TL;DR
- England won the toss and chose to bat first in the 2025-26 Ashes Series opener at Perth Stadium.
- Captain Ben Stokes expressed excitement for the series to begin and to score runs.
- Australia's Steve Smith also wanted to bat and hopes the ball will seam erratically.
- Perth anticipates a full house for the first of five Tests in cricket's historic contest.
England has drawn first blood in the 2025-26 Ashes Series, as captain Ben Stokes won the toss for The First Test at Perth Stadium.
Stokes accurately predicted tails before ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle and promptly chose to bat first, sharing his reasoning with Isa Guha from Fox Cricket.
“It’s been a long build up, and now it’s finally here... We can't wait to get going, try and get some runs on the board and see where we are at the end of it,” Stokes said.
Steve Smith humorously hopes the ball will move erratically.
Skipper Steve Smith of Australia stated he would have also opted to bat first, then expressed his hope that the ball will 'seam all over the place' as the crucial opening session approaches, which is expected to define the character of a competitive and uncertain series.
“I think the cracks will come into play, they seem to every year, if we get the ball in the right areas this morning there will be enough there (for the Australian bowlers) for sure,” Smith said.
Perth anticipates a capacity crowd for Day 1 as cricket's most enduring international adversaries reignite their 148-year contest in the opening match of the five-game Test series wrapping up in January.
Play is scheduled to begin at 10:20 a.m. Each day (Perth time).
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