The opening day of the Ashes 2025-26 was full of action, as the pacers dominated on the pitch. Australian stand-in captain Steven Smith also failed on the first day as the English pacer Brydon Carse dismissed him. 

After England were bundled out for only 172 runs in the first Test of the series at Perth, the hosts Australia got a similar test, as the Aussie batters have struggled to score runs. 

Watch: Brydon Carse dismisses Usman Khawaja on 2 during 1st Ashes 2025/26 Test in Perth

Steven Smith batted at no.3

Stand-in skipper Steven Smith came to bat at number three, as the debutant opener Jake Weatherald was dismissed for a duck on the second ball of the innings. Due to spending much time out of the field during England’s rapid bundle out first innings, experienced opener Usman Khawaja had to wait more than 10 minutes before coming to bat. As Weatherald was dismissed early in the innings, Khawaja was still unable to bat, so Smith had to come to bat early.  

Australia took 28 balls to open the account, while already losing a wicket, as the account opened with a single from Steven Smith. The hosts started the third session of the opening day at 15/1, but both Labuschagne and Smith lost their wickets cheaply. 

Brydon Carse dismissed Steven Smith

After Jofra Archer took his second wicket of the match by dismissing Labuschagne for nine runs, the stand-in captain Steven Smith lost his wicket for 17 runs off 49 balls with two fours as Brydon Carse won that battle. 

It was the tight line, as the delivery got an extra bounce to surprise Smith. That delivery found a top edge to carry on the slip, and Harry Brook took a good catch at the second slip. It was a big wicket for England, as Australia were struggling at 30/3.  

A THIRD WICKET FOR ENGLAND 🙌

Steve Smith is OUT and Australia are wobbling! ❌

📺 Watch #TheAshes LIVE on TNT Sports and discovery+ pic.twitter.com/ZiH9yxoNhs

— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) November 21, 2025

Australia’s selection committee has decided to drop their young opening batter, Sam Konstas, for the opening Ashes 2025/26 Test against England at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Tasmania opener Jake Weatherald was handed his first international call-up in the 15-member squad, as Manus Labuschagne, dropped from the Caribbean series, is set to be recalled to the XI having made a stunning start in the domestic season for Queensland. 

Jake Weatherald had earned his place after scoring 1391 runs at an average of 53.50 at a strike rate of 68.65 opening the batting for Tasmania and the Australia A in the last 14 months. Cameron Green and fellow all-rounder, Beau Webster, have been named in the squad although it remains to be seen whether both will be part of the same eleven.

See Also: [WATCH] Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates century in Ranji Trophy 2025-26 ahead of home Test series against South Africa

“I don't think there's any one innings, but there's been a good consistency, I think, in the way that he approaches his batting. I think he's in a really clear place. We don't see any sort of shifting innings to innings from the way he goes about it. So that says to me that he's someone who has a clear understanding of the way they want to play.” Austraia’s chairman of selectors, George Bailey, expressed.

Steve Smith to lead Australia in opening Ashes 2025/26 Test un Perth

Steve Smith will lead the side in the absence of Pat Cummins, who has been battling with a lumbar stress injury but will continue to train with the national side in Perth. Usman Khawaja is the only one of the squad who won’t play the upcoming Shield round. His adductor strain has made him a doubt for the opener.

Josh Inglis has been included as the reserve wicket-keeper and can also fill the role of the reserve batter having played as a specialist bat in three Tests this year. He will play in the fourth Shield game for WA against Queensland at the WACA from November 11.

Australia’s squad for first Ashes 2025/26 Test in Perth

Steven Smith (captain), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

Cricket Australia (CA) has officially announced the captain's name for the first fixture of the Ashes 2025-26 against England after confirming that the regular captain Pat Cummins will be unavailable for the selection for the five-match Test series opener. 

Pat Cummins is currently recovering from a back injury. After returning from the West Indies tour, Cummins had a complaint of discomfort as he was diagnosed with a lumbar stress injury last September. As time progresses, it is expected that Cummins may miss the Ashes 2025-26 opener, which the Perth Stadium will host from November 24.  

See Also: "Deserved more..."- Karun Nair slams Ajit Agarkar after century in Ranji Trophy 2025-26

We've run out of time: Head Coach about Pat Cummins' return for the first Test of Ashes 2025-26

The Australian head coach Andrew McDonald has admitted that they have run out of time, as Pat Cummins can't be match fit for the Ashes 2025-26 opener. McDonald is hopeful of Cummins' return to the second Test, which will be a pink-ball day/night Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, starting on December 4.

McDonald told reporters, "We've grappled with it for a little while. The nature of the injury is that you never know and you're sort of taking it a day by day. We've run out of time. We flagged this a week or so ago that it will take four-plus weeks to get him up and running. We've run out of time unfortunately, but really optimistic and hopeful for the second Test match."

McDonald also confirmed that Pat Cummins will return to bowling this week, which will be a massive step in his recovery. 

The head coach added, "He'll be back bowling this week, and that's a huge step. That was the big variable that we wanted to add in. We're on the journey to that second Test match, and very hopeful that that will be a positive outcome."

Steven Smith will lead Australia for first Test of Ashes 2025-26

In the absence of the regular skipper Pat Cummins, former Aussie skipper Steven Smith will take charge of the Test side for the first Test of the Ashes 2025-26. While Smith has led the Baggy Greens 40 times in Test cricket, they won 23 Tests, lost seven times, and drew 10 times. He previously led the team during Australia's two-match Test series against the hosts Sri Lanka last January-February. Smith has led Australia in six matches of the Ashes, all in Australia, where his team won five times and drew once. 

England are desperate to end their wait for a Test win in Australia, as they last won a Test match in Australia in January 2011 at Sydney, where they won their last Ashes series in Australia by a 3-1 margin.  

Southern Brave have secured three victories and currently finished at the fifth position in the points table with 12 points, while Welsh Fire have won only two matches and currently finished at the bottom of the points table. Both sides have already been knocked out of the competition and will simply want to finish their campaign with some pride. Southern Brave have got the better of Welsh Fire historically and haven’t lost to them in their past six previous meetings. 

SOB vs WEF Match Details

Date: 28th August, 2025

Time: 11:00 PM IST

Venue: The Rose Bowl, Southampton 

Live Streaming: Fancode  

SOB vs WEF Weather Report

Clear weather 

Also Read: The Hundred Women 2025: SOB-W vs WEF-W Prediction– Match 32, Who will win today?

Top Batters SOB vs WEF

• Jonny Bairstow (WEF) - 243 runs in this tournament 

• Leus du Plooy (SOB) - 150 runs in this tournament 

• Steve Smith (WEF) - 133 runs this tournament 

Top Bowler SOB vs WEF

• Chris Green (WEF) - 11 wickets in this tournament

• Riley Meredith (WEF)  - 10 wickets in this tournament 

• Jofra Archer (SOB) - 8 wickets in this tournament 

SOB vs WEF Recent Performance

SOB vs WEF Today Match Prediction Scenarios

Scenario 1- If SOB bats first

• First Innings score prediction- SOB is expected to score 160-175 runs

• Result prediction- SOB will win the match by 15-25 Runs 

Scenario 2- If WEF bats first

• First Innings score prediction- WEF is expected to score 130-140 runs.

• Result prediction- SOB will win the match by 4 wickets 

SOB vs WEF Predicted Playing XI

Southern Brave (SOB) Playing XI 

James Vince (c), Leus du Plooy, Jason Roy, James Coles, Laurie Evans (wk), Michael Bracewell, Hilton Cartwright, Jordan Thompson, Craig Overton, Jofra Archer, Reece Topley.

Welsh Fire (WEF) Playing XI

Stephen Eskinazi, Steven Smith, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Tom Abell (c), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Ben Kellaway, Saif Zaib, Chris Green, David Payne, Josh Hull/ Matt Henry, Riley Meredith.

SOB vs WEF Complete Squad

Southern Brave - 

Jofra Archer, Michael Bracewell, James Vince, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Leus Du Plooy, Laurie Evans, Craig Overton, Reece Topley, Finn Allen, Jordan Thompson, Danny Briggs, James Coles, Jason Roy, Tory Albert, Hilton Cartwright.

Welsh Fire -

Jonny Bairstow(WK), David Payne, Luke Wells, Stephen Eskinazi, Tom Abell(C), Matt Henry, Tom Kohler Cadmore(WK), Mason Crane, Chris Green, Paul Walter, Benjamin Kellaway, Steven Smith, Saif Zaib, Riley Meredith, Josh Hull, Ajeet Dale.

SOB vs WEF Today Match Prediction, Who Will Win the Match?

Southern Brave To win

We predict that Southern Brave will win this Hundred Men's match. James Vince, Leus du Plooy and Jason Roy will be key players to watch out for.

Steven Smith opened up about his back problem after a fine injury-returning knock of 71 runs in the second innings of the second Grenada Test against the West Indies. He didn’t participate in the first game of the series in Barbados after getting ruled out of the finger injury that he picked up at Lord’s during the WTC 2023-25 final against South Africa.

The former Australia captain reckoned that he was trying to bat on the middle stump and jam down the bat for the deliveries that kept low. He addressed that when the bounce wasn’t consistent, he could not trust the balls in the stump-line.

SEE ALSO: WTC Final Stars and Nissanka Nominated for ICC Player of the Month – June 2025

“When I go across my stumps normally, that's when the bounce is pretty consistent and I can trust the balls aren't going to shoot (low). When the balls are shooting, I want to try and keep my bat as straight as possible and access that one as much as you can when it stays low.” The veteran expressed, as quoted by Cricket.com.au.

Steven Smith opens up on T20 fix to solve injured finger

It was an unfamiliar challenge for the experienced campaigner to bat wearing a splint on his right little finger after dislocation. He revealed that after the end of the game, the splint promoted another change, switching his T20 grip in Grenada. He was forced to use his top hand more than usual due to the heavy strapping.

“It was a little bit different (from normal) because I can't bend it really, it's stuck straight almost. But I felt good out there; I had to change a couple of things with my grip going from first innings to second innings with my finger, and it took me a little while to just get my placement.” Smith revealed. Reaching the half-century from 79 balls and finishing with a strike rate of nearly 60, the right-handed batter celebrated his sixth fastest innings of 50 or better since Jun 2020.

It will be incredibly important for him to continue the purple patch, with the top order lacking runs in a year of the home Ashes three months later. The third Jamaica Test of the series will be a new challenge for the star batter. It will also be Australia’s first day-night red-ball fixture abroad as the pink Dukes ball will have more challenge than the Kookaburra they use in the home Test matches. But he should be confident, having scored 199 in the first innings of the Test at that venue during the 2015 trip.

Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald is confident that star batter Steve Smith will be ready to play the second Test against the West Indies, starting on July 3. Smith missed the first match after hurting his finger in the World Test Championship Final against South Africa at Lord’s.

But he’s healing well and is already back to batting practice in New York. Captain Pat Cummins shared this good news, and McDonald also said Smith is likely to play. McDonald made it clear that Smith will bat at number four, and the rest of the batting line-up will be arranged around him.

THE RETURN OF STEVE SMITH ⏳

- Steve Smith is likely to play in the 2nd Test against West Indies. pic.twitter.com/cPmxnZM9uA

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 2, 2025

“We’re happy with him at number four. He’s been really good there over the last year. He can bat higher if we need, but at four he gives us stability. He’s one of our best ever batters, so we want to keep things settled around him,” McDonald said.

ALSO READ: Asia Cup 2025 likely to begin in September in UAE with India vs Pakistan clash on September 7

In Smith’s absence, Josh Inglis filled in at number four in the first Test but didn’t do well, scoring only 5 and 12. Australia also left out Marnus Labuschagne after his struggles as an opener in the WTC Final. If Smith is fit, Inglis is expected to make way so that Australia can try to win the series at the National Cricket Stadium in St George’s, Grenada.

 Australia Playing XI

Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Steven Smith, Australia's batting wizard, had the press room in stitches as he took a moment to provide a funny and honest reflection on being dismissed on Day 1 of the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) Final against South Africa. After hitting a couple of boundaries against South Africa's part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram, Smith nicked one down the slope, which he says he is still trying to get his head around. When a reporter asked about lessons learned for the second innings, Smith's response was utterly Smith—witty, considered, and refreshingly human.

‎ "Don't nick the part-time off-spinner," Smith said, laughing and shaking his head again in disbelief at how he had been dismissed. "I don't know, down the slope, still trying to work how I've done that. But yeah, don't do that." His light-hearted view of the incident displayed Smith's ability to laugh at himself as he stood in front of the media and high stakes of a WTC Final. Smith is famous for finding a balance between humour and technical tips, and this press conference was no exception.

‎‎Looking ahead to the pitch for Day 2 Smith also provided a measured assessment: dry with different variable bounce. "Just play what is in front of us," he added and mentioned the key is to be adaptable. He thought that spin would become into play as the game moves on and the seam would eventually disappear. His analysis outlines the tactical astuteness that contributes to his status as one of the sharpest minds in cricket. 

Read More:  SA vs AUS WTC Final 2025 Day 1 Recap – Key performances and major highlights 

‎A Plan For Day Two

‎It wasn't long until Smith was focused on what Australia needed to do in their first session of the day. "Hopefully we can get a few early ones in the morning and sort of go through them," he said while outlining the ambition to attempt to dismantle South Africa's batting with a goal of a lead. The characteristics of the pitch having a variable bounce and seam movement was already been evident on day one and maybe a factor that could work in Australia's favour.

‎For Smith, batting in the second innings is an opportunity to redeem his earlier mistake. With his characteristic grit and a touch of humour, he aims to be the focal point of Australia's batting and lead them to victory in this riveting WTC Final.