Stokes rattles Australia with ball and brain in Ashes epic

England's captain was to the fore on a dramatic opening day that saw 19 wickets fall and the tourists take a 49-run lead

- CAMERON PONSONBY AT THE OPTUS STADIUM, PERTH

They said it would happen fast. But no one said it would be that fast, just one day into this seismic Ashes series.

A whirlwind day that went at 100mph, with bowlers almost as fast on the speed gun. Mitchell Starc led the way with a spectacular seven-wicket haul, only to then be outmuscled by Jofra Archer and Mark Wood - and then outshone by Ben Stokes. This was a day for heroes, and on one of the most mind-bending days of cricket anyone could wish to witness, England found theirs.

Stokes’s five-fer was his sixth in Test cricket and turned the game from one in the balance to one England are now in control of. Their lead at the end of day one is 49, a scarcely believable turnaround from a couple of hours earlier when they had been bundled out for 172.

For all the hype ahead of the series, the pit in your stomach as England batter after England batter trudged back to the changing rooms was closer to heartache than heartbreak. How on earth had we fallen for it again? Australia five, England nil. Cash it up and head home.

Stokes’s act was the final and most decisive of the day, but it would be wrong to start there. England had been clear in their plans from the outset that they wanted to hit Australia with pace.

For years, they have spoken of the desire to have a “battery” of fast bowlers to call upon, but even they couldn’t have dreamed that the stars would align such that both Jofra Archer and Mark Wood would be fit for day one of the Ashes. The duo are unquestionably the two fastest bowlers England have ever produced, and had only ever played a Test together once before, all the way back in 2020. It was worth the wait.