Australia on the front foot in final Ashes test
Australia's tail again frustrated England as Ben Stokes' six-wicket haul could not prevent the hosts racking up 326 on the opening day of the final Ashes Test in Sydney.
Stokes (6-99) starred with the ball as the Aussies slumped to 97-5 but a century from Steve Smith and another impressive 75 from wicketkeeper Brad Haddin rescued Michael Clarke's men.
England, who had seen Warwickshire's Boyd Rankin twice limp off injured on his Test debut, then lost Michael Carberry, caught at leg slip off Mitchell Johnson during a tricky 25 minutes of batting, as the tourists ended day one 8-1.
After captain Alastair Cook had won the toss and chosen to bowl first, England's pace attack had seen off the Aussie top order when Haddin strode to the crease at number seven to join Smith.
But in 27 overs, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman transformed proceedings by dominating a stand of 128 to continue the trend of lower-order Aussie fightbacks.
Haddin made it a full house of half-centuries or better in the first innings of each Test – a unique feat, in a five-match series – before he pushed loosely forward outside off-stump at Stokes and edged to slip.
Smith proceeded to a chanceless 142-ball century on his home ground and another half-century stand followed with Ryan Harris in only six overs as Australia kept attacking opponents whose bowling resources were already severely depleted.
England, who picked three debutants for the first time in more than eight years, were minus one after fast bowler Rankin twice limped out of the attack mid-over with a hamstring injury.
Another, leg-spinner Scott Borthwick, was hauled off after his first three overs cost 21 runs against Haddin and Smith in full cry – but he did return to snare Johnson as his maiden Test wicket, caught by substitute fielder Joe Root under a skier at long on.
By then, much damage had been done to England's aspirations – and even after Stokes took three wickets in an over, with Smith last out caught at mid on, Australia were still in charge.
Stokes struck twice, and Stuart Broad and James Anderson once each, in the morning after Cook gambled on initial cloud cover to help his seamers cash in on a green tinge in the pitch.
Broad then saw off George Bailey cheaply just after lunch, at the height of what was to prove another false dawn.
On which feat Stokes was most proud of, the six-wicket haul or the century he scored in Perth, the England man said: "I think it was the hundred.
"I don't know why, I don't know if I can put my finger on it, but looking back it was the hundred."
