Ben Stokes has won the toss and decided to bat first against Australia in the series opener of the Ashes 2025-26.

“We will bat first. Trying to get some runs on the board. We haven’t played for some time. We are clear about what we want to achieve in Australia. The fast bowlers are raring to go,” Ben Stokes said.

Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith would have batted first as well.

“We would have batted first as well. The ball will seam, and the cracks will come into play. We will have to pitch the ball in the right areas. Scott Boland has been amazing for us, and hopefully, he will come good in the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

Playing XIs

Australia: 1 Jake Weatherald, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Travis Head, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Lyon, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Brendan Doggett

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Jofra Archer

Toss Result Today Australia vs England 1st Test

Q1: Who won the toss today in Australia vs England 1st Test?

England won the toss and chose to bat first.

Q2: What was the toss time today?

The toss was held at 7:20 am IST/9:50 am local

Q3: Why did the captain choose to bowl first?

Ben Stokes aims to capitalise on the favourable batting conditions.

Q4: Where is today’s match being played?

Optus Stadium, Perth