ASHES 2023

'Australia ka Ashwin' -  Fans react as Australia drops Mitchell Starc from first Test of Ashes 2023

The Aussies has dropped Mitchell Starc from the playing XI for the first Ashes 2023 Test at Edgbaston. Here's how fans reacted.

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Akshay
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Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc (Source: Twitter)

Mitchell Starc Mitchell Starc (Source: Twitter)

The first Test of the Ashes 2023 is currently underway at Edgbaston, with England captain Ben Stokes electing to bat first after winning the toss on Friday, June 16. While England revealed their playing XI a couple of days back, Pat Cummins dropped a bombshell after announcing Australia's team for the first Test. Australia dropped their star pacer Mitchell Starc in what their skipper described as a "tough call".

The Aussies went with the same team that recently won the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final against India at the Oval. But they made one change, replacing Starc with Josh Hazlewood. The decision to drop the left-arm pacer has raised eyebrows as Starc has been instrumental in previous Ashes and was impressive in the WTC 2023 final.

"We'd have batted as well. One change, Mitch Starc out, Hazlewood comes in. Tough call, Starc was really good last game but good to have someone like Hazlewood come in. Tough to manage the workloads, we'll assess things week by week, but that is a good problem to have," Cummins said after losing the toss.

Hazelwood did not feature in the recently concluded one-off Test against India as he was still to fully recover from his injury. Scott Boland, who replaced Hazelwood in the WTC final, has been given the green light to play in the first Ashes Test against England.

'Looks a great cricket wicket. Good toss to win': Ben Stokes

On the other hand, England fielded Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali in the playing XI. After winning the toss, Stokes expressed regret at losing Jack Leach, but shared confidence in Moeen to provide some great performances.

"We'll bat first. Looks a great cricket wicket. Good toss to win. Very proud to be here with all the hype around, very special moment for me and the team. It has been tough at times with the energy, but that has been something we are good at in the past. Happy to have Mo back, unfortunate injury to Leachy. I've seen Mo produce some great performances in the past, we know what he can bring to the team," Stokes said.

Australia and England's starting XIs for the first Ashes Test

Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland

England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson

Here's how fans reacted to Australia's omission of Mitchell Starc from playing XI of the first Ashes Test:

Australia Featured Josh Hazlewood England Mitchell Starc Ashes