Starc, Stokes headline opening day mayhem

Mitchell Starc picked up career-best figures of 7 for 58 in Tests but a five-fer from England captain Ben Stokes meant that Australia are reeling at 123 for 9 in response to the visitors' 172 on a manic Day 1 in Perth. Nineteen wickets fell on what seemed to be a good batting pitch - the most number of wickets that have fallen on the opening day of an Ashes Test in the last 100 years. England lead by 49 runs heading into Day 2 in an interestingly poised game.

With England winning the toss and electing to bat, Zak Crawley just guided the first ball off Starc to point rather anticlimactically after scoring a boundary off the first ball in the last Ashes series. Few balls later, Crawley attempted a drive through the offside with no feet movement to a delivery angled across by the left-armer which was pocketed by first slip. Scott Boland, on the other hand, couldn't find his length with Ben Duckett driving him down the ground to the boundary fence.

Duckett began to look menacing with a flurry of boundaries but Starc sent the southpaw back to the pavilion, trapping him LBW with the batter taking a review back with him. Joe Root, looking for his elusive 100 on Australian shores, got off to the worst possible start nicking one to slip and becoming Starc's third victim of the day. Brendan Doggett too almost had a dream start on Test debut almost having Ollie Pope bowled off his first ball.

At 39 for 3, Pope and Harry Brook began a counter-attack capitalising on any errors in length by Boland and Doggett with Brook's straight drive off Boland the standout-shot. The pair brought up the only 50-run stand of the day with Pope driving Cameron Green to the long-on fence. Pope was regularly shuffling outside off, which made Green fire one in fuller, rapping Pope on the pads plumb in front of the stumps as England lost their fourth on the stroke of Lunch.

The four wickets in the first session didn't faze Brook. He smoked Boland over extra cover for six off the second ball after Lunch. The reintroduction of Starc at the other end paid dividends immediately with the wicket of Stokes. Jamie Smith and Brook then got together in a whirlwind stand. Brook scored back-to-back boundaries off Starc as he moved into the 40s while Jamie Smith played to his strengths pulling Boland to the fence. Brook moved to 50 - his fourth in his last five innings against Australia while Jamie Smith hit three boundaries off Starc. Just when the partnership began to take the form of the duo's 158-run stand against India at Edgbaston earlier this year, Doggett got Brook to glove a short delivery to Alex Carey - giving the bowler his first Test wicket.

Starc picked up his fifth five-fer against England with the wicket of Gus Atkinson while Doggett had Brydon Carse caught in the deep after an attempted pull. Starc then had Jamie and Mark Wood dismissed off consecutive deliveries as England folded for 172 in just 32.5 overs.

With Usman Khawaja off the field for a lengthy period of time, Marnus Labuschagne was sent in to open along with Jake Weatherald. The latter took strike but faced only two deliveries with Jofra Archer trapping the debutant LBW for a duck. In a fiery spell of bowling, Archer, Atkinson and Wood kept Australia at bay until Tea to 15 for 1 after 10 overs.

Steve Smith who was hit on the elbow before Tea, copped successive blows to his elbow and index finger off Archer. Labuschagne survived a couple of caught-behind appeals and things began to get heated between him and Carse. Steve Smith then played a square cut and a pull towards square-leg for back-to-back boundaries. But after the duo did all the hard work, Labuschagne chopped one on to his stumps after his 41-ball vigil for nine runs. Steve Smith then got squared up by Carse and nicked behind to second slip. Carse then picked up Khawaja in his following over as Australia were reeling at 31 for 4.

Green was then dropped by Atkinson off his own bowling and was almost hit-wicket after a Wood bouncer hit him flush on the grill. Head and Green put on 45 together and just when it looked like Australia were clawing themselves back, the man for the big moments - Stokes had Head mistime a pull to Carse before Green dangled at one outside off which was nicked behind to the 'keeper. Carey began finding the boundaries and had Starc for company but the latter mistimed a shot to mid-on. Carey, then innocuously, played an upper-cut straight to third-man before Boland was caught in the slip cauldron to give Stokes his fifth wicket to round off an extraordinary opening day.

Brief scores: Australia 123/9 (Alex Carey 26, Cameron Green 24; Ben Stokes 5-23, Jofra Archer 2-11) trail England 172 (Harry Brook 52, Ollie Pope 46; Mitchell Starc 7-58, Brendan Doggett 2-27) by 49 runs