Le Journal

Perth: Nineteen wickets fell on a chaotic opening day of the first Ashes Test at Perth Stadium, where fast bowlers from both sides wreaked havoc on a bouncy surface to leave the match dramatically in the balance. By stumps, Australia were shell-shocked at 123/9, still trailing England by 49 runs, after captain Ben Stokes tore through the middle and lower order with a sensational 5/23 from six overs, building on ferocious bursts from Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse. The collapse mirrored the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar opener at the same venue, where 17 wickets fell on Day 1. Earlier, Australian spearhead Mitchell Starc produced a career-best Ashes spell, ripping out England for 172 in 32.5 overs with stunning figures of 7/58. His brutality came before a record crowd of 51,531, while Harry Brook’s counterattacking half-century (52) lit up England’s innings as they rattled along at 5.24 runs per over. No visiting team has been bowled out quicker in a first innings of a Test in Australia since 1932. Starc removed Zak Crawley for a sixth-ball duck, then trapped Ben Duckett lbw for 21 before squaring up Joe Root for a seventh-ball duck, leaving England reeling at 39/3. Brook launched a blistering assault — charging Australia’s quicks, cracking an 89m six, and adding 55 with Ollie Pope before Cameron Green nailed Pope lbw for 46. But Starc and debutant Brendan Doggett (2/27) then triggered a collapse of 5/12 in 19 balls, with Brook falling for a 61-ball 52. England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith clattered 33 off 22 before holing out, becoming Starc’s seventh victim. With Usman Khawaja unable to open because of back spasms, Marnus Labuschagne partnered debutant Jake Weatherald — but the innings imploded immediately. Archer dismissed Weatherald for a second-ball duck on review, then removed Labuschagne for 9, the ball ricocheting off his elbow into the stumps. Carse struck twice, removing Steve Smith (17) and Khawaja (2), before Stokes entered and dismantled the innings. Stokes dismissed Travis Head (21), Green (24), Starc (12), Carey (26) and Boland (0) in a devastating burst, leaving Nathan Lyon (3 not out) and Doggett (0 not out) at the close. Doggett and Weatherald received their baggy greens as Australia’s 472nd and 473rd men’s Test cricketers. England fielded an all-pace attack with Shoaib Bashir left out. The 19 wickets made it the most dismissals on Day 1 of an Ashes Test since 1909, setting up a gripping second day in Perth. Brief scores: England 172 in 32.5 overs (Harry Brook 52, Ollie Pope 46; Mitchell Starc 7/58, Brendan Doggett 2/27) lead Australia 123/9 in 39 overs (Alex Carey 26, Cameron Green 24; Ben Stokes 5/23, Jofra Archer 2/11) by 49 runs.

Hyderabad: A fine century by SDNV Prasad (103, 6×4, 6×6) helped Andhra score a 58-run win against Odisha and qualify for the quarterfinals of the BCCI Inter-State Men’s One-Day Cricket Championship at Baroda on Friday. Andhra will take on Mumbai in the quarterfinal in Mumbai on November 26. Scores (at Baroda): Andhra 302/9 in 50 overs (SDNV Prasad 103, M Hemanth Reddy 65, KSN Raju 57, S Baral 3/47) bt Odisha 244 in 47 overs (T Munde 60, S Bhardwaj 36, T Sai Sravan 3/51).

Hyderabad: Former champions India ‘A’ powered into the knockout quarterfinals with an all-win record in the league phase of the World Cup of Snooker in Muscat, Oman, on Friday. Pankaj Advani was in imperious form, leading the team that also comprised Aditya Mehta and Brijesh Damani, to a 3-1 win over United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a crushing 3-0 verdict against Afghanistan in a late-night match on Thursday. Group ‘F’ toppers India ‘A’, given the top billing in the reseeding after the league phase, will take on the winner of the match between France and Indonesia on Saturday morning. Damani gave India ‘A’ a 1-0 lead against UAE with a 64-1 win over Mohamed Shehab in the first frame. Advani then rifled in a break of 86 in his 102-35 win over Khalid Kamali. Advani later partnered Aditya to make a break of 53 in the 3-0 rout. On Thursday night, it was Advani all the way against Afghanistan. He made a brilliant 133 in the first frame against Mohammad Rais Senzahi. Mohammad Noor Zai pulled one back with a win over an off-colour Aditya. Advani and Damani then dominated the pair of Senzahi and Noor Zai in their 114-7 win. Advani, who made a sizzling 110 break in the doubles, returned later to floor Noor Zai with runs of 78 and 63 in the 141-0 win. India ‘B’, meanwhile, bowed out with a consolation 3-0 win over Oman ‘C’ in the morning. They had lost to reigning champions Hong Kong China ‘A’ 1-3 on Thursday night to finish with one win and two losses.

Hyderabad: K C Sebastian of Kerala won the men’s 100m butterfly event (80–84 years category) and Bakula Patel of Gujarat clinched the women’s 50m breaststroke event (80 years & above category) in the 21st National Masters Aquatics Championship at the Gachibowli GMC Balayogi Aquatic Complex here on Friday. Results: Men – 100m butterfly (80–84 years): 1. K C Sebastian (Ker) 3:08.57, 2. R Nagesh (Kar), 3. Venkataramana Krishna (TN). Women – 50m breaststroke (80 years & above): 1. Bakula Patel (Guj) 1:37.32, 2. A V Subbalakshmi (AP). 75–79 years: 1. Kalindi Cholkar (Maha) 2:09.06, 2. Geetha Venkataraman (TN), 3. Shama Kulkarni (Maha). 70–74 years: 1. Vidya Singh (TN) 1:05.75, 2. Athpkpam Manbi Devi (Mnp), 3. Usha Patel (Guj). 65–69 years: 1. P Prasanna Kumari (Ker) 58.28, 2. Parampal Johal (Dli), 3. Abuja Sandhyarani Devi (Mnp). 60–64 years: 1. Anya Saini (Kar) 54.67, 2. Rohini Bhangle (Maha), 3. Shubra Goel (MP). 55–59 years: 1. Nima Manjrekar (Kar) 55.89, 2. Babita Chourey (MP), 3. Tripti Borgohain Gogoi (Asm). 50–54 years: 1. Anusuya Alva (Kar) 49.22, 2. Ruju Doshi (TG), 3. Sujata Bhave (Maha). 45–49 years: 1. Topsy Ahluwalia (Dli) 48.44, 2. Praveen (Dli), 3. Arti Daga (Maha). 40–44 years: 1. V Aswathy (Ker) 46.04, 2. Akshaya Zanzad (Maha), 3. Shruti Satokar (Maha). 30–34 years: 1. S Subha (Ker) 52.12, 2. Jelena Aktar (Asm), 3. Akshaya Moses (Kar). 25–29 years: 1. Apoorva (Har) 47.98, 2. Shikha Thakkar (Maha), 3. Shriya Pradip Karma (Goa).

Hyderabad: China’s GM Wei Yi and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev could not breach the defences of their respective opponents with white pieces as both semi-finals of the FIDE World Cup 2025 ended in draws here on Friday. Nodirbek signed the truce with compatriot GM Javokhir Sindarov immediately after the mandatory 30 moves, while Wei Yi and GM Andrey Esipenko had their chances but could not convert, eventually splitting the point after 33 moves. Wei Yi, who had defeated India’s best hope GM Arjun Erigaisi in the quarterfinals, faced a rare variation of the French Defence from Esipenko and, just like in the quarterfinals, enjoyed some early advantage. To Esipenko’s credit, the Russian-born Grandmaster equalised the position well, and it looked like the Chinese player was coming under time pressure. Wei managed to set up a three-pronged attack with a rook, bishop and queen, only for Esipenko to respond with a perfect defensive move that steered the game towards a pawn endgame, where the two players agreed to a draw.