Close Western Australia 3 for 0 trail England 221 (Caddick 62*, Thorp 4-58) by 218 runs
Scorecard

England's stumbling start to their Ashes tour continued on a tortuous first day at the WACA. Put in to bat in their two-day match against a Western Australian side lacking eight regulars, they blundered to 221 all out just before the close, which WA reached on 3 for 0.

It could have been a lot worse: Andy Caddick, who top-scored with a lusty unbeaten 62, and Matthew Hoggard (33) added 79 for the ninth wicket after England had slipped to a desperate 126 for 8.

The chief nemesis was the 27-year-old medium-pacer Callum Thorp, a former window cleaner who hasn't even played a first-class match yet. He took four wickets, including the first three as England struggled from the start on a lively surface.

Robert Key was lbw to a Thorp inswinger in the second over of the day having made just 4 (4 for 1), and after labouring over a 33-ball 7, Mark Butcher drove a return catch to Thorp (32 for 2). After nine runs in five innings before the first Test on his last Ashes tour, Butcher - who made a duck in the defeat to the ACB Chairman's XI on Tuesday - has not made the best start here either.

Nasser Hussain was next to go, caught behind for 1 as he drove loosely outside off stump. The bowler, Thorp, was not impressed: "If I had played a shot like that in a club game, my captain would have had a quiet word in my ear in the change-rooms at the end of the day's play," he said. "But these things happen."

When John Crawley followed for a duck soon after, pushing tentatively outside off stump at Michael Clark, things were getting messy at 48 for 4. Marcus Trescothick and Alec Stewart steadied things a little, but shortly after lunch Trescothick went for 48, caught at slip by Mike Hussey off Paul Wilson (89 for 5).

England's two wicketkeepers, Stewart and James Foster - who is playing here as a batsman - dug in during a sixth-wicket partnership of 23 in 15 overs, before Stewart (42) popped a catch to the wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi off Clark.

Then came the nadir. The ball hardly made it off the square as Foster and Ashley Giles added four runs in 7.4 buttock-clenching overs, before Foster's grim innings of 11 off 71 balls ended when he was bowled by Beau Casson.

Giles was then caught down the leg side off the last ball before tea - in the afternoon session, England managed only 47 runs in 30.4 overs - but Caddick clouted eight fours and a six as Hoggard accumulated sensibly at the other end.

They looked likely to bat out the day when Hoggard played round a straight one from Wilson, who wrapped things up when Steve Harmison edged to point. Caddick was left high and dry, but England will be in a far worse predicament if they rely on the tail for runs again when the serious business starts.

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