Mitchell Starc has struck once again in trademark fashion, picking up his 26th career first-over wicket in Test cricket, reaffirming why he is the most dangerous new-ball bowler in the world under lights. Ben Duckett became his latest victim at the Gabba, edging to Marnus Labuschagne in the cordon for a duck as England slipped to 5/1.
This wicket only strengthens Starc’s fearsome pink-ball legacy. The left-arm quick thrives in day-night conditions, and the numbers back it up:
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81 wickets in 14 day-night Tests
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Five five-wicket hauls
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Pink-ball average: 17.08
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Pink-ball strike-rate: 33.3
All of this makes him the best pink-ball bowler in the world — a huge advantage for Australia at a venue where England have not won since 1986.
With the gladiatorial Gabba already a fortress for Australia, Starc’s early strike sets the tone once more, leaving England under immense pressure to break nearly four decades of Brisbane heartbreak.
