Travis Head's century leads Australia to 8-wicket victory over England in Ashes series opener
Perth (AP): Travis Head flipped the narrative and dominated the England pace bowlers with one of the great centuries in Ashes cricket Saturday as Australia raced to an eight-wicket victory with three days to spare in the first Test.
Head turned England's attack-at-all-costs "Bazball" tactics back on the visitors, clobbering a century from 69 deliveries after being promoted up the order to open the innings when Usman Khawaja was injured.
"That innings from Travis Head was out of this world," Australia captain Steve Smith said.
In three innings across five sessions, fast bowlers were right on top as 30 wickets fell for 468 runs in 113 overs at Perth — 19 on a chaotic Day 1 and 11 before the tea interval on Day 2.
Set 205 to win, Head plundered 123 from 83 balls, clobbering boundaries to all parts of the ground as he hit the rope 16 times and cleared it on four occasions. Australian media reported it was the first time since 1921 that an Ashes Test was won in two days.
Head was eventually caught in the outfield, trying to rush the victory, with Australia just 13 runs short.
Marnus Labuschagne levelled the scores with a six and was unbeaten on 51 when Australia reached 205-2.
England captain Ben Stokes said his team was "a little bit shell shocked," and described Head's innings as "phenomenal."
The result, he said, "obviously hurts extremely, but then we've got to get our heads around it and move on."
Australia extended its unbeaten run in home Ashes Tests to 16. England hasn't won a test in Australia since winning the 2010-11 series.
Momentum swinging Test
England was on top for most of the first four sessions but lost control with a batting collapse after the lunch interval on Day 2.
Stokes won the toss, batted and England was skittled for 172, with veteran Australian paceman Mitchell Starc leading an under-strength bowling attack with a career-best 7-58.
Australia was then bowled out for 132, giving England a 40-run first innings lead, with Stokes snaring a five-wicket haul after some early fireworks from express bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
In its second innings, England was cruising at 65-1 until the big momentum shift. From 76-2, England lost three wickets without scoring and slid to be all out for 164.
That left Australia with 3 1/3 days to chase a modest victory target. Head achieved it in one session with the third-fastest test century ever by an Australian.
England's collapse
The statistics suggested the Perth Stadium pitch was playing like a minefield for most of the first two days.
Starc had 10 wickets for the match including the 7-58 in the first innings, starting Day 2 with a spectacular return catch to remove Zac Crawley and also removing Joe Root and Stokes as England was dismissed for 164 in its second innings.
England lost three wickets without scoring in a momentum-shifting spell after lunch.
Australia's Scott Boland had Ollie Pope (33) caught behind and Harry Brook (0) caught at slip in the space of four balls. Two balls later, Starc removed Root (8) for the second time in the match.
Pope, Brook and Root were all out trying the same thing: needlessly reaching to play expansive drives.
And it could have been worse for England, but Khawaja dropped a regulation catch off Jamie Smith at slip before he'd scored.
Starc then dismissed Stokes (2) to really send a tremor through the England lineup at 88-6, collecting his 10th wicket for the match.
Gus Atkinson (37) and Brydon Carse (20) joined with the total at 104-7 and put on 50 in quick time to ensure a 200-plus chase for the Aussies.
The long, long review
The seventh England wicket to fall was dramatic, with the TV umpire taking four minutes to review the dismissal over-and-over to determine if Jamie Smith's glove or bat touched a delivery from Brendan Doggett as it carried down legside to the wicketkeeper.
Smith started walking off but stopped as the TV umpire checked the "snicko" meter time and time again.
Head, fielding at short-leg, had appealed confidently for the nick, but the on-field umpire initially gave it not out. The decision is sure to spark some debate among rival fans.
Starc's stunning catch to dismiss Crawley for a pair — ducks in each innings — was the highlight of a comparatively mild morning session Saturday. He removed the England opener in the first over of the second innings a day after dismissing him in the first over of the match.
Starc was fully into his follow-through after a delivering a ball at around 140 kph (87 mph) and had the athletic ability to lunge to his left and take the catch at full stretch just above ground level to remove Crawley. He was awarded player of the match.
The second Test in the five-match series starts December 4 at the Gabba in Brisbane.
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89 killed as storm, rain batter UP; relief work underway
Lucknow (PTI): At least 89 people were killed after a strong storm and heavy rain pounded several districts of Uttar Pradesh, uprooting trees and damaging houses, according to the Relief Commissioner's office.
As the weather changed suddenly on Wednesday evening, many took shelter under trees and flyovers. Clouds of dust enveloped large parts of the state, reducing visibility and ripping hoardings and tin sheds.
High velocity winds also uprooted trees and electric poles, many of which blocked roads, crushed vehicles and damaged houses.
Rescue efforts were launched soon after. Some dug through the debris with bare hands to rescue those trapped while others rushed the injured, including children, to hospitals.
"Due to bad weather on May 13, including storms, rain, hailstorm and lightning, reports of 89 deaths, 53 injured persons, 114 livestock losses and damage to 87 houses have been received in the state, which has been taken cognisance of by the Hon'ble Chief Minister," the Relief Commissioner's office said in a post on X on Thursday.
It said the chief minister has directed all divisional commissioners and district magistrates to verify the incidents "with full sensitivity" and ensure financial assistance is distributed to affected families within 24 hours while establishing direct communication with them and extending other necessary help.
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The Relief Commissioner's office said it is continuously monitoring the situation through direct coordination with district officials and necessary funds are being made available to districts.
Various videos showing the damage caused by the violent storm were shared on social media, but one from Bamiyana village in Bareilly stood out.
The video shows a man being flung nearly 50 ft in the air along with a tin roof by gusts of wind and thrown in a field.
The man had held onto a tin shed to protect himself during the storm.
According to a list issued by the Prayagraj district administration, seven deaths were reported in the Handia area, four in Phulpur, three in Soraon, two in Meja and one in Sadar due to the storm and rain.
In Bhadohi, at least 16 people died in storm-related incidents.
Additional District Magistrate Kunwar Virendra Kumar Maurya said trees and electric poles were uprooted in several areas and many houses were damaged in the storm.
In Bhadohi's Rampur, several people fell into the Ganga after the storm damaged a pontoon bridge at the Ganga ghat. All of them were rescued safely.
In Mirzapur's Gaura Pramanpur, too, a pontoon bridge was damaged, cutting off 20 villages.
Fatehpur Additional District Magistrate Avinash Tripathi said nine people were killed and 16 injured in storm-related incidents in the district.
"Eight people, including five women, died in Khaga tehsil, while a woman died after a wall of a house collapsed in Sadar tehsil," he said.
In Pratapgarh, four people died in separate incidents of wall and cemented shed collapse and lightning strike amid strong winds and rain.
Superintendent of Police Deepak Bhukar said Bhim Yadav (25) died after he was trapped under the debris of a cemented shed that collapsed in Ojha Ka Purwa village in the Lalganj Kotwali area.
He said Bhushan Pandey (56) died after a wall collapsed in Sari Swami village under the Baghrai police station area.
Bhukar said Shanti Devi (46) of Narangpur village and Lal Bahadur (44) of Chhatrapur Shivala Raghna village also died in storm-related incidents.
In Kanpur Dehat district, two persons died in rain-related incidents.
Police sources said a 19-year-old woman, Ruchi, died after being struck by lightning in Bhauthari village under the Rasulabad area while sheltering under a tree with goats during heavy rain. Several goats also died in the incident.
A 60-year-old man standing nearby was injured, they said.
Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Dushyant Kumar said reports regarding human and livestock losses have been sought from local officials and financial assistance will be provided as per government rules.
In Deoria, Komal Yadav (62), a resident of Bhimpur Gaura village, died after being struck by lightning. Two others were injured in the incident.
In another incident, Ramnath Prasad (65), a resident of Neruari village, died in a lightning strike.
In Sonbhadra district, Madhav Singh (38) died after being trapped under an uprooted tree.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the loss of lives and damage caused by the unseasonal rain, thunderstorms and lightning, and directed officials to ensure relief reaches the affected families within 24 hours.
The CM has directed all districts to send updates on storm, rain and lightning-related damage every three hours and asked officials to publicise relief measures, including compensation disbursal, on social media, an official statement said.
According to the statement, reports of human casualties, livestock losses and crop damage have emerged from at least 19 districts, including Barabanki, Bahraich, Kanpur Dehat, Basti, Sambhal, Hardoi and Unnao. Several houses were also damaged due to inclement weather.
Adityanath also instructed the officials to remain alert and ordered the revenue and agriculture departments, along with insurance companies, to conduct a survey of the damage and submit a report to the government.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav termed the loss of lives in the state "extremely saddening".
He urged the government to immediately arrange free and proper treatment for the injured, ensure the supply of food and drinking water, and make temporary accommodation arrangements for those affected.
He also demanded dignified last rites for the deceased and appealed to Samajwadi Party workers in unaffected areas to help those impacted by the storm in every possible manner.
