Sydney: England captain Ben Stokes endured a forgettable outing in the first innings of the Sydney Test as Australia pacer Mitchell Starc once again proved to be his nemesis during the final match of the Ashes series at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
After winning the toss, Stokes opted to bat first. England’s top order struggled early, but Joe Root and Harry Brook steadied the innings with a century partnership. However, soon after Brook’s dismissal, Stokes walked in and failed to make an impact, returning to the pavilion without opening his account.
Starc removed Stokes in the 51st over with a sharp delivery that bounced steeply after pitching. Stokes failed to control the extra bounce, edging the ball to the wicketkeeper. Starc did not appeal initially, and the on-field umpire turned it down. Australia captain Steve Smith, confident of the edge, opted for the Decision Review System (DRS), which clearly showed the ball had taken the outside edge. The decision was overturned, and Stokes was dismissed for a duck off 11 balls.
With this dismissal, Mitchell Starc surpassed former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to become the bowler who has dismissed Ben Stokes the most times in Test cricket. Ashwin had dismissed Stokes 13 times, while Starc now leads the list with 14 dismissals. Nathan Lyon (10) and Ravindra Jadeja (8) follow on the list.
Starc’s dominance in the series has been remarkable. Ben Stokes’ wicket was Starc’s 28th of the Ashes 2025–26, making him the leading wicket-taker of the series by a significant margin. No other bowler has managed to take even 20 wickets so far. Starc has already claimed two five-wicket hauls in the series and remains the only bowler to take seven and six wickets in an innings during this Ashes campaign.
Once again, Mitchell Starc’s fiery spell underlined his status as Australia’s spearhead, while Ben Stokes’ struggles against the left-arm pacer continued on the biggest stage.
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