England 'threw in the towel' - Broad

STUART Broad accused England of throwing in the towel too early during Travis Head's ruthless onslaught which helped Australia draw first blood in the Ashes in Perth.

- By DAVID CHARLESWORTH

While England lost all 20 wickets in just 67.5 overs, the series opener seemed to be still in the balance with Australia needing 205 to prevail, only for Travis Head to make a mockery of such a notion.

A brutal 69-ball century from the makeshift opener, deputising for the injured Usman Khawaja, included four sixes and 16 fours and underpinned Australia cantering to an eight-wicket win inside two days.

Broad, though, felt England's heads collectively dropped long before Head's 123 off 83 deliveries had decided the outcome as he insisted captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum face the toughest test of their tenures to lift the tourists.