Mitchell Starc's first hit on the ball provides the Harmison moment in Ashes' opening game
BRISBANE: Mitchell Starc gave Australia the perfect start to the Ashes series with a wicket from the first ball on Wednesday, giving English fans a gabba moment to rank alongside Steve Harmison's 2006-7 series opening game.
Starc's delivery was as good as Harmison's was bad, a full-yorker who got behind the legs of English opener Rory Burns and swung into the base of his stumps to get the bails flying. The paceman with his left arm sped across the field, partying wildly with his teammates as the crowd in Brisbane roared their approval.
“This is Ashe's cricket, isn't it? It's just a heightened sense of everything, "Starc told Channel 7." To start an Ashes series, I'd say there was some emotion going on out there. " It was a justification for Starc, whose place in Australia's much-touted tempo attack was questioned ahead of the series.
However, he always took early wickets and removed New Zealand danger man Brendon McCullum with the fifth ball of the 2015 World Cup final. “It's no secret that I go offensive at bowling,” added the 31-year-old, who ended the day with a 2-35 number.
“A Yorker is a big part of my game, but for me he tries to bowl fast, swing him, and attack those stumps. Was a little lucky to get it around my legs there, but it was nice to see the ball swing and be in the right place to start the day. " It was the second time a wicket had fallen on the first delivery of an Ashes series.
In 1936, Australian Ernie McCormick had Stan Worthington overtake on the same ground to give Don Bradman the best possible start to his first game as captain. The fear for England, which collapsed on 147 before the rain washed away the rest of the day, is that a strike as early as this will be as definitive as Harmison's 2006 Gabba Test opening ball.
The tourists had arrived in Australia with confidence after winning the Ashes in England in 2005, where Harmison was one of the home side's top players.
Threw the ball to open the series, Harmison stormed in and produced a shipment that landed in the hands of skipper Andrew Flintoff on the second slip. Harmison took just 10 wickets over the series when Australia knocked out England 5-0 to retake the urn. The Australian Pat Cummins, who won 5:38 in his first innings as skipper, was happy for his colleague Quick. "So happy for Starcy, that's why he's opening bowling," he told reporters. Hopefully this is the new memory now. "