BRISBANE, Australia — Mitchell Starc punished England with the bat rather than the ball in the first session Saturday to help lift Australia to a 116-run first-innings lead on Day 3 of the second Ashes cricket test.
Starc was unbeaten on 46 and Scott Boland was seven not out in an unbroken 34-run stand as Australia went to the long interval at 450-8 almost halfway through the day-night test at the Gabba.
The leading bowler in the series so far with 16 wickets — he took a 10-wicket haul in Australia's series-opening win at Perth — Starc went into bat in the fourth over Saturday at the end of a 54-run seventh-wicket partnership between overnight batters Alex Carey (63) and Michael Neser.
The Australians had resumed at 378-6, a first-innings lead of 44 runs, and Carey quickly raised his 50 with a single off England captain Ben Stokes.
Neser (16) was caught behind later in the same over, and Starc went to the crease with the total at 383-7.
The eighth-wicket pair put on 33 runs, with Starc taking Australia's total past 400 with an attacking boundary against Brydon Carse in the 79th over, before Carey was out in the third over with the new ball.
Carey faced 69 deliveries and hit six boundaries before he was caught behind off Gus Atkinson's bowling.
With Australia at 416-8, the England attack would have been confident of bowling out the tailenders and getting a chance to bat in the bright afternoon sunlight before the first interval.
