Brydon Carse reveled in England captain Ben Stokes unleashing “beast mode” on Australia as the England bowlers produced a stunning comeback on day one of the first Ashes Test.
On a pitch labeled a ‘green monster’ by the local Perth newspaper, Stokes opted to bat first and saw his side bowl out a 172 in less than 33 overs.
With Mitchell Starc posting career-best figures of seven for 58, it looked like this would be another terrifying chapter in England’s terrible run of form Down Under.
But their five-man pace attack changed the script with a brilliant display of pace and hostility, reducing their hosts to 123 for nine to maintain a 49-point lead at the end.
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Theater
It was dazzling, unmissable theater and in the closing moments Stokes put himself at the center of attention.
He has poured his heart and soul into regaining full fitness after tearing a shoulder muscle against India in August, storming through the door to claim five for 23 in the space of six overs.
After sharing the first four Australian wickets, Carse and Jofra Archer removed Travis Head, Cameron Green, Starc, Alex Carey and Scott Boland in the space of 30 deliveries.
By the time he finished, the number of wickets for the day stood at 19 – more than any other opening day of Ashes cricket since 1909.
Beast mode
Carse basked in his captain’s intervention, saying: ‘Ben Stokes, look, he’s great.
“You know his character and his resilience is everything this team strives for and it’s obviously a game-changing period in that session.
“I think Ducky (Ben Duckett) made a comment recently that he’s been in beast mode since he arrived in Australia and he totally deserved it.
“The way he runs through brick walls for this team is something everyone looks up to.”
Inspiring
Stokes was one of many who faltered with the bat, cleared between bat and pad by Starc for just six, but his contribution with the ball and his inspiring leadership showed his ability to influence even the biggest occasion.
His words after England’s disappointing first innings – a rapid-fire visit that relied heavily on an ultra-aggressive 52 from Harry Brook and a firmer 46 from Ollie Pope – led his team to believe their heavy artillery pace attack could do serious damage in itself.
They chased aggressively as a pack, with the wicketless duo of Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood as important as the conceding trio.
(Robbie Stephenson/PA)
Phenomenal
“Stokesy said ‘let’s smash the wicket hard’ and get as much out as we can. He kept it very simple,” said Carse, who picked up Steve Smith’s prized scalp and scared Usman Khawaja with a nasty lifter.
“We had 45-50 minutes before tea and he said to the boys with the ball, ‘Just give it everything’.
“The way Gus and Jofra started was phenomenal. We carried it on as a five-seam group throughout the last session. I thought we were quite ruthless.
“It’s an incredible day of Test cricket, I think everyone who came to watch today had a great time.”
Fast forward
Starc played a blinder in the absence of injured quicks Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, removing Zak Crawley for a first-over duck and also removing Joe Root without a score for his 100th Ashes wicket.
“My role in the team is to look for wickets,” he said.
“It’s moving fast, I think, it’s happening fast. With 19 wickets in a day, we often say it’s the wicket or the batting, but I think both teams have bowled really well.
“England have clearly come with an extra-pace approach and a five-man attack. It’s clear that extra airspeed will cause fear.”
READ MORE: Ben Stokes leads England’s brilliant bowling response against Australia on the wild first day of the Ashes
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