Ashes First Test Review: English Heads in a spin after 'Trav-ball' onslaught
First Test, Perth Australia won by eight wickets England 172 & 164 Australia 132 & 205/2 One must feel for the food and drink vendors at the Optus Stadium in Perth. They have missed out on some bumper trade over the last couple of days. Instead, punters are spending their hard-earned cash in the hostelries on the Swan River or cramming the Fremantle to Rottnest Island ferry thanks in no small part to England's second day capitulation in Western Australia. The facts are etched in to the mind with England collapsing from a commanding 105 run lead for the loss of just one wicket to posting a very gettable 205 run target which Australia - and in particular, Travis Head - relished. It was a game which felt peculiar from the very beginning. Visiting skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first, forgoing the preferred fourth innings run chase. Whilst this has proved to be the winning formula for all of the previous test captains at Optus Stadium, it isn't tradit...