BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — 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 rais

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