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 for full pace in the starting side, leaving out Shoaib Bashir in favor of Brydon Carse.
“We’ll try to get some runs on the board and then see where we are,” Stokes said. “We need to clarify everything we want to achieve here in Australia, that starts today.”
Australia’s Steve Smith, replacing the injured Pat Cummins, struck an optimistic tone after losing the toss.
“Hopefully everything will be OK this morning. I think the cracks will come into play, it seems like they do every year,” Smith said. “I think if we put the ball in the right areas this morning, there will be enough for sure.”
Australia awarded their first caps to specialist opener Jake Weatherald and fast bowler Brendan Doggett, who showed their hand for selection with 13 wickets in two matches for South Australia in a dynamic start to the domestic Sheffield Shield season.
“He slides through the crease, makes it look pretty easy,” pacer Mitchell Starc said of Doggett.
“So, yeah, he’s got some air speed, he’s got some great skills, he’s got some swing, he’s got some seam and he’s coming off a good streak, so I’m hoping 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
