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Mitchell Starc's tally of taking wickets in first over of an innings grows; provides blockbuster start to Ashes
Mitchell Starc provided the best start possible to Australia as he dismissed Zak Crawley in the first over of the Ashes 2025-26 series in Perth.
The time for the talk is over, and the contest is well and truly underway on the field between Australia and England in the Ashes. After being asked to bowl first, Mitchell Starc provided the best start possible to the hosts on Day 1 of the first Test of the five-match series at the Optus Stadium in Perth as he dismissed England's opening batter Zak Crawley in the opening over, much to the jubilation of the Australian crowd.
After letting go of five deliveries, Crawley was unable to control himself on the final ball as he poked outside the off stump, and Usman Khawaja ended up taking a simple catch at first slip. This was the 24th time in Tests that Starc dismissed a batter in the first over of an innings in a Test, and this was the 15th occasion after 2015.
Starc has taken the most wickets (24) in the first over of an innings since making his debut and he is followed by James Anderson (19) and Kemar Roach (10) in the list.
Also Read: Ashes 1st Test LIVE Score, AUS vs ENG: Check our live coverage
Talking of the delivery, Starc landed it in a perfect channel. The ball seamed away after pitching, and Crawley's foot movement left a lot to be desired. The tall England batter tried to punch it on the up through covers, but he only got a thick outside edge. Khawaja, who was waiting at first slip, got low and managed to hold onto it.
Starc's emotions were there for everyone to see as he roared in delight, only to be swarmed by the rest of the Australian team.
Five overs later, Starc was once again in the thick of the action as he had Ben Duckett caught plumb in front of the wicket and the left-hander had to walk back after scoring 21 off 20 balls.
It is worth mentioning that the left-arm pacer has the responsibility of leading the attack in the first Test in the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Australia's captain Cummins and Hazlewood are unavailable for the Ashes opener due to injuries. Steve Smith is leading the hosts in the absence of Cummins.
England opt to bat
Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first in Perth. The visitors are playing an all-pace attack, and there's no place for the spinner Shoaib Bashir.
On the other hand, Australia have handed out debuts to Jake Weatherald and Brendan Doggett.
At the toss, England captain Stokes said, “You take in as much information as you can, especially at a venue that doesn’t host a lot of cricket. We’ll try to get some runs on the board and see where we are at the end of it. It’s been a long build-up, as it always is before an Ashes series. Now that we’re finally here, the whole group - players, support staff, and I’m sure all our fans out here feel exactly the same. ”
“We can’t wait to get going. As always, a lot of hard work, determination, and everything that goes into preparing for a big tour. We’ve got a clear goal of what we want to achieve out here. From the 12 we named, Bash misses out. We’re going with four seamers, and of course, I’ll roll my arm over now and again. It was just about waiting,” he added.
