Travis Head may have batted himself into a permanent role as Australian opener after his swashbuckling 123 against England, casting doubt on the future of an ageing Usman Khawaja.

The 38-year-old Khawaja failed to open in either innings in Perth because of back spasms, paving the way for Head to seize the opportunity with all guns blazing.

His 123 from just 83 balls drove Australia to a crushing eight-wicket victory, with the knock hailed as one of the best in Ashes history by skipper Steve Smith.

Australia have been searching for a new opener since David Warner retired early last year with Khawaja going through six different partners.

Debutant Jake Weatherald got the nod for Perth.

But instead of striding out alongside Khawaja he padded up with Marnus Labuschange in the first innings then Head, promoted from number five in the order, in the second.

Weatherald fell for a second-ball duck first up, but did enough with a composed 23 alongside Head to warrant another crack in the second Test at Brisbane.

What happens next with an out-of-form Khawaja remains to be seen, with Smith non-committal when asked if his days were numbered.

“Let’s just digest this first I think, you know the last couple of hours has been pretty incredible,” he said after the game.

“It’s probably too early to say anything on that.

“He’s not moving particularly well in there, the old fella,” he added.

“Unfortunately he just pulled up a bit lame early on in the game, and that happens when your back goes.

“I’ve been there myself when your back seizes up, and it’s not a nice place to be.”

Khawaja came under fire for playing golf on the eve of the Test, although Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg stressed the back problem was pre-existing.

Head said opening for Australia at home had been “brewing for a bit”, having done the job several times on overseas tours.

“Played a lot of cricket with Jake (for South Australia), so I was pretty keen to take some pressure off him. I just felt like the moment was right,” he said.

“I was pretty bullish around the fact that I felt like I could do it. I’m always putting my hand up.

“I’m not going really aggressive at it, but I put my hand up. If the team requires it, I’m more than happy to do it and keep the option there.”

Explosive makeshift opener Travis Head slammed the first century of the Ashes series on Saturday (November 22, 2025) and the second fastest ever by an Australian to power the hosts within sight of victory in a high-octane first Test.

Head surged to three figures off just 69 balls, crunching 12 fours and four sixes after being elevated to the top of the order in place of the injured Usman Khawaja.

It matched the 69-ball century hit by David Warner against India in 2012 and is second only to Adam Gilchrist’s 57-ball blitz against England in 2006. All three came in Perth.

The fastest century of all time is Brendon McCullum’s 54-ball fireworks in Christchurch against Australia in 2016.

Head’s run-fest left Australia needing just 48 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match Ashes series.

His heroics came on the back of a blistering spell from marauding pace pair Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc after lunch that sparked a stunning England collapse.

The tourists were cruising at 65-1 and building an ominous second-innings lead, but Boland and Starc left them shell-shocked with four wickets in as many overs.

England staged a mini-recovery but were all out for 164 on the cusp of tea.

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc recorded a memorable ten-wicket haul during the first Ashes Test against England at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Saturday (November 22, 2025).

After taking a devastating 7/58 in the first innings, the best-ever bowling figures at the Optus Stadium, Starc started from where he had left, dismissing Zak Crawley for another duck with a brilliant one-handed grab, showcasing his remarkable athleticism in his mid 30s. He also managed to get crucial wickets of stalwart Joe Root and English skipper Ben Stokes.

Starc is the first Aussie pacer to take a ten-wicket haul in Ashes Tests since 1990/91, when Craig McDermott produced figures of 11/157, which also came at Perth, though at the WACA Stadium during the final Test of the series, which Aussies won 3-0. After Bruce Reid, he is only the second left-arm pacer to have a ten-fer for Australia in Ashes. Bruce, who played 27 Tests for Australia from 1985-92 and took 113 wickets, produced figures of 13/148 in the second Melbourne Test way back in 1990 during the same aforementioned series in which McDermott has picked his ten-fer.

The 35-year-old also continued to maintain his dominance over two of England’s biggest stars, Ben Stokes and Joe Root.

Starc has dismissed Stokes in 11 times in Tests, having conceded just 191 runs in 309 balls at an average of 17.36. He also got the wicket of Root for the 10th time in Test cricket, having given away 349 runs in 639 balls against Root at an average of 34.90.

Makeshift opener Travis Head smacked an explosive 69-ball century to power Australia to victory in a high-octane first Ashes Test on Saturday as England meekly surrendered in the Perth Stadium cauldron.

Chasing 205 to win, Head slammed 123 as the hosts romped home on day two by eight wickets in an electric start to the five-match series. Marnus Labuschagne was not-out 51 and Steve Smith on two.

Head’s heroics came on the back of a blistering spell from marauding pace pair Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc after lunch that sparked a stunning England collapse.

The tourists were cruising at 65-1 and building an ominous second-innings lead, but Boland and Starc left them reeling with four wickets in as many overs.

A ruthless Boland accounted for Ben Duckett (28), Ollie Pope (33) and Harry Brook (0) in the space of 11 balls, then two deliveries later Starc sent Joe Root packing for eight.

When Starc removed skipper Ben Stokes (2), England were flailing at 88-6 and the veteran paceman had bagged a 10-wicket haul for only the third time after his first innings 7-58, a career-best.

England were partially rescued by a crucial 50-run stand between Gus Atkinson (37) and Brydon Carse (20) before being rolled for 164 at tea.

When they returned Usman Khawaja again failed to show as opener as he battles back stiffness, with Australia signalling their intent by sending in Head.

Head, who has opened nine times previously in Test cricket, quickly got into his destructive rhythm, crunching some lovely boundaries including big sixes off Carse and Mark Wood.

He made it look easy, making a mockery of the struggles other batsmen had on the bouncy track, bringing up his half-century in 36 balls, passing 4,000 Test runs in the process.

Looking to emulate him, debutant Jake Weatherald also went on the attack, but it cost him, out for 23 after a mistimed pull shot was taken by Ben Duckett off Carse.

An unruffled Head kept the pressure on, slamming four boundaries in one Stokes over and sending a six back over the head of Jofra Archer on his way to a 10th Test ton.

He eventually fell to Carse going for another big hit.

Mitchell Starc stars

Australia resumed on a paltry 123-9 in their first innings and added just nine before Nathan Lyon was removed by Carse for four to leave England with a 40-run advantage.

Stokes was the star of the show, claiming 5-23 off just 36 balls to give England a golden opportunity to win a Test in Australia for the first time since the 2010-11 series.

They had been all out for 172 at the hands of Starc on day one.

Australia were banking on the 35-year-old to emulate his exploits in the second innings and he whipped the sold-out Perth Stadium crowd into a frenzy when he removed Zak Crawley in his first over.

The veteran consigned Crawley to a pair, diving to his left in an incredible feat of athleticism for a memorable caught-and-bowled.

Duckett and Pope settled in, safely reaching lunch at 59-1.

But Scott Boland began to find his radar when they returned.

Duckett edged to Steve Smith in the slips then Pope did the same to wicketkeeper Alex Carey before Brook repeated the feat to Khawaja.

After a first innings duck Joe Root was desperate for runs, but he was no match for the relentless Starc, dragging a thick edge onto his stumps to cap a miserable start to the series.

Brendan Doggett then cleaned up Jamie Smith, (15), Carse and Archer (5).