The England captain delivered a sensational display with the ball to ignite hopes of a famous Ashes victory in the first Test in Perth, but his strategy helped the tourists seize the moment on day one

An astonishing day in Perth saw 19 wickets fall as batters crumpled in the face of breathless pace on the quickest track in world cricket

Australia closed on 123-9 in reply to England being dismissed for 172 in a dramatic start to the Ashes; Ben Stokes took a five-for to lead the tourists fightback; England have not won a Test in Austra

Ben Stokes starred with a sensational five-wicket haul on a dramatic Ashes opening day in Perth, where a staggering 19 wickets tumbled. England, bowle

Veteran quick Mitchell Starc was in devastating form, taking a career-best 7-58. But by the close, Ben Stokes was bouncing through Australian batters — and then the celebrations of his England team-mates — to bag 5-23 himself to ensure the visitors sleep well ahead of tomorrow’s second day, when Australia will resume on 123 for nine.

The spicy deck on day one became a road as India put Australia to the sword when scoring 6-487 declared after Yashavi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli scored centuries. “Sometimes you are faced with that. I’ve played long enough to have trained the body to need to do that if I have to,” Starc, who has taken 409 Test wickets, said.

The Aussies have fielded two debutants in the form of opener Jake Weatherald and pacer Brendan Doggett, for what will the teams' first face-off at Perth's Optus Stadium. Follow the live score and upda

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".

Few sporting contests carry the history, drama and aura of the Ashes. Born from a mock newspaper obituary in 1882 and symbolized by a tiny urn, the rivalry between Australia and England has shaped more than a century of test cricket.

But the seamer stranglehold of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood allowed only brief interludes for just three quicks to make their Test debuts in the intervening seven years. Meanwhile, Doggett turned from a hopeful 24-year-old Queenslander to a grizzled 31-year-old South Australian.