Chris Tremlett repaid the faith showed in him by the England selectors with three key wickets on day one of the third Ashes Test on Thursday.

Picked ahead Ajmal Shahzad and Tim Bresnan to replace the injured Stuart Broad, the towering right-armer removed Phil Hughes, Michael Clarke and Steven Smith as the Australians slumped to 268 all out in Perth.

While opener Hughes fell to a full, swinging delivery, right-handers Clarke and Smith were unable to successfully see off some steepling lift and slight away-swing in edging through to wicketkeeper Matt Prior and slip fielder Andrew Strauss respectively.

The towering fast bowler benefited from plenty of bounce and carry on offer in the WACA pitch and complemented senior seamer James Anderson, who finished with figures of three for 61, to perfection in routing the hosts.

"It has been a great day for England. I was lucky to get the nod and the wicket seemed to suit my attributes," enthused Tremlett after his three for 63.

"I have had to wait a couple of years for my chance and it's great to come back and make a contribution. I got told I was playing on Wedenssday, so it was a nervous night's sleep, but I woke up full of confidence and tried to enjoy it and it was a great day for me."

Given the new ball alongside Anderson ahead of Steven Finn, the 29-year-old Surrey star was pleased to shake off a nervy start and cash in on captain Strauss' decision to bowl first after winning the toss.

"There were a few butterflies on the first ball, but I got the first over out of the way, got a wicket and took confidence from there," he added. "Perth is renowned for its bounce and the conditions were in my favour.

"There was no extra pressure form bowling first. We had our plans, didn't try to force wickets and we made the most of the wicket nipping around early on. We toiled away pretty well and we're very happy to bowl them out for what we did."

Tremlett looked forward to a couple of days rest as England's batsmen built on their reply, currently sitting at 29 without loss, across Friday and perhaps the bulk of Saturday.

"The side is winning and it is an easy set-up to come in to. I haven't bowled 23 overs in a day for a while but the body feels good and ready to go again, hopefully in a couple of days' time," concluded Tremlett, who prior to this match hadn't played a Test since 2007.