Mitchell Starc produced one of the finest bowling performances of his career, taking seven wickets for 58 runs to dominate the opening day of the Ashes Test in Perth, despite Australia missing their two other premier fast bowlers.
From Big Three to Big One
With Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood both absent from the Australian attack, all eyes were on how the home side would cope without two of their champion bowlers. The answer came emphatically from Starc, who transformed what was meant to be a weakened attack into a one-man wrecking crew.
Scott Boland struggled to find his rhythm while debutant Brendan Doggett provided support around the edges, but neither mattered as Starc single-handedly tore through England's batting lineup. Remarkably, this represents Starc's second career-best performance in consecutive innings, following his six for nine against West Indies in Kingston last July.
England's Aggressive Approach Falls Short
England's batsmen approached their innings with characteristic aggression, scoring at 5.2 runs per over before being dismissed in under 33 overs. While previous England sides might have mustered only 60 runs in such circumstances, they reached 172 - a total that looked increasingly respectable as Australia's own batting collapsed to 123 for nine by stumps.
The quality of Starc's performance was particularly notable given the batting-friendly Perth surface. Operating consistently above 140km/h across two lengthy spells either side of lunch, the left-armer produced barely a loose delivery while generating movement without significant swing.
Wickets That Broke England's Back
Starc's destruction began early when Zak Crawley drove on the up in his characteristic style, edging to slip in the first over. Ben Duckett fell lbw to one that swung in to the left-hander, while Joe Root was undone by a delivery that held its line and seamed away.
The ball of the day came just after lunch when Starc produced a scrambled seam delivery that cut back wickedly through Ben Stokes's gate, clean bowling the England captain for just six runs. Later wickets included Gus Atkinson edging to slip, before Jamie Smith and Mark Wood fell to consecutive balls attempting aggressive shots.
Starc's figures of seven for 58 place him among Australian Ashes greats, joining the company of Mitchell Johnson (7-40 at Adelaide 2013), Jason Gillespie (7-37 at Leeds), and historical figures like Keith Miller and Ray Lindwall.
The concern for Australia remains whether this outstanding individual performance will translate into victory, given their own batting struggles. Starc will need to produce another significant bowling effort when England bat again, though based on his opening day display, few would bet against him delivering once more.
