Nine’s Wide World of Sports
Mitchell Starc has fired a shot at Cricket Australia and let it be known in no uncertain terms that players don't want to be opening the Ashes series in Perth.
They want to be kick-starting the summer at the Gabba — the Brisbane venue at which Australia has not lost a Test to England since 1986 and dropped only one Test in all since 1988.
The Gabba — or, more accurately, the "Gabbatoir" because of the graveyard it's proved to be for dozens of touring sides — was for many years the traditional home for the first Test of the summer.
READ MORE: 'Absolutely not': Perth curator shuts down Vaughan theory
READ MORE: McGrath axed from commentary duties days out from Ashes
READ MORE: Fowler recalls banana gift in shock book reveal
But the first Test of this summer, beginning on Friday, will see Perth open proceedings for the fourth year in a row.
It will also see Australia and England begin an Ashes series Down Under away from the Gabba for the first time since 1982.
Of the five Tests Australia has played at Perth Stadium, it's won four and lost one.
After a wild opening day between the Australians and India last summer, which on a furiously fast and bouncy deck saw 17 wickets fall, the tourists surged ahead to bag victory by 295 runs.
Starc was asked on Wednesday if the Australians could expect to enjoy a similar edge in Perth to the advantage they had in Brisbane, to which the star fast bowler replied: "We'll find out in a week. [They] don't listen to players. We would have liked to start in Brisbane, too."
Brendan Doggett (left) and Mitchell Starc chatting in Perth ahead of the first Test. Getty
In Brisbane in the summer of 2002-03, Nasser Hussain infamously sent Australia in to bat after winning the toss against Steve Waugh.
The hosts ended the first day at 2-364 and ultimately lost the match by 384 runs.
In Brisbane in 2007-08, Steve Harmison got proceedings under way with one of the most infamous wides in the history of Test cricket.
The ball was so wayward that it almost missed the pitch, and ended up with Andrew Flintoff at second slip.
Gus Atkinson, who is expected to form part of a five-pronged English pace attack in Perth, hinted on Wednesday that the tourists were fortunate to not be starting in Brisbane.
"History would say it's probably a good thing we're not starting at the Gabba," Atkinson said.
The deck being prepared for the Perth Test has a strong tinge of green.
"There's been a bit made of the colour of it, and it's going to be a green mamba," Starc said.
"I think it's ready to go now.
"It's all good and well to look at the wicket, but until both teams have played on it we're not really sure what it's going to do."
The left-arm pace ace admitted he missed playing at the WACA, which has not hosted a Test since Australia and England met in Perth in 2017-18.
"The Fremantle Doctor comes in. It's swirly wind here, not one direction. You can have three directions each over.
"We've had five different wickets here in a sense; we've had a pretty slow, flat wicket against the West Indies, we had the first Test here where it cracked up and played a bit like the WACA used to, last year we saw lots of wickets on the first day."
© 2025 Nine Entertainment Co.
Rankled by move away from the 'Gabbatoir', Mitchell Starc claims Cricket Australia bosses 'don't listen' – Nine
Related articles
