Unbelievable! History scripted at Ashes as Australia-England openers register THIS unwanted feat

History was scripted at the Ashes 2025-26 opener on Friday (Nov 21) as both Australia and England went down into the record books for the wrong reasons. While Mitchell Starc was on fire with a seven-wicket haul, it was the opening batters from both sides that went into the record books. The unwanted record was the first time since the birth of the Ashes in 1882 and was the talk of the town at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

Openers register unwanted feat

For the first time in the history of Ashes Tests since 1882, an opening partnership has recorded zero in the first innings for both teams. Having opted to bat first after winning the toss, England batter Zak Crawley was dismissed on the final ball of the opening over of the Ashes when the duck was yet to be broken on the scorecard. Crawley was dismissed after Usman Khawaja caught the catch in slips as Starc was on fire.

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Fast forward to Australia’s first innings in the second session after England were bowled out for 172, it was the hosts who were on the receiving end. Jake Weatherald, on debut, was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Jofra Archer. His lbw wicket meant, for the first time in the history of the Ashes, both innings of an Ashes match started with a zero-run partnership.

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Starc wrecks havoc

Having got the better of Crawley in the opening over, the legendary Aussie bowler continued his exploits with the ball as he helped bowl out England for 172. Starc’s prey on the day were Ben Duckett (21), Joe Root (0), Ben Stokes (6), Jamie Smith (33), Gus Atkinson (1) and Mark Wood (0). His exploits meant it was his best bowling figures in the red-ball format.

At the time of writing, Australia started their second innings and were 15/1 in 10 overs.