NEW DELHI: It couldn't have been any better as Mitchell Starc produced career-best figures on the opening day of the first home Ashes Test against England in Perth on Friday. While much of the pre-match talk revolved around Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missing the opener, Starc wreaked havoc with his lethal bowling to bundle out England for 172 in the first innings.

Just as he had done in the previous home Ashes, where he removed Rory Burns in the first over, he once again set the tone - this time by sending Zak Crawley back early. That wicket opened the floodgates. One after another, England's batting order crumbled under Starc's blistering pace and precision.

Starc took a wicket in the first over of a Test for the 24th time to set the tone. He snared three wickets in his first five overs, picking up his 100th Ashes wicket, and had England in trouble at 105/4 at lunch on Day 1.

Joe Root, England's mainstay, received a delivery that pitched and straightened sharply, leaving him completely squared up. A heartbeat later, he was on his way back for a duck. England’s dressing room fell silent.

Harry Brook and debutant Jamie Smith tried to breathe life into the innings, counter-attacking with determination. Brook even brought up a fighting fifty, but Australia quickly adapted. Debutant Xavier Doggett broke the partnership, dismissing Brook, and the momentum swung once again.

Australia then unleashed a short-ball barrage, and England's resolve buckled. Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith, and Mark Wood all fell to rash shots, gifting their wickets away in a flurry of aggressive but reckless batting. Bazball had misfired.

And through it all, Mitchell Starc kept steaming in, unstoppable. By the time England were bowled out in just 32.5 overs, he had taken his first-ever seven-wicket (7/58) haul in Tests.

England faced just 197 balls, making it the third-shortest first innings of an Ashes Test in Australia in terms of balls faced. The record belongs to England, whose innings ended in just 143 balls in Sydney in 1887. Australia's 193-ball all-out effort in Melbourne in 1902 ranks second.