"That's why I pick him" - Brett Lee reacts as Mitchell Starc knocks over Rory Burns on the first delivery of Ashes 2021

Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc provided Australia with the perfect start to their Ashes campaign. He knocked over Rory Burns off the very first delivery of the five-match series at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Following Starc's blockbuster start, former Australian player Brett Lee took to his Twitter account to remind everyone why backed the under-fire seamer to play the first Test.

Lee wrote:

"That’s why I pick him #mitchellstarc 💥"

Given his lean form over the past 12 months, Starc's position was under severe scrutiny leading into the Gabba Test. However, the champion seamer seems to have silenced his critics for now.

Starc took out the struggling Burns, who played all around a full-length delivery that swung in late and knocked back his leg-stump.

This is the first time since the 1936 Ashes that a wicket fell on the first ball of a series. Burns registered his sixth duck of the year; his dismissal set the tone for another English top-order collapse.

Josh Hazlewood found considerable seam movement and bounce to knock over Dawid Malan (6 off 9 balls) and England captain Joe Root (0 off 9 balls) within a space of two overs.

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Brett Lee backed Mitchell Starc before the Gabba Test

Coming back to Starc, Lee came to the seamer's defence during SEN's Breakfast With Vossy last week after legendary spinner Shane Warne called for his axing.

"Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, they’re definitely two of the first picked. And I’m going to go with Mitchell Starc. You need experience when you’re playing in such a big series. A lot of people are calling for (Starc’s) head on the chopping block. I’m not going down that road," Lee had said.

He added:

"I’m going to say Mitchell Starc can produce an incredible Ashes series if he can get the ball to swing back at 150km/h, which he’s very, very capable of."

Meanwhile, new Australian captain Pat Cummins also opened up his wicket column, sending back the returning Ben Stokes with an absolute jaffa. Angled in at a length, the excessive pick the delivery attracted off the surface meant Stokes was forced to play at it. Marnus Labuschagne did the rest by completing a fine catch in the cordon.

At the time of writing, England were 122-7 after 44 overs, with Cameron Green picking up his first Test wicket in five games, taking out Olie Pope (35). Earlier, Starc picked his second of the game to send back Jos Buttler (39) who had put up 52 runs for the sixth wicket with Pope after the tourists were reduced to 60-5.