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Australia's Test players have inspected the Optus Stadium pitch for the first time ahead of the first Ashes Test against England, scheduled to begin on Friday in Perth.
Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith and wicketkeeper Alex Carey were seen examining the Perth pitch on Monday morning, as per The Sydney Morning Herald. Smith will lead the Aussies with designated captain Pat Cummins ruled out of the fixture due to the lumbar stress injury he sustained in September. With four days still to go for the first ball of the Ashes opener, the pitch has a noticeable green tinge and an even grass cover. Yet, with Perth's temperatures expected to exceed 30 degrees Celsius over the next couple of days, the surface will likely dry out as the week progresses. Former Australia Test captain Greg Chappell wrote in his column for The Sydney Morning Herald that Australia should prepare for a Perth surface that "boasts a reputation built on sheer pace and bounce". "The strip here is pure energy, where the ball flies with a velocity unmatched anywhere else," Chappell wrote. Notably, the Australians had a tough time the last time they played a Test match on the pitch at the Optus Stadium, last year. Australia, led by Pat Cummins, faced a mammoth 295-run defeat against India in the first Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The match saw the Australian batting lineup struggle big time while Indian batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli scored sublime centuries. Australia will hold their first training session on Monday afternoon after arriving in Perth on Sunday. Meanwhile, England's squad has been given a day off following last week's practice match against the Lions at Lilac Hill. Notably, England will enter the series with a forgettable 13-0 record against the Aussies down under since their last win back in 2010/11. Led by Ben Stokes, they will look to break the record against an experienced Australian lineup. The Ashes 2025-26 squads Australia squad (first Test): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood. (ANI)
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