Updated 21 November 2025 at 11:02 IST
WATCH | Mitchell Starc Clean Bowls Ben Stokes With a Jaffa During 1st Ashes Test in Perth
Ashes 2025: Mitchell Starc clean bowled England captain Ben Stokes with a peach in Perth.
- Cricket
- 2 min read

Ashes 2025: Mitchell Starc was unstoppable on the opening day of the first Ashes Test on Friday in Perth. After picking up three top-order batters in the first session, Starc came back after lunch to pick up another one. He clean bowled England captain Ben Stokes with an absolute jaffa. The ball pitched slightly outside off-stump and then swung back in to go through the bat and pad of Stokes and rattle the stumps. Stokes was looking to drive it on the up but missed it completely and was on the floor in utter disbelief. Starc started celebrating as if there was no tomorrow and that shows the importance of the wicket. Here is how Starc cleaned up Stokes.
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Stokes perished for six off 12 balls. Even during his stay in the middle, he did not look comfortable which is concerning from an English point of view.
The wicket of Stokes was Starc's fourth. England find themselves absolutely on the backfoot in the first day of the opening Test.
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Sensational Starc
During the day's play, Starc also reached a special milestone when he picked up the wicket of Joe Root for a duck. It was Starc's 100th Ashes wicket and by getting there, he became the first Australian pacer to do so and the 21st bowler and first left-arm pacer to take 10 or more wickets in the history of Ashes series.
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At the time of filing the copy, England were reeling at 134 for five. They have Harry Brook and Jamie Smith in the middle. Both are attacking batters and have the capability of getting England's innings back on track. Interesting to see England's approach from here - will they continue attacking or will they play good-old Test cricket?
Published By : Ankit Banerjee
Published On: 21 November 2025 at 10:55 IST