Starc, Stokes become first Day-1 five-for duo since Harmison, McGrath in 2005

Perth [Australia], November 21 (ANI): Australian pacer Mitchell Starc and England captain Ben Stokes became the first pair of bowlers to take five-fors on the first day of a Test since Steve Harmison and Glenn McGrath at Lord’s in 2005. Both Starc and Stokes starred with the ball on Day 1 of the ongoing first Ashes Test between Australia and England at Perth.

Starc tore through England’s batting line-up with a brilliant seven-wicket haul, only for Stokes to upstage the Australian speedster with a five-for of his own.

After Stokes won the toss and opted to bowl first, England’s powerful batting unit collapsed for 172, losing their final five wickets for just 12 runs. Starc registered bowling figures of 7-58 in 12.5 overs. He accounted for the wickets of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood.

However, the Australian batting suffered an even worse batting collapse as Ben Stokes registered the bowling figures of 5-23 in six overs as he scalped Travis Head, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. Stokes’ five-wicket haul has now put England firmly in control, leaving Australia reeling at 123/9 and still trailing by 49 runs at the end of Day 1.

This was also the first time in 20 years that two bowlers claimed five-wicket hauls on the opening day of a Test match. The previous instance came in the Ashes 2005 Lord’s Test, when Steve Harmison and Glenn McGrath achieved the feat.

It was only the fourth occurrence since 1950 of bowlers from opposing teams taking five-wicket hauls on Day 1 of a Test. Besides the two modern instances, the others were Richard Collinge and Gary Gilmour in Auckland in 1974 and Frank Worrell and Bill Johnston in Adelaide in 1951.

The Ashes opener in Perth produced a historic first day. For the first time in 116 years, an Ashes Test saw 18 or more wickets fall on the opening day. The last such instance was in 1909, when both teams were bowled out on Day 1 of the Old Trafford Test.

Furthermore, the 19 wickets that fell on the opening day are the most in the past century. The previous highest totals were 17 wickets during the 2001 Trent Bridge Test and the 2005 Lord’s Test. (ANI)

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