Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc etched his name in the record books on day one (Friday, November 21) of the first Ashes Test 2025-26 against England. Starc became the first left-arm pacer to complete 100 wickets in Ashes history after dismissing former England skipper Joe Root for a duck in the morning session.
Ben Stokes won the toss in Perth and elected to bat. England have gone for an all-out pace attack in their XI leaving out Shoaib Bashir. Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood formed the fast bowling unit. Meanwhile, Australia handed debuts to Brendan Doggett and Jake Weatherald.
Mitchell Starc removes Joe Root for opening Ashes duck 2025-26
Joe Root came on early after Ben Duckett was dismissed in the seventh over. Mitchell Starc had already set the tone by removing Zak Crawley from the opening. England briefly stabilized thanks to a few counter-attacks.
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Root, who struggled in the Australian conditions before the series, looked worried from the start. He almost grazed his second ball and continued to fight for control as Starc continued to test him with his moves outside the box.
Starc delivered a ball that straightened up from a leg-stump line, and Root tried to glance it away, but only managed to expose the outside edge. The catch went straight to Marnus Labuschagne at third slip, and Root had to return to the dressing room without scoring.
Mitchell Starc took his 100th wicket against England! #MilestoneMoment | #Ashes | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/vItwfdCK3X
– cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 21, 2025
Mitchell Starc becomes first left-arm fast bowler to take 100 wickets in Ashes
Mitchell Starc became the 21st bowler and the first left-arm fast bowler to take 100 wickets in the Ashes. His strike rate of 44.8 is the best among all bowlers who have crossed the 100-wicket mark.
Among the left-arm fast bowlers, Mitchell Johnson is next in the list with 87 wickets. Starc took 100 wickets in 23 Tests against England at an average in the mid-20s, including four five-wicket hauls and a best of 6/111.
STARC MAKES HIS 💯
What a way for the veteran Australian left-armer to take a magical step forward – removing arguably England’s greatest bat of all time, Joe Root.
Nathan Lyon (110) is the only other active player to have taken more #Ashes counters 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LXBVhhn60S
– Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) November 21, 2025
In Australia, the 35-year-old has collected over 43 wickets in 10 Ashes matches at an excellent average, including five wickets. He added 56 more wickets in 13 England matches, including three five-wicket hauls.
Starc took 405 wickets in 101 matches, averaging over 27, including 16 five-wicket hauls and 20 four-wicket returns. With the bat, he scored over 2,300 runs with 11 fifties to his name.
Full list of bowlers with 100+ Ashes wickets:
| Rank | Bowler | Counters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shane Warne (Australia) | 195 |
| 2 | Glenn McGrath (Australia) | 157 |
| 3 | Stuart Broad (England) | 153 |
| 4 | Hugh Trumble (Australia) | 141 |
| 5 | Dennis Lillee (Australia) | 128 |
| 6 | Ian Botham (England) | 128 |
| 7 | Bob Willis (England) | 123 |
| 8 | James Anderson (England) | 117 |
| 9 | Monty Noble (Australia) | 115 |
| 10 | Ray Lindwall (Australia) | 114 |
| 11 | Nathan Lyon (Australia) | 110 |
| 12 | Wilfred Rhodes (England) | 109 |
| 13 | Sydney Barnes (England) | 106 |
| 14 | Clarrie Grimmett (Australia) | 106 |
| 15 | Alec Bedser (England) | 104 |
| 16 | Bill O’Reilly (Australia) | 102 |
| 17 | George Giffen (Australia) | 101 |
| 18 | Charlie Turner (Australia) | 101 |
| 19 | Bobby Peel (England) | 101 |
| 20 | Terry Alderman (Australia) | 100 |
| 21 | Mitchell Starc (Australia) | 100+ |
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