• Steve Smith will captain Australia in Perth as regular skipper Pat Cummins is recovering from a back injury

• England have lost their last three Ashes series in Australia by 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0 scorelines

• Recommended bet: Zak Crawley to score a first-innings half-century

England have been planning for the 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia ever since captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took charge of the Test team in 2022.

The wait is almost over as the five-Test series starts in Perth, early on Friday morning UK time, and England should have Stokes and key fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood fit and firing.

Australia, in contrast, have an injury-hit pace attack but they are captained by Ashes legend Steve Smith and have not lost a home Test against England since January 2011.

Team news

Australia are missing injured fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood so Scott Boland and debutant Brendan Doggett should play in Perth.

Opener Jake Weatherald is also hoping to win his first Test cap although the Aussies could open with Marnus Labuschagne with Cameron Green batting at number three and Beau Webster at six.

England paceman Mark Wood has been cleared to play after undergoing a scan on a tight hamstring.

Ollie Pope's scores of 100 and 90 in the warm-up match against England Lions mean he should be preferred to Jacob Bethell at number three.

The latest Australia vs England 1st Test odds are available on LiveScore Bet

The stats

Australia have won 13 and drawn two of their last 15 home Tests against England.

Steve Smith scored 118, 57 and 56 not out in three Sheffield Shield innings for New South Wales this season.

Australia opener Usman Khawaja has reached 50 only twice in his last 18 home Test innings.

England's Harry Brook has a batting average of 80 after his first 11 away Test matches.

Mark Wood took 17 wickets in four matches during the 2021-22 Ashes series in Australia.

England's batsmen have scored at 4.56 runs per over in the 'Bazball' era, compared with their overall Test rate of 2.8.

Prediction

England's tours of Australia usually begin at the Gabba in Brisbane but Perth's Optus Stadium will stage its first Ashes Test this week.

Perth tends to produce the fastest pitches in Australia so England will be tempted to unleash speedsters Archer and Wood as they bid for a first Test victory down under since their 2010-11 Ashes triumph.

The extra bounce in Australia is a challenge for visiting batsmen but England opener Crawley is equipped to prosper in Perth.

Crawley famously slammed the first ball of the 2023 home series against Australia through the covers for four although England had to fight back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw.

The Aussies were saved by the rain in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, where Crawley's imperious 189 off 182 balls had put England in a dominant position.

He followed up with scores of 22 and 73 in England's victory at The Oval and warmed up for the first Test of the 2025-26 series by scoring 82 against England Lions last week.

Crawley has already had a taste of Ashes cricket in Australia, making 77, 18 and 36 in his final three innings on the harrowing 2021-22 tour.

Stokes and McCullum have shown great faith in Crawley, whose height and decisive attacking strokeplay should help him score quickly in Australia, and the opener is worth backing to post a first-innings 50 in Perth.

Back Zak Crawley to score a first-innings half-century, available at 7/4 with LiveScore Bet

The latest Australia vs England 1st Test odds are available on LiveScore Bet