Perth: Day 2 of the first Ashes Test between Australia and England commenced similarly to Day 1, with Mitchell Starc claiming the wicket of Zak Crawley, who was dismissed for a duck in both innings of the match.
Notably, the initial three innings of this Test marked the first instance in history where a wicket fell without any runs being scored in each of the first three innings. This unprecedented occurrence took place during the clash in Perth.
Following Crawley’s dismissal, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope offered some stability for England with resilient batting performances. Pope scored 33 runs off 57 balls, while Duckett contributed 28 runs from 40 deliveries before being dismissed by Scott Boland, who provided a crucial breakthrough for Australia.
The situation deteriorated further for England as Joe Root was dismissed for just eight runs, and Harry Brook, who had been in good form in the first innings, fell for a duck. Boland’s impressive performance yielded three wickets, while Starc added two, resulting in a mini-collapse of the English middle order.
As Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith come to the crease, England will be hopeful that the pair can build a competitive total against the Australians.
