In much of his trademark style, Mitchell Starc got it to tail late into the right-hander with his slingy action and bamboozled the stumps to record his 300th Test match wicket for Australia on Sunday. The batter concerned was South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen and the ground was the iconic Gabba in Brisbane, where the left-arm quick made his debut 11 years ago.
After finishing the first innings of the Test match at 299 scalps, Starc quickly bagged the much-awaited feat with another picturesque dismissal, beating the right-hander’s downswing with late swing and dismantling the stumps at the back.
Reflecting on his achievement later on after Australia’s win in a low-scoring thriller of a Test match, Starc said he predicted to skipper and pace mate Pat Cummins he could get van der Dussen out in the fashion he did, watching him take stance.
“It was nice to pull a nice ball out. I said to Patty [Cummins] I felt like I could get him that way, the way he’s set up.”
“I’ll definitely take that as a nice ball to bring it up with. It’s something to be proud of. It’s something I will reflect on later. Just really pleased to have a good Test match win,”
Starc was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Heading into the Test match, Starc had amusingly said he never thought he would be able to take one wicket for Australia, let alone carry a tally of 301 scalps into the Boxing Day encounter at MCG. Starc’s first wicket was Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand captain and attacking wicketkeeper-batter.
The 32-year-old seamer is now part of an esteemed list of Australian bowlers to have recorded 300 Test wickets to their name, featuring legendary figures such as Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee, teammate Nathan Lyon as well as former bowling partners Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee.
Starc’s strike rate of 49.5 is comfortably better than any of those giants after regularly performing the role of an enforcer for Australia in an attack that wears on the opposition, headlined by the precision and incisive nature of Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, and the art and guile of Lyon.
