‘Loved it from start to finish’: Michael Vaughan gives his verdict after 19 wickets fall on Day 1 of first Australia versus England 2025-26 Ashes Test

“Test cricket is great, but no other series feels like this. It felt like a huge event, with so many travelling England fans and amazing home support too. I have been involved in the Ashes for a long time, and I cannot remember an opening day with the energy and excitement of this one. I loved it from start to finish.”

“From the moment they took the field in the afternoon session, England had a remarkable day. There is a long way to go in this match, and even further in this series. They are on top right now, but the Ashes are not won on the opening day. Far from it, and they need to keep their heads,” he wrote in his column for “The Telegraph”.

Vaughan further wrote that England should not allow Australia to get back into the game from the position they find themselves in after the first day.

“England must not allow Australia an opportunity to glue those cracks back together. They have to keep making them wider until Australia are forced to make changes. Last year India won in Perth but Australia, impressively, stayed really calm and bounced back to win the series,” he added.

The 2005 Ashes-winning captain also said that Australia have not had a lot of success against playing top-quality fast bowling, as was evident when Jasprit Bumrah had a series for the ages in the previous summer.

“Australia have a long-running problem facing proper quick bowling. They have not had much success against it. Jasprit Bumrah caused them all sorts of trouble last year, and you even look back at Shamar Joseph a couple of years ago. None of my Australian colleagues were surprised by how they batted. The signs have been there that when they come up against quick bowling on a surface with a bit in it, they will struggle,” he wrote.