Mitchell Starc sets up rare Ashes record on day of the 1st Test in Perth
Starc registered best-ever Test bowling figures of 7/58
Check the day 1 highlights below
Australia quick Mitchell Starc was on absolute fire with the ball on day 1 to start off the 2025/26 Ashes series in the best way possible. His lethal bowling reduced England to a score of just 172 with the 1st innings lasting for 36.5 overs.
Mitchell Starc struck in the first over of the Test match for a record 24th time in his red-ball career. It was also the 2nd consecutive time in a home Ashes series that Starc took a wicket in the opening six deliveries.
During England's previous tour to the land down under, Mitchell Starc had bowled an unplayable yorker to Rory Burns in the very first ball. This time around, he had to wait for 4 balls before dismissing Zak Crawley with an outside edge, caught at slip by Usman Khawaja.
That was just the beginning of the tale. Mitchell Starc went on to rattle the English batting line-up, registering best-ever Test match bowling figures of 7/58 as Australia bowled first after losing the toss.
After getting Crawley out for a 6-ball duck, Starc trapped Ben Ducket (21 off 20) with an lbw before nicking Joe Root behind for what was the Englishman's first-ever duck in Australia.
Skipper Ben Stokes was sent packing by Starc for a record 10th time in the Ashes. The Australian slammed the deck with a hard-length ball that tailed inside to hit the stumps.
The left-arm Aussie completed his 7-fer with the wickets of Jamie Smith (33 off 22), Gus Atkinson (6 off 9) and Mark Wood (golden duck) as England crashed out before touching the 200-mark.
Not only was his 7/58 (12.5) was his best Test bowling figures, it was also the best by an individual at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
He also became only the second Australian in the 21st century to register a 7-wicket haul at home Ashes series and first since Craig McDermott, who once took 8 wickets at the WACA during 1990/91 edition.
In what was his 101st Test outing, Starc also completed 100 Ashes wickets and now stands at 104 scalps against England.
Want to catch more from Mitchell Starc's fiery spell? Read the highlights from day 1 of the Ashes 2025/26 series at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
