Ashes, Mitchell Starc dismantles England with career-best seven-fer: Key stats
What's the story
Mitchell Starc, Australia's talismanic left-arm fast bowler, was the star of the show on Day 1 of the first Test of the much-awaited Ashes series against England. The 35-year-old delivered a stunning performance after England won the toss and chose to bat at Perth's Optus Stadium. He took three wickets in the first hour and eventually ended up with seven scalps. This was his maiden seven-wicket haul in Tests. Here are the key stats.
Batting collapse
England's batting order crumbles under Starc's attack
England's batting order struggled against Starc's pace and bounce, getting bowled out for just 172 runs in their first innings. Harry Brook showed notable resistance with a 52-run, while Ollie Pope (46) and Jamie Smith (33) were the others to cross the 30-run mark. However, England's middle-order failed miserably as they lost their last five wickets for just 12 runs.
Match impact
Starc's early breakthroughs set the tone
Starc made an immediate impact, dismissing England opener Zak Crawley for a duck in the first over. He then trapped Ben Duckett LBW for 21 runs, ending a 33-run stand for the second wicket. The highlight of Starc's morning session was his dismissal of former England captain Joe Root (0), continuing his struggles Down Under. While Root fell to Starc for the ninth time in Tests, the pacer later trapped England skipper Ben Stokes for the 10th time.
First-over heroics
24 wickets in first over
As per Cricbuzz, Crawley's dismissal marked Starc's 24th wicket in the first over of an innings in Tests and seventh in the opening over of a Test match. Starc now has the most wickets (24) in the first over of an innings among all bowlers since his debut. He is followed by James Anderson (19) and Kemar Roach (10). The delivery that got Crawley was perfectly pitched, seaming away after pitching.
Career milestone
Starc's milestone achievement in Ashes series
With Root's wicket, Starc completed his Ashes century (100 wickets), becoming the 21st bowler and first left-arm pacer to achieve this feat. His strike rate of 43.6 is the best among these 21 bowlers. Playing his 23rd Test against England as per ESPNcricinfo, Starc has raced to 104 wickets at 26.08. The left-arm pacer boasts five five-wicket hauls with the best of 6/111. On Australian soil, Starc has over 47 wickets against England from 10 matches at 24-plus (5W: 2).
Career
17th fifer in Tests
Starc finished his stellar spell with 7/58 from 12.5 overs - his career-best figures. Overall in Tests, Starc has raced to 409 wickets from 101 Tests at 26.70 (5W: 17, 4W: 20). Notably, Strac's previous-best figures (6/25) came in his preceding Tests against WI earlier this year in Kingston. As per Cricbuzz, Starc became the first bowler to take seven wickets on the opening day of an Ashes Test in Australia since Craig McDermott's eight-fer at the WACA in 1990/91.