Mitchell Starc removes Zak Crawley and Joe Root for ducks as England wobble

Zak Crawley and Joe Root both fell for ducks as England were reduced to 105 for four on a dramatic first morning at the first Ashes Test.

One of the most eagerly awaited series in recent memory began with a bang at Perth Stadium as Australia paceman Mitchell Starc snapped up three wickets in his opening spell to snatch the early momentum.

England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat first on a green pitch only for Crawley to nick a wayward drive off the sixth ball of the day. It was another memorable success for Starc, who kicked off the previous series Down Under by bowling Rory Burns with the opening delivery.

The left-armer, shouldering the bulk of the burden after injuries to Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, raced in relentlessly and picked up Ben Duckett lbw for 21 with a full, seaming delivery.

That thrust Root into the centre stage, after weeks of attention around his failure to score a Test century on Australian soil. But, after narrowly avoiding a fingertip run out at the non-striker’s end, he was only able to give his doubters fresh ammunition as he edged another menacing ball from Starc to third slip.

With less than nine overs bowled England were in trouble at 39 for three. Ollie Pope showed admirable calm as he navigated a high-pressure situation to make a solid 46, while Harry Brook played a handful of wild strokes from the moment he arrived.

He backed away to leg and swung hard at Starc off just his second ball, missing on that occasion but connecting as he tried again on at least three more occasions.

The partnership was cut short at 55 when Pope overbalanced and found himself lbw in Cameron Green’s first over, leaving Brook and Stokes together at the end of the session.

Debutant Brendan Doggett served up a creditable first spell but veteran Scott Boland was wayward, with 39 off his seven overs.