PERTH — In the furnace of the WACA, where Ashes legends are forged and dreams incinerated, England’s hopes of a triumphant start to their 2021/22 campaign were not lost in a day, but in a devastating, self-inflicted half-hour. The first Test in Perth will be remembered for many things: the sheer pace of the Australian attack, the stoic brilliance of a battling Malan, the raw emotion of a series steeped in history. But for England, it will forever be defined by 'The Collapse' – an inexcusable 30-minute period of batting that handed Australia an initiative they would never relinquish.
Arriving in Australia, England’s strategy was clear: bat big, bat long, and grind the home attack into the dust. For much of the first two days, they executed this plan with admirable discipline. Joe Root and Dawid Malan had constructed a magnificent, series-defining partnership, navigating the threat of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood with a blend of grit and grace. At 150/2 in reply to Australia’s 268, England were in the ascendancy, the scoreboard reading a commanding 150/2. The foundation for a significant first-innings lead was firmly in place. Then, calamity.
The Point of No Return
The dismissal of Joe Root for 89, caught behind off a jaffa from Cameron Green, was the trigger. It was a good ball, but the manner of what followed was a stark departure from the professionalism that had preceded it. The floodgates, once ajar, were blown from their hinges. What unfolded was a masterclass in how to lose a Test match in the blink of an eye. The middle and lower order, faced with a still-hardening ball and refreshed bowlers, capitulated in a manner that defied belief.
The sequence of wickets was a horror show for English supporters:
- Ollie Pope (4): Pushing tentatively at a Starc delivery he could have left, edging to second slip.
- Jos Buttler (0): A golden duck, clean bowled by a Starc yorker that he misread completely.
- Chris Woakes (0): Another duck, fending a vicious short ball from Cummins to short leg.
- Ollie Robinson (1) and Stuart Broad (0): Succumbing to the relentless pressure, the innings folded for 297.
A Psychological Wound
The damage was not merely statistical; it was psychological. The collapse handed Australia a momentum swing of seismic proportions. Former England captain Michael Vaughan did not mince his words in commentary, stating, "That was simply inexcusable from England's middle order. You can't come to Australia, get yourself into a position of strength, and then gift-wrap the initiative back to them. It’s a mental frailty that has haunted this team abroad."
The Australian bowlers, sensing blood, were magnificent. Pat Cummins’s post-day analysis was typically understated but cutting: "We knew if we stuck to our plans, stayed patient, we'd get our chances. The key was taking them when they came." England, it seemed, were all too willing to provide those chances.
The Ripple Effect
The consequences of that 30-minute implosion rippled through the remainder of the Test. With their tails up, Australia’s second innings was a brutal exhibition of scoreboard pressure. England’s bowlers, demoralized and fatigued from a shorter-than-expected rest, were put to the sword. The psychological blow was evident in the field, where dropped catches and misfields crept in, opportunities that a confident team would have seized.
The Missed Opportunities
Beyond the collapse itself, the match was littered with moments that highlighted the fine margins of Test cricket. England had chances to wrestle back control but failed to grasp them. A crucial dropped catch off Steve Smith when he was on 20 proved catastrophic, as he went on to make a match-defining 93. Furthermore, England’s bowling attack, while disciplined, lacked the express pace of the Australian trio to consistently trouble batters on a Perth pitch that offered true bounce and carry. This allowed Australian lower-order batters like Alex Carey to add invaluable runs, extending the target to a daunting 388.
An Inevitable Defeat
Faced with a Herculean task in the fourth innings, England’s batting never truly recovered its nerve. The scars of the first innings were visible. Wickets fell at regular intervals, with only a defiant Dawid Malan offering prolonged resistance. The final margin of defeat – 109 runs – flattered England. The match was lost in that first-innings capitulation. As coach Chris Silverwood somberly admitted in the post-match press conference, "We had a golden opportunity to put our foot on the throat and we didn't take it. We have to be better. We have to be tougher mentally."
The 'Inexcusable' nature of the collapse lies not in the fact that England lost wickets to a world-class attack, but in the manner of the dismissals. It was a failure of game management, of situational awareness, and of the basic tenet of Test match batting: value your wicket. In the cauldron of an Ashes series, such lapses are not just errors; they are sins.
A Lesson for the Series
The first Test in Perth served as a brutal reminder of the demands of Ashes cricket. Australia, ruthless and efficient, pounced on the slightest hint of weakness. England, for all their preparation and promise, revealed a fragility that would go on to define the series. That 30-minute period became the anchor around their necks, a psychological burden they never fully shook off. It was a lesson paid for in the harshest currency: the loss of an Ashes Test on Australian soil. The question that lingered, as the teams headed to Adelaide, was whether England had the fortitude to learn from it, or if the ghosts of Perth would follow them for the remainder of the tour.