Mitchell Starc. (Photo: X/@cricketcomau)
Mitchell Starc delivered a career-best performance to help Australia bundle out England in the first innings of the opening Ashes Test at Optus Stadium. With key bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood unavailable, the 35-year-old left-arm pacer stepped up when his team needed him most, finishing with remarkable figures of 7/58.
Starc dismissed Zak Crawley for a duck in the morning session. He continued his onslaught, claiming the wickets of Ben Duckett (21) and Joe Root (0), reducing England to four down by the lunch break.
He then clean-bowled England captain Ben Stokes (6) and then ran through the remaining tail, taking the scalps of Gus Atkinson (1), Jamie Smith (33), and Mark Wood (0).
For England, Harry Brook top-scored with a resilient 52, supported by Ollie Pope’s 46, but the rest of the batting lineup crumbled under Starc’s relentless pace and precision.
Starc’s 7/58 is now the best individual bowling figure at Perth Stadium. It is also only the second seven-wicket haul by an Australian in home Ashes Tests in the 21st century. He is the first Australian bowler since Craig McDermott in the 1990-91 Ashes to claim seven wickets on the opening day of an Ashes Test in Australia, with McDermott taking eight at the WACA.
The left-armer has now reached a milestone of 100 Ashes wickets, achieving this at a strike rate of 44.9, the lowest in the history of the series, surpassing even Glenn McGrath, who took 157 wickets at a strike rate of 46.3.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan did not hold back in his criticism, targeting both England’s batting and their aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach. Speaking on Fox Cricket, Vaughan said, “Poor batting. The way the last few wickets fell-really poor. You’ve got to question Bazball and its brain.”
Also Read: England vs Australia: Why Are Pat Cummins And Josh Hazlewood Not Playing The First Ashes Test?
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
The Gabba audience was completely taken by surprise when Marnus Labuschagne performed a spectacular full…
Shakti Dubey topped the UPSC 2024 exam by securing AIR 1 in her fifth attempt,…
From Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Amit Mishra, here we take a look at the fastest Indian…
