Mitchell Starc produced a fiery spell of fast bowling to rip through England, taking 7-58 as the visitors were bowled out for just 172 on day one of the first Ashes Test against Australia at Perth Stadium on Friday.
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Batting after captain Ben Stokes won the toss, England struggled to handle the 35-year-old veteran, with only Harry Brook (52) and Ollie Pope (46) offering resistance. Starc’s devastating performance came off just 12.5 overs, with debutant Brendan Doggett chipping in with 2-27.
Starc struck early, removing Joe Root for a duck and sending Zak Crawley back to the pavilion in the first over. Ben Duckett managed a brief counterattack, scoring 21 before falling lbw to Starc, leaving England reeling at 33-2.
Root’s much-anticipated innings ended after just seven balls, edging a delivery to Marnus Labuschagne at third slip. Pope held firm briefly before falling lbw to Cameron Green, taking England to 105-4 at lunch.
After the interval, Brook’s fearless approach yielded a quick fifty off 58 balls before he edged a short ball to Alex Carey, giving Doggett his maiden Test wicket. Starc then removed Gus Atkinson to claim his 17th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The pair of Australian pacers wrapped up the tail with ease, leaving England in deep trouble.
England, who have not won an Ashes series in Australia for 15 years, had opted for an all-pace attack, featuring debutant spinner Shoaib Bashir as their only variation. With Starc in imperious form, Australia left the visitors with a huge task ahead on the second day.
