Mitchell Starc Becomes Third Player To Hit 50+ and Take Five Wickets in a Day-Night Test
Starc’s 77 and five-wicket haul place him among just three players with this day-night Test feat.
Veteran Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc etched his name into cricket history on Day 3 of the second Ashes Test against England at the Gabba on December 6, 2025, becoming only the third player to score 50 or more runs and claim a five-wicket haul in a single day-night Test match. The 35-year-old left-armer smashed a gritty 77 off 141 balls—his highest Test score since 2016—while batting at No. 9, helping Australia amass a commanding 511 in their first innings for a 177-run lead over England's 334. Starc's knock, featuring eight fours, was his eighth Test fifty and propelled him past England's Stuart Broad to become the highest run-scorer at No. 9 in Test history with 1,408 runs from 77 innings at an average of 22.34.
Starc's all-round brilliance was capped by a match-defining 6/75 with the ball, his second five-wicket haul of the Ashes series and 18th overall in 102 Tests, equalling Pakistan legend Wasim Akram's record of 414 wickets as the most by a left-arm pacer. He dismantled England's tail after Joe Root's defiant 138 not out stranded the visitors, dismissing key lower-order batsmen including Jofra Archer, caught spectacularly by Marnus Labuschagne off Brendan Doggett's bowling. This rare double in pink-ball cricket—previously achieved only by Sri Lanka's Dilruwan Perera (against Pakistan in Dubai, 2017) and West Indies' Jason Holder (against Sri Lanka in Bridgetown, 2018)—marks Starc as the first Australian to do so and, at 35, the oldest player in 86 years to score 50-plus and take five wickets against England in Tests.
Starc's resurgence has been pivotal in Australia's 1-0 series lead, especially without injured captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood; he tops the Ashes wicket charts with 13 scalps so far and earned Player of the Match in the Perth opener. His 77 not out briefly threatened a maiden Test fifty in the first innings of that game, but here, batting contributions from Jake Weatherald (72), Labuschagne (65), stand-in skipper Steve Smith (61), and Alex Carey (63) built a formidable total despite Brydon Carse's 4/112 for England. Starc's patient innings, lasting over four hours, frustrated England's attack under the Gabba's floodlights, showcasing his evolution from a lower-order dasher to a reliable crisis performer.
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The milestone underscores Starc's dominance in day-night Tests, where he now holds the record for most wickets (83) among all bowlers, 40 ahead of Cummins. Dismissed by holing out to mid-off off Carse, Starc's exit ended a 70-run stand with Scott Boland, but Australia's lead positions them strongly as England face a daunting chase under bowler-friendly conditions. This performance, his highest in an Ashes Test since 2019, silences critics who questioned his form post-IPL 2024 retirement from ODIs.
As the series intensifies ahead of the Adelaide pink-ball Test on December 16, Starc's heroics evoke memories of his 2017-18 Ashes exploits, where he took 22 wickets. With England reeling from early collapses—losing both openers cheaply to Starc in Brisbane—the visitors' "Bazball" aggression under Ben Stokes faces a stern test. Australia's depth, bolstered by Starc's dual threat, keeps the urn firmly in their grasp.
Starc's feat not only boosts Australia's campaign but also cements his legacy in the oldest rivalry, blending raw pace with newfound batting maturity. As rain interruptions loom, his 77-run knock and fifer serve as a masterclass in day-night mastery, potentially swaying the series narrative toward a home whitewash.
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