Ashes 2025-26: Mitchell Starc unleashes his beast side with 7-wicket haul against England; innings wrapped up at 172 runs

Mitchell Starc delivered a devastating seven-wicket haul on day one of the Ashes 2025-26 opener in Perth, becoming the first left-arm fast bowler to reach 100 Ashes wickets. His fiery spell saw England bowled out for 172, setting Australia up for a dominant start to the series.

Ashes 2025-26 was off to fiery start, courtesy Mitchell Starc.

Australia's pace spearhead on Friday produced one of the most devastating spells on day one of the Ashes opener in Perth, ripping through England with a seven-wicket haul and becoming the first left-arm fast bowler in history to reach 100 wickets in Ashes cricket.

England were bowled out for 172 in just 32.5 overs before Australia began their reply at Optus Stadium, which was filled with 43,591 cricket fans.

Starc struck immediately, removing Zak Crawley for a duck in the first over to set the tone. Bowling at high pace and generating sharp movement, he neutralised England's plans early and continued to dominate through the innings. His wickets included Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood, finishing with figures of 12.5-4-58-7, his best Ashes return.The milestone 100th wicket came during this spell, making him the 21st bowler overall to enter the elite club. His strike rate of 45.03 remains the best among all bowlers with 100 or more Ashes wickets.

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Starc now has 100 wickets from 23 Ashes Tests at an average of 26.77, including four four-wicket hauls and four five-wicket hauls.

England, who chose to bat first, struggled to build partnerships. Duckett's 21, Pope's 46 and Brook's 52 were the only notable contributions as regular breakthroughs from Starc, Scott Boland and Brendan Doggett kept the visitors under pressure. England collapsed from 160/6 to 172 all out, losing their last four wickets for 12 runs.

Starc's spell overshadowed everything else in the innings, reaffirming his status as one of the fiercest Ashes bowlers of his generation. His 100-wicket landmark also puts him in the company of Ashes greats like Shane Warne (195), Glenn McGrath (157) and Stuart Broad (153).

Australia closed at 0/1 in their first innings, trailing by 172 runs, with the match firmly in their control after a dominant opening day.

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Source: EconomicTimes
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