England bowling leaves legend disgusted as embarrassing Mitchell Starc statistic emerges

England and Ashes legend Sir Ian Botham couldn’t hide his disgust with the bowling on day three at The Gabba.

The tourists are staring a 2-0 deficit in the face after a shambolic day two of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane.

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England ended day two with a deficit of 44 after some poor bowling and five dropped catches.

And from there, things got worse as Australia claimed a huge lead of 177 on Saturday.

Appearing on Triple M Cricket, England legend Botham could be seen shaking his head, and at one point, he removed his headphones and mic to say what he really thought off-air.

When asked if his thoughts were not fit for broadcast, he said: “Correct.”

He was left perplexed by what he was seeing after Ollie Pope attempted a run-out and sent it away for extras.

Botham said: “It’s been a lovely day. The sun’s out.

“I was up this morning early, enjoying it with a cup of tea.

“It’s gone drastically downhill from there.”

Triple M Cricket

Triple M Cricket

Triple M Cricket

Botham fumes

Joe Root actually matched one of Beefy’s records in the first innings.

The Yorkshireman scored his first century on Australian soil and went on to 138 not out, which matched Botham’s first innings score from the 1986-87 series at The Gabba.

But while Root guided the tourists to what looked to be a great score, he was let down by the bowling and fielding.

The visitors dropped FIVE catches as Australia piled on over 500 runs, taking a lead of close to 180.

And if there is one embarrassing statistic that sums it all up, it is this.

During Mitchell Starc’s batting innings, he faced more balls than Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith in the entire series so far.

He ended up making 77, which is his highest-ever Test score against England as his wonderful series continues.

Starc became the top all-time left-arm fast bowler in the first innings in terms of wickets by surpassing Wasim Akram.

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And he now has the pink ball in his hand with the visitors batting under the lights.

England managed to survive the first Starc over to ironic cheers from the Barmy Army.

It was the first time this series that the Aussie didn’t claim a wicket during his first over.

But England are going to need something special to put themselves into a position where they can win this Test.