Mitchell Starc's ridiculous record after early Ashes wickets has England reeling

Kieran Francis

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Mitchell Starc's ridiculous record after early Ashes wickets has England reeling image

Mitchell Starc has established his reputation as the best opening bowler in world cricket after the dismissal of England opener Zak Crawley in the first over of the first Ashes Test in Perth.

Following that up, the veteran Australian also dismissed Ben Duckett and Joe Root for a duck in a dynamite opening spell that saw England crumble to 3/39.

Starc had opener Crawley caught in slip by Usman Khawaja for a duck on the last ball of the first over of the match - leaving England reeling at 1/0.

It was the 24th time Starc has taken a wicket in the first over of an innings in an Test - which is the most of any bowler since his debut in 2011.

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It is also the seventh occasion Starc has snared a wicket in the first over of a match.

After a quick-fire 21 off 20 balls from Ben Duckett, Starc got his second wicket of the match in his fourth over, trapping the England opener for LBW.

In his next over, Starc continued his rampage as he nabbed England captain Joe Root for a duck with Marnus Labuschagne holding on to the catch in slips.

Mitchell Starc's record in the first over of Test innings

  • Mitchell Starc has taken a wicket in the first over of an innings of a Test match on 24 occasions - including seven in the first over of the match.
  • James Anderson took 29 wickets in the first over of an innings of a Test match - but his Test career started eight years earlier than Starc in 2003
  • Other comparable bowlers to Starc in the modern are Kemar Roach (10 first over wickets since 2015) and Stuart Broad (nine first over wickets in his career)

Senior Editor