Head's 69-ball ton propelled Australia to eight-wicket win over England in Ashes opener.
England skipper Ben Stokes expressed shock over makeshift opener Travis Head's explosive hundred, leading Australia to an eight-wicket victory in the Ashes opener at Perth Stadium on Saturday (November 22).
Chasing 205 to win, the hosts stormed to the target on Day 2 in just 28.2 overs as Head smashed a breathtaking 123 off 83 balls. The southpaw notched up his three-figure mark off just 69 balls — the fastest ever Ashes century by an opener.
Marnus Labuschagne finished unbeaten on 51, with Steve Smith on two, as Australia secured a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Stokes was effusive in praise of Head’s brutal ton while speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Little bit shell-shocked there, Travis Head was phenomenal, jeez that was some knock. I guess when you look at how the game unfolded, the batters who had success were the ones who were brave and took the game on,” Stokes said.
“We tried three or four different plans there, he was going like a train. The runs were coming through quickly — he is really hard to stop when he plays like that. That knock from Travis knocked the wind out of us. I’ve seen Travis play a lot across red and white ball cricket, he’s very hard to stop when he gets into that kind of rhythm,” he added.
Travis Head’s assault came after the Australian bowlers — led by Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland — had earlier ripped through England’s second innings to seize back the momentum.
After gaining a handy first-innings lead of runs, the Three Lions were comfortably placed at 65/1 in their second essay before Boland triggered a collapse of four wickets in as many overs. He got rid of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in the space of 11 balls, before Starc dismissed Joe Root two deliveries later. Starc also removed Stokes to complete a 10-wicket match haul.
Despite a vital 50-run stand between debutant Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse, the visitors were eventually bowled out for 164.
Stokes, who claimed a five-wicket haul in Australia’s first innings, rued the missed opportunity but insisted England must move on quickly.
“The way we bowled yesterday was phenomenal — 19 wickets fell in a day,” the England captain said. “We’ve got four games to go, we have to let it sink in, then move on and think about the next game in Brisbane. Long time before that game starts; everybody will put the hard yards in.”
The second Ashes Test is scheduled to be played at the Gabba, Brisbane from December 4.