surprises did not end there.

England captain Ben Stokes etched his name into Ashes history by claiming extraordinary figures of 5 for 23. It is now the best bowling performance by an English captain on Australian soil in Ashes cricket—a milestone that underlines Stokes’ all-round brilliance and leadership impact.

Another remarkable statistic emerged from the combined first innings of both sides. The two innings lasted just 78.1 overs, making it the second-shortest combined first innings in Ashes history. Only the 1902 Melbourne Test, where the opening innings concluded in 47.5 overs, was shorter.

Since no numerical data table was provided in the original text beyond scores and overs, here is a helpful table summarising the key figures:

📊 Key Match Statistics

Khaborwala/SJ