Join the Miguel Delaney Inside Football Get exclusive insights and behind-the scenes access to the Miguel Delaney: inside newsletter Football Join the Miguel Delaney Inside newsletter Football newsletterEngland recovered from Zak Crawley’s second duck in as many days to take control of the first Ashes Test in Perth.Brydon Carse took the final Australian wicket in the opening half-hour, leaving the hosts 40 behind after being rolled over for 132. At lunch that had stretched to 99 with Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope at the crease.And the domination of bat over ball continued as Crawley’s nightmare start to the series continued.Having edged Mitchell Starc to slip from the sixth ball of the match, the opener saw history repeating as he fell without score in the first over once again.It was Starc’s fifth ball this time, with Crawley lobbing a checked drive and watching as the Australia quick leapt to grab a wonderful one-handed catch. Crawley had a stay of execution as the TV umpire checked the ball had not been grounded but his fate as the first England opener to bag a pair since Michael Atherton in 1999 was confirmed.The pace of the game finally slowed as Duckett and Pope successfully saw out the next 14 overs, making 28 not out and 24no respectively to strengthen England’s hold on a low-scoring match.Duckett started aggressively, charging at Scott Boland and spraying a pair of thick edges for four, while Pope was beaten on the outside edge half a dozen times during a nervy period that saw him frequently tempted outside off.But runs continued to come as England moved further ahead, including five overthrows in the space of two deliveries from Brendan Doggett. Boland thought Australia had finished the session with a bang when he won a lbw against Duckett, but the left-hander was able to overturn it on review.
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2025-11-22 04:45:20
