Travis Head’s Rampaging 123 Powers Australia to Stunning Two-Day Ashes Test Win in Perth

 


Australia crushed England by eight wickets in a breathtaking two-day finish at Perth, riding on Travis Head’s explosive 123 that turned a treacherous pitch into a batting paradise. After the Eden Test ended in two and a half days, Perth went one better—done and dusted inside two! Head’s whirlwind assault transformed a surface where 30 wickets had fallen in just 113 overs, shattering England’s dream of a Test win on Australian soil after 11 long years. With the victory, Australia surged ahead 1–0 in the Ashes.

Chasing 205 on a pitch that had tormented batters from both sides, Australia made a bold tactical call—send out a white-ball opener in red-ball cricket. Steve Smith and the Australian think-tank were crystal clear: go hard, go fast, rattle England, and attack the Bazballers with their own philosophy. Their plan clicked perfectly. In just 28.2 overs, Australia stormed to victory, sealing the match before the second day’s end of play .

Where batters had struggled for survival earlier, the final innings turned into a run-fest. Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne were tasked with holding one end, while Travis Head launched a brutal counterattack from the other. He didn’t just score—he smashed England out of the contest. A comfortable position for Ben Stokes’ men at lunch turned into a crushing defeat by the afternoon.

Head blasted a hundred off just 69 balls, hammering 12 fours and 4 sixes. Playing with a T20 mindset, he powered Australia to a run rate above 7 an over. Though he couldn’t finish the chase, his 83-ball 123 (16 fours, 4 sixes) had already sealed the result. Labuschagne offered strong support with an unbeaten 51 off 49, while Smith remained not out on 2. Brydon Carse was England’s best bowler in the innings with 2 for 44.

Before Head’s carnage, bowlers had dictated terms. Nineteen wickets fell on Day 1, and by tea on Day 2 the tally had reached 30. Carse removed Nathan Lyon early on the second morning to give England a slender first-innings lead—one they squandered almost immediately.

England’s second innings was another tale of collapses. Gus Atkinson top-scored with 37. Zak Crawley bagged a second-innings duck beimg brilliantlycaught & bowled by a diving Starc . Ben Duckett (28) and Ollie Pope (33) stitched a 65-run stand—the only period of resistance among the top order. Then the stunning collapse happened as England lost 9/100. Root (8), Brook (0), and Stokes (2) failed again. Jamie Smith’s 15 and Carse’s 20 added some respectability, as Atkinson and Carse put up 50 for the eighth wicket before Australia wrapped things up.

Mitchell Starc claimed 3 for 55 in the second innings and finished with 10 wickets for the match. The standout of the innings, however, was Scott Boland, who produced a brilliant spell of 4 for 33 after a disappointing day one . Brendan Doggett chipped in with 3 for 51.

A match that began as a battle of bowlers ended as the Travis Head show—violent, fearless, breathtaking and utterly match-defining. Australia now march into the rest of the Ashes series with a commanding lead and all the momentum.

Michelle Starc for his 10 wickets in the match was the player of the test but Travis Head was pretty close to the award too . 

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