Starc showed Australia they didn't need the Big Three the Big One would do | Geoff Lemon

"In barely a session, Mitchell Starc turned the Big Three into the Big One. Scott Boland was off the boil it didn't matter. Brendan Doggett was on debut, chipping in around the edges it didn't matter either. Starc has now notched a career best in consecutive innings: six for nine in Kingston back in July, followed by seven for 58 here. It's strange that with so vast a career currently 101 matches and 409 wickets Starc has never before had a bag of this size. Half a dozen times he's taken six in an innings, another 10 times he's taken five. Most likely you can put that down to sharing the pie: not since his first two five-fers in 2012 has Starc reached the milestone without either of Cummins or Hazlewood in the side."

"England, according to all those previews, were supposed to be made of sterner stuff. They didn't play timidly, you can give them that, taking on the bowling to score at 5.2 runs an over: previous England sides getting bowled out in under 33 overs would have made 60. With Australia's batting subsequently having its own disaster to the tune of 123 for nine, at stumps on day one England's 172 doesn't look so bad. But it is, and it should have been made to."

"Nor was it the case, at least until a lower-order flail, that England got out playing recklessly in the way their critics lament. Starc didn't pick up wickets in a kamikaze burst, but with consistent quality over a dozen overs split into two lengthy spells, the second of which was cut in half by the lunch break. Without much swing, with decent carry"

Mitchell Starc dominated the first session of the Perth Test, claiming seven for 58 and offsetting the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Scott Boland and debutant Brendan Doggett contributed but were overshadowed by Starc's prolonged accuracy and pace across two long spells. England scored at about 5.2 runs an over to reach 172 by stumps, a total that looked respectable only after Australia's batting collapsed to 123 for nine. Starc's performance altered the balance of the match and underscored his decisive impact on the day's play.

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