Astralian ace Mitchell Starc and England Captain Ben Stokes shared the honours on a dramatic Day 1 of the opening Ashes Test in Perth on Friday.
19 wickets fell on the opening day as batters from both teams were left reeling.
To start off, Starc couldn’t have scripted a better opening act in this Ashes series.
Under the bright Perth sun on day one of the Ashes, the left-arm quick hit his straps instantly, ripping through England's bravado and any hint of Bazball at the Optus stadium on Friday.
Starc struck in the very first over, nailing Zak Crawley to set the tone. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope briefly threatened to settle in, but the veteran pacer wasn't having any of it and he broke the stand before delivering the gut punch: Joe Root, gone for a seven-ball duck.
By lunch, Starc had stamped his class all over the session -- 3 for 24 in eight overs, sending down thunderbolts at 140 kph with a consistency that belied his 36 years. For someone who picked and chosen franchise cricket grind to preserve his body for the red-ball arena, this was proof of why the investment continues to pay off.
Starc, standing tall in Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood's absence, finished with 7 for 58, his career-best figures, to have England all out for 172.
'I guess a nice way to start a series,"' Starc said in an interview on the boundary.
'It's only one innings, but obviously there's been a lot made about the two boys not being here and I guess me being the experienced one. So, nice to lead that way.'
In the process, Starc became only the 21st bowler to join the elite club of 100 Ashes wickets, boasting the best strike rate (45.03) among them. And his Ashes story only gets richer with his 100 wickets coming in 23 Tests since his 2013 debut, averaging 26.77, including four four-wicket hauls and four five-fors.
The legends who sit above him on the list are giants of the contest: Shane Warne (195 wickets), Glenn McGrath (157), and Stuart Broad (153).
He is also the first left-arm pacer to get to the feat.
When England came on to bowl, it was Ben Stokes' time to shine under the Perth sun.
Stokes brought himself on as the fifth bowler and changed the complexion of the match. This after Jofra Archer (2 for 11) and Brydon Carse (2 for 45) had Australia reeling at 31 for 4.
Stokes came on to bowl when Cameron Green and Travis Head were laying the foundations of an Australian fightback. But Stokes did what he does best.
In his six-over spell he bowled with control, mixing his line and lengths and finished with five wickets for 23, giving the Barmy Army and England fans a lot to cheer about.
This was his 6th five-wicket haul as Australia were pushed to the ropes at 123 for 9 at stumps on Day 1, still trailing by 49 runs.
Speaking to broadcasters, Carse summarised the frantic session thus: "What a day, everyone who has come to watch today have got their time's worth, 19 wickets, fantastic final session for us from everyone and to put us in a really strong position for tomorrow.
'As we have seen all day, there was enough assistance throughout the day and there was pace and bounce and I tried to hit the hard lengths. There were a couple of deliveries for which I was really delighted with. It's always nice to get one of the best players (Steven Smith) in the world out.'
Tipping his hat to his captain Carse added: 'He (Stokes) is amazing, his character and his resilience and everything he strives to be and obviously it was a game-changing spell from him.'
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