England star reveals Ben Stokes’ message to bowlers that inspired Ashes fightback

1. Sport
2. Cricket

England looked to be struggling after being bowled out for 172, but they came firing back to reduce Australia to 123-9 on the opening day of the first Ashes Test

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The opening day of the Ashes series delivered an astonishing spectacle, with England pace bowler Brydon Carse encapsulating the sentiment of cricket fans worldwide by describing the action as "awesome".

A remarkable 19 wickets tumbled, leaving both sides with moments of dominance and despair in a thrilling start to the contest.

Australia initially revelled in their early success, with Mitchell Starc tearing through England's batting line-up to claim seven wickets.

The tourists were dismissed for a modest 172, collapsing from 160-6 to all out in just three overs of ragged batting. However, England’s five-man pace attack swiftly hit back, leaving Australia reeling at 123-9 by the close of play.

"What a day. Everyone who came to watch got value for money with 19 wickets. It was brilliant. The atmosphere was electric; the energy right through the day was awesome," Carse remarked, having himself dismissed Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith in a fiery spell.

He added, "Fantastic last session from everyone and it’s put us in a good position going into tomorrow."

Despite their batting struggles, England’s spirits remained high in front of a raucous crowd, buoyed by approximately 10,000 visiting fans. Captain Ben Stokes’s message to his bowlers was clear and simple.

"Stokesy kept it really simple and just told the bowlers to give everything," Carse explained. "I thought the way Gus Atkinson and Jofra (Archer) started was phenomenal."

Carse played a crucial role in Stokes’s five-wicket haul, taking three catches. He lauded his captain’s impact: "He's amazing. His character, his resilience... it's everything this team strives to be and that was a game-changing spell."

Referencing a previous comment from teammate Ben Duckett, Carse added, "As Ducky (Ben Duckett) said a couple of weeks ago, he's in Beast Mode at the moment. Hopefully that pays off for him throughout the series."

Reflecting on his own performance, which included the vital wicket of stand-in captain Smith, Carse noted, "There's enough assistance there with the pace and the bounce and I was trying to hit the wicket as hard as I could throughout the day.

“There were a couple of balls I was delighted with. It's always nice to get one of the best players in the world out."

The dramatic day, which saw the most wickets fall in an Ashes match since 1909, prompted former England captain Michael Vaughan to tell the BBC: "I think we all need to lie down. With these contests, there's a massive build up and sometimes it doesn't quite live up to the hype - that was not the case today."

Vaughan praised England’s bowling effort: "The (England) bowlers had to get the batters out of trouble. England had an attack today where all five quick bowlers bowled with skill, pace - they were intimidating.

“Those first overs from Archer and Atkinson was some of the best bowling I've seen from England in a while."

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