There have been no signs of aging, tiredness, or weariness in the 36-year-old Mitchell Starc. In fact, the left-arm Australian fast bowler has polished his legacy significantly over the last couple of years.
After being the Man of the Series in Australia’s 4-1 Ashes series victory a few months ago, when he led the bowling attack in the partial absences of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Starc turned up the heat on Saturday morning in Mackay as Australia aim to level the Test series against Bangladesh.
Starc had an ordinary match in Darwin in the AUS vs BAN 1st Test, returning with only two wickets in the match, which was emblematic of Australia’s embarrassing loss.
Mitchell Starc takes excellent figures of 6/12 as Bangladesh bowled out for 64
The senior speedster, though, shrugged off that performance and ran through the upper half of the Bangladeshi batting line-up in the first innings in Mackay after Cummins opted to bowl first.
Starc was on the money right from the first ball of the match as he had Shadman Islam caught at gully by Cameron Green, handing the left-hander a golden duck.
That dismissal began a procession for both the Bangladeshi batters, who walked in and walked out, and Starc, who cleaned up five of Bangladesh’s top six, four of them for a duck.
Starc sealed his five-wicket haul in only 22 balls, though his quickest Test match five-for came last year in Jamaica against the West Indies off merely 15 deliveries.
AUS vs BAN: How Many Times Mitchell Starc Took Wicket On First Ball Of Test Match?
Starc has taken a wicket on the first ball of a Test match four times. His victims on this list are Dimuth Karunaratne, Rory Burns, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shadman Islam.
Who has taken a wicket on the first ball of a Test match most times?
Starc holds the record for taking a wicket on the first ball the most times in Test cricket, having achieved this on 4 occasions. Former West Indies pacer Pedro Collins attained this feat thrice.
Mitchell Starc taking a wicket on the first ball of a Test match:
- Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka), Galle, 2016
- Rory Burns (England), Brisbane, 2021
- Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Adelaide, 2024
- Shadman Islam (Bangladesh), Mackay, 2026
Meanwhile, with his six-wicket haul in Mackay, Starc entered the top 10 bowlers’ list with most wickets in Test cricket. He now has 441 wickets, moving ahead of Dale Steyn (439), having already surpassed Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 scalps.
Starc’s scintillating bowling show on day 1 of the AUS vs BAN 2nd Test helped Australia bowl the visitors out for only 64, which is Bangladesh’s fourth-lowest innings score in Tests.
However, Bangladeshi bowlers kept their team alive and extracted plenty of assistance from the surface. By stumps on day 1, Australia are 165/8, leading by 101 runs; Bangadesh’s left-arm pacer, Shoriful Islam, produced an impressive performance by taking 6/35, which included the scalp of Steve Smith.
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