Ashes: Mitchell Starc torments England with bat and ball on Day Three

Australia’s Mitchell Starc after reaching his half-century against England on Saturday. PIC/AFP

Mitchell Starc has been menacing England with the ball in this Ashes series. Now he's doing damage with the bat, too.

At stumps on Day Three of the second Test, England was teetering on 134-6 in their second innings and still needed to score 43 runs to make Australia bat again.

After taking six wickets in England's first innings of 334, Starc scored an innings-high 77 as Australia responded with 511 on Saturday afternoon and then took two wickets in the night session. England's hopes now rest on skipper Ben Stokes, who will resume on Sunday on 4.

The 35-year-old Starc made England's bowlers toil all afternoon in sunny, subtropical conditions at the Gabba as he led Australia to a 177-run first-innings lead.

With the lights on and the pink ball starting to move around, Starc took the crucial wicket of top-ranked Joe Root (15) to have England reeling at 123-5, still 54 runs in arrears.

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