Tuck into Daily Mail Sport’s Ashes Breakfast, the second edition on the second day of the much-anticipated tour of Australia, keeping you up to date with all the nuggets you may have missed.
Here, Richard Gibson brings you the latest from behind the scenes at Perth Stadium.
Breakfast of champions
Those travelling supporters indulging in one too many on an intoxicating opening day of the Ashes were offered the perfect hangover remedy on the second morning.
With the Barmy Army in mind, one of the special items on the menu at the Optus Stadium’s food outlets is the breakfast of champions.
The fry up was created by the stadium’s sous chef Michelle Rose, a Pom who emigrated 15 years ago.
‘The Full Monty reminds me of the local greasy spoon, everywhere had a cafe at the corner and we always used to go there for a full English breakfast,’ Ms Rose said.
A plate of egg, bacon, sausage patty, black pudding, hash brown, cheese and HP or tomato sauce sets you back £8.50.
For those wanting to dig in once the morning session is over, the Yorker is a nod to the traditional Sunday roast: sliced roast beef, roasted vegetables and mustard gravy in a plate sized Yorkshire pudding.
No Aussies in the outfield
England’s choreographed walk to the ground alongside the fans on the first morning of the series was designed to show off a unity fostered over several years and project a relaxed mood ahead of their quest to make history.
Cricket Australia weren’t wild about their opponents’ choice of travel, insisting the entire party of players and staff all go together with security.
Things were relaxed pre-play on the second day, however, and having made their visual, psychological mark 24 hours earlier, they arrived in dribs and drabs.
What was noticeable for the 80 minutes preceding Mark Wood’s first ball at 10.20am was the complete absence of any Australian cricketers on the outfield.
While England’s players went through their usual practice rituals, the Australians kept out of the public eye as the ground began to fill towards its 52,000 capacity for cricket.
Duckett’s Buckets
Ben Duckett spent the build-up to this series promoting his Duckett’s Buckets online retail business – a range of caps and hats aimed at cricket fans.
Bucket hats are the company’s staple but the entire headgear range is embossed with a Duck motif – a nod to his Ducky surname.
The way things are going over here, perhaps his opening pair Zak Crawley ought to launch a rival brand. Following the maiden pair of his Test career: Zak’s Quacks, anyone?
Starc’s extraordinary sequence
Crawley’s second-innings departure to Mitchell Starc’s agile, full-length return catch extended an extraordinary sequence for the Australian left-armer.
Stretching back to the start of West Indies’ second innings in Jamaica, Starc, 35, had taken 14 Test wickets for 67 runs at that point.
It was also the 25th occasion in his Test career that he had struck in his first over.
A boon for the TV audiences
Starting the five-match campaign on Australia’s west coast allows the British public to catch the final session of a weekday’s play before work and school – increasing the overall live television audience.
Australian cricket executives also like beginning in Perth for the same reason from a domestic broadcast prospective – because viewers in the heavily-populated eastern states can tune in after getting home at the other end of the day.
That helps the projection of a Test series – not that the Ashes tends to need much of a push.
Australia’s players like starting at the Gabba in Brisbane, where they have an excellent record, but this is the second year of a three-year deal with Perth Stadium, with the 2026-27 match against New Zealand also slated here.
The hosts are not to be underestimated
The balance of power was shifting immediately after lunch on the second day, reflecting that Australia are never to be under-estimated despite being without two of their big-game bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Fans using Betfair Win Predictor foresaw that too, with growing belief that this England team can have an impact here tempered by the fact that the Australians are ranked number one in Test cricket for a reason.
While Ben Stokes’ team were being backed to win the first Test by 38 per cent ahead of the contest, Australia still held the box seat with 56 per cent of the share.
There was even more support for the hosts in the Ashes series market, with six in 10 backing the hosts and England’s ratio dropping to 31 per cent.
