Perth: Farmer's son Bradley Hogg sent England toppling to a morale-shattering 61-run defeat in its opening Ashes series tour match on Tuesday.

Under a blistering sun - the temperature topped 31 degrees Celsius - Hogg rattled the tourists with his left-arm spinners, snapping up a dazzling 5-33 from 8.5 overs for the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) Chairman's XI at Lilac Hill Park, Caversham.

A capacity crowd of 11,000 watched the Chairman's X1 coast home in a match the tourists were desperate to win to set their Ashes-seeking campaign on track.

England folded in the heat to be all out for 243 in 48.5 overs after it had sent the home team in and seen it slam a carefree 304 from its 50 overs. The Chairman's XI was a weakened Western Australia Sheffield Shield side, with the addition of former Test stars David Hookes and Wayne Clark - both nearing 50.

England's batting did not recover from the early loss of opener Marcus Trescothick (3) and Mark Butcher (0) as the score skidded to 2-11 in the third over.

Robert Key (68 from 71 balls, with 10 fours) and skipper Nasser Hussain (65 from 61 deliveries, with 11 boundaries) both shone before being dismissed when in full flight.

Former England captain Alec Stewart, back on the ground where he played eight seasons' cricket before gaining international status, and John Crawley showed promise in the middle order before also falling.

Stewart made 35 from 46 balls and Crawley 26 from 78. In the Chairman's XI's innings, the England bowlers were punished savagely by Kade Harvey, a 27-year-old right-hander unable to capture a regular place in the Western Australian side.

Harvey hammered 114 from only 88 balls, slamming six mighty sixes and 10 fours. He was well supported by captain Michael Hussey, whose 69 came from 95 balls, with seven sparkling boundaries.

Left-arm spinner Ashley Giles captured bowling honours for England, claiming 3-59 from 10 overs. Young paceman Simon Jones also showed promise, with 2-50 from eight overs.

Copyright AFP 2001