Starc shines with both bat and ball as England face grim loss with 43 runs behind and only 4 wickets in hand.
Starc all-round show leaves England facing humiliation at the Gabba.
Just five days into this highly anticipated Ashes series, England’s chances of reclaiming the urn appear increasingly bleak, though captain Ben Stokes weathered a testing period before stumps.
The tourists endured a punishing afternoon, wilting under the heat for more than half a day before losing six wickets in the final session under the lights. Quick bowlers Scott Boland and Michael Neser — the latter justifying his controversial selection over off-spinner Nathan Lyon — sent the pink ball skimming sharply across the Gabba surface.
Yet the true star of the day was Mitchell Starc. Delivering a performance befitting an Ashes series for the ages, he top-scored with 77 from 141 deliveries, helping Australia establish a commanding first-innings lead of 177. As a result, England’s second innings did not begin until late in the second session, with floodlights taking over as the sun dipped.
Even so, Starc showed signs of fatigue after his marathon batting effort, allowing Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett to finally negotiate the opening over without incident for the first time in the series.
Duckett survived a scare on six when a sharp return from him to Neser went uncaught, though the bowler would soon have more chances. In what was arguably England’s most fluent period of an otherwise grueling day, Duckett and Crawley reached 45 without loss after just six overs, offering a rare moment of respite.
There was brief concern for Starc, who clutched his lower left side and required painkillers, but Australia quickly reasserted their authority. Boland struck first, uprooting Duckett’s stumps with a short-of-length delivery that barely rose above shin height.
Ollie Pope offered some resistance, yet he looked uneasy, edging repeatedly before reaching 26. His innings ended in tame fashion, caught and bowled by Neser off a misjudged drive — marking the third time in the series he had failed to convert a start under mounting pressure. England’s fragile hopes now rested squarely on Joe Root, fresh from his maiden Ashes century on Australian soil in the first innings.
But Crawley’s miscue on 44, chipping a drive straight to a stunned Neser, shifted all the pressure onto Root. Even he could not replicate his earlier heroics, falling caught behind on review after playing across a full, wide Starc delivery.
Boland continued to torment the English lineup. He appeared to dismiss Harry Brook on 15 with a caught-behind appeal, only for replays to confirm he had missed entirely; the next delivery nearly trapped Brook again but was overturned on review.
Through it all, Starc powered through the discomfort, producing a late spell of devastating bowling that claimed Jamie Smith and left the match teetering toward an early finish on day four.