Ashes: Starc traps Stokes yet again, equals Ashwin's feat
What's the story
After a long wait of 14 years, England have finally broken their Australian jinx with a historic victory in the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). However, England's chase of 175 runs was far from smooth as they lost six wickets during the course. The fourth innings saw Aussie pace talisman Mitchell Starc trap England captain Ben Stokes for the 13th time in Test cricket. Here are further details.
Match highlights
Starc traps Stokes with a back-of-a-length delivery
Chasing a target of 175 on a tricky pitch, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley gave England their best opening stand of the series with a partnership of 51. They were placed at 158/5 when skipper Stokes arrived to bat. However, he could only manage two runs of nine balls. He went for a big hit against a back-of-a-length delivery from Starc, but could only manage to edge it to wicket-keeper Alex Carey, who took a flying catch.
Battle
Starc goes par with Ashwin
As per ESPNcricinfo, Starc has now trapped Stokes 13 times across 29 innings as the latter has just managed 225 runs in this battle at 17.3. The former has now equaled India's Ravichandran Ashwin as the bowler to dismiss Stokes the most times in Test cricket. Meanwhile, seven of Stokes's dismissals against Starc have been recorded Down Under - the most for any bowler. In the ongoing series, Starc dismissed the southpaw for the fourth time.
Performance
Starc races to 26 wickets in Ashes 2025-26
Starc completed 26 wickets in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 by dismissing Stokes in the fourth innings at MCG. He averages a stunning 17.42 in the series (5W: 2). No other bowler has managed to touch the 20-wicket mark. Meanwhile, the England skipper has managed just 183 runs across eight innings in the ongoing series at 22.87. The tally includes two fifties.