NEW DELHI: Cricket's most storied rivalry, the Ashes, got off to a record-breaking start in Perth on Friday, with both England and Australia finding themselves on the wrong side of the history books.
For the first time in the long and storied history of Ashes cricket, both teams saw their opening partnerships register zero in the first innings, marking an unprecedented statistical anomaly in the iconic rivalry.
1st Test: Mitchell Starc runs riot with career-best figures as England shot out for 172
After opting to bat first, England lost opener Zak Crawley in the very first over without a run on the board, caught at slip by Usman Khawaja off Mitchell Starc. The left-arm quick went on to claim career-best figures of 7/58 as Australia bundled out England for 172 in the first innings.
Opening the batting with Marnus Labuschagne, debutant Jake Weatherald was trapped in front by England pacer Jofra Archer in the first over, falling for a duck as Australia also lost their first wicket without a run on the board.
Starc steals the show
The 35-year-old left-armer snared three wickets in his first five overs, picking up his 100th wicket in Ashes, and had England in trouble at 105 for four at lunch on Day 1.
He took four more after the interval, including the key wicket of Ben Stokes, as England lost six wickets for 67 runs after lunch - the last five wickets tumbling for 12 runs to be all out in the second session.
Joe Root, the No. 1-ranked Test batter but still searching for his first Ashes century in Australia, faced seven balls before he nicked Starc to Marnus Labuschagne at third slip for a duck and England slumped to 39-3.
A 55-run stand between Ollie Pope (46) and Harry Brook (52) gave England some momentum before allrounder Cameron Green (1-10) struck at the end of his first over of bowling in a Test match since 2023.
