Australia started with aggressive left-handed batsman Travis Head, who was sent up to counter the English bowlers. He brought back pressure on the English bowlers from the very first ball and did not let them settle down.
Australia looked to be on the front foot after the first innings of play, as their bowlers performed brilliantly to bowl out the buzzers for just 172 runs. Mitchell Starc remained the choice of bowlers with 7 wickets.
England counterattacked and took a lead of 40 runs in their batting innings against the Australian team. However, adding to the lead, England could only score 164 more runs, thus setting a target of 205 runs for the mighty Australians.
Travis Head takes Australia ahead by scoring a quick century in Perth
Unlike the first innings, where Marnus Labuschagne was promoted to the top of the batting order, their traditional opening batsman Travis Head was promoted to the top of the second innings.
Travis Head is known for his intense carefree attitude to the game and stunning resorts. Head thrashed the English bowlers and maligned the bowling attack in every way.
He helped Australia become dominant and fearless to achieve their first Ashes win on the second day of play. Head scored a century in just 69 balls and took his team beyond 200 runs by playing an innings of 123 runs.
He was out after scoring runs with a strike rate of 148 and 4 sixes in his innings. This is definitely a man of the match performance from Travis Head.
Usman Khawaja suffered a back injury during England’s second innings.
Australian opener Usman Khawaja has not opened the innings for Australia in both the innings. The 39-year-old cricketer has been suffering from injuries recently; Instead, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head opened for Australia in the two innings respectively.
Captain Pat Cummins has further confirmed that Usman Khawaja has suffered a major blow to his back, which flared up again when Khawaja was fielding in the slip cordon. He tried to jump over his head and the trouble started again.
Hence, he could not open in the second innings, and is expected to recover soon, as Australia will not be able to deal with any more injury setbacks.
Fans react to Travis Head’s century:
This one of Travis Head’s greatest Ashes 100? He made a mockery of the target of 205 by scoring 100 off 69 balls to finish the Test in two days.#Ashes2025
– Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) 22 November 2025
Travis Head not only crushed England…he destroyed the whole “Indian Pitch Merchants” hype. Former cricketers and PR-agency puppets… all disintegrated in one innings
-Dheeraj Singh (@Dheerajsingh_) 22 November 2025
What makes Travis Head so dangerous and different from others is not incredible skills but an incredible mentality.
He has a demonic mentality. pic.twitter.com/pDzwNTOhKq
-Huge. (@sportyvishal) 22 November 2025
no PR
no intention and selfless play
clutch performance in ko
Can bat at any position
make big score on your dayAfter David Warner, Travis Head is the best opener of his generation. pic.twitter.com/pZG0CXdyvx
– 𝐊𝐨𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐭!𝟎𝐧_ (@bholination) 22 November 2025
The difference between bat, pad, ball and stump is not ideal.
This bodes well for England for the remaining matches of the series. #Ashes2025 pic.twitter.com/HZ1o9AGWOJ
– Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) 22 November 2025
One of the greatest – if not the greatest – Ashes innings of all time. Instant folklore. 123 runs on 83 balls. 16 fours, 4 sixes. @SEN_Cricket @1116sen
– Tom Morris (@tommorris32) 22 November 2025
“The bat and the helmet are raised to this fantastic crowd as they witness one of the all-time great performances in Test cricket history” – Ricky Ponting on Travis Head
(via @7cricket, #ash pic.twitter.com/YqxLJ1nZII
– ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) 22 November 2025
– No selfless player plays
– no PR drama
– No small fish are killing
– Never cried about the workload
– never satisfied by early 40
-Always gives his 200%
-Never suffocated in ICC tournamentTravis Head is the greatest opening batsman of this generation across all formats. pic.twitter.com/WANXHpIBtY
-Vivek (@Hailkohli18) 22 November 2025
travis head #ash #Ashes2025 pic.twitter.com/7fBs6RTdLa
– Raja Babu (@GaurangBhardwa1) 22 November 2025
Travis Head has 10 Test centuries and 17 centuries across all formats, and remarkably, none of them have been in a losing cause.
Truly one of the greatest match winners of this generation.#Ashes2025 #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/CwmQgLL6p1
– ICC Asia Cricket (@ICCAsiaCricket) 22 November 2025
One thing I’ve come to understand is that Travis Head always peaks when it really matters. He performed well in the 2023 WTC Final, 2023 CWC SF & Final, 2024 BGT, 2024 T20 WC, CT, but in normal, low-stakes series, he is not a lock like the recent series against India. pic.twitter.com/9rwo0bK4jQ
– Srijan (@LegendDhonii) 22 November 2025
Also read: Jake Weatherald celebrates like Virat Kohli after scoring his first Test run in the Ashes