Australia faced an early scare on the second day of the first Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 at the Optus Stadium in Perth as their experienced spinner Nathan Lyon remained out of the field for the first five overs of England’s innings.
Nathan Lyon suffered a sharp blow to his left hip while batting and the impact was so severe that he was ruled out during the beginning of the English innings.
Australia worried over Nathan Lyon’s hip setback in Perth
In his absence, Australia were forced to reshuffle their field, with Beau Webster stepping into the third-slip position and Jake Weatherald out to point to bridge the gap.
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Although Lyon eventually returned to the field, his actions tell a worrying story. The star spinner looked stiff, uncomfortable and nowhere near his usual rhythm. Every move indicated that the hip knock was still bothering him, and that’s not a good sign for the Australian team.
Lyon is back but doesn’t look fully fit. It remains to be seen whether this hip injury will affect his bowling or not. @SEN_Cricket https://t.co/qeL6hkfKRj
– Tom Morris (@tommorris32) 22 November 2025
England’s dominance after 19 wickets fell on the first day of the first Ashes Test
Meanwhile, England took the lead after bowling out Australia for just 132 runs on the second day of the first Ashes Test in Perth. The match got off to a great start, with 19 wickets falling on the opening day as the fast bowlers from both sides attacked at serious pace.
Australia came into the second day at 123 for 9, hoping to add some crucial runs. But they managed only nine more runs before Nathan Lyon was dismissed by Brydon Carse for four. Carse bowled a full ball which Lyon tried to drive, but it took the edge of his bat and went straight to Ben Duckett at gully.
England’s bowlers were excellent with the ball in Perth. Their captain, Ben Stokes, led the attack by taking a brilliant five wickets, and he was well supported by Carse, who took three wickets, and Jofra Archer, who took two more wickets to end the Australian innings early.
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Mitchell Starc bowled the best spell of his career while Nathan Lyon bowled only 2 overs.
Earlier, Australian star fast bowler Mitchell Starc bowled one of the best spells of his career as he bowled out England for 172 by taking seven wickets on the first day in Perth. With Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood already injured, Australia depended heavily on Starc and he gave his best performance.
However, Nathan Lyon bowled only two overs and finished with figures of 0/10 on the first day, with the fast bowlers dominating on both sides. On the other hand, England also suffered a blow as their key batsman Joe Root injured his left ankle while kicking a football during practice.
The former England captain fell awkwardly while walking and looked uncomfortable. His day got even tougher when Root was out for a duck in England’s first innings as he chased his maiden Test century in Australia.
Historic collapse in Perth
Notably, Australia’s first innings score of 132 became their second lowest score in a home Ashes Test this century. Australia’s lowest score in a Boxing Day Test at the MCG in 2010–11 was 98 runs. The Perth Test also saw a rare batting failure.
The last time both teams were bowled out for less than 200 in the first innings of an Ashes Test in Australia was in the 1990–91 series at the Gabba, when England scored 194 and Australia were out for 152.
