Mitchell Starc delivered another early blow for Australia as Zak Crawley was caught by Steve Smith for 5, leaving England reeling at 9/3 after 5 overs. Bowling at pace, Starc hit a good length around off stump at 143.2 kph, and Crawley pushed at the ball with hard hands. The wobble-seam delivery straightened just enough to take a thick outside edge, and Smith pouched a sharp catch to the right of second slip.
What happened earlier:
England’s innings had already begun on a shaky note. Ben Duckett was dismissed for 2 in the opening overs, followed soon after by Jacob Bethell falling for 1, edging Michael Neser through to Alex Carey. The visitors lost two wickets inside four overs, continuing their trend of early collapses in the series.
With Crawley’s dismissal, England have now lost three wickets inside the first five overs, once again underlining their struggles against the new ball in this Ashes contest.
