Mitchell Starc has become the latest in a line of world-class left-arm fast bowlers to shine for Australia and is currently the fourth highest wicket-taker for the Baggy Greens in Test cricket.

In reaching that lofty position he has passed the tallies of fellow lefties Bill Johnston, Alan Davidson and, most recently, Mitchell Johnson, to stand as the second most successful Test fast bowler for his country.

Starc has just passed the 350-wicket mark, leaving only Glenn McGrath on 563 ahead of him in the ranks of Aussie pacemen, while he is also a high-class performer in the white-ball game.

Career record

Ashes record

Starc sustains Test excellence

Starc made his Test debut against New Zealand at the Gabba in December 2011 and had to wait a full 12 months before completing a first five-wicket innings haul, taking 6-154 against South Africa in Perth.

Starc has been a more than consistent wicket-taker throughout his career, often used as a shock bowler who can gain plenty of swing, particularly with the new ball.

As a result of his role, he has only taken five wickets in an innings on 14 occasions, while he has completed two ten-wicket match hauls - against Sri Lanka in Galle in August 2016 and against the same opposition in Canberra in February 2019.

The first of those two ten-wicket matches also included his best innings return, as Starc claimed 6-50 in the first innings of the Galle encounter.

That is not to diminish his success over the years, which has been aided in recent times by Starc being one third of a truly outstanding pace trio alongside Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

Starc's record in Ashes Tests is very similar to his overall record, with the 34-year-old just three wickets away from completing a century of victims against England, one of which was Rory Burns with the first ball of the 2023/24 series in Australia.

He is also a useful lower-order hitter as a left-hand batter, having passed 50 on 10 occasions and came within one run of a Test century against India in Mohali back in March 2013.

Starc's highest score on home soil is the 84 he made against Pakistan at the MCG in the Boxing Day Test of 2016 and overall he has made more than 2,000 Test runs to his name at an average a touch over 20.

Two World Cup wins the ODI highlights

Starc has perhaps been even more successful in 50-over cricket than he has in Tests, having taken four wickets or more in 21 of the 121 ODIs he has played to date.

The first of those returns came in just his second appearance, against Sri Lanka at the Gabba back in November 2010, while Starc has twice taken six wickets in a one-day international on two occasions.

The second of those was his career-best 6-28 against New Zealand during the 2015 World Cup, which not only did Australia win, but in which Starc was named as player of the tournament after taking a joint tournament-high 22 wickets.

Eight years later Starc was part of the Australia team who won the World Cup again, taking 3-55 in the final against tournament hosts India as the Baggy Greens won by six wickets with seven overs to spare.

Starc also a T20 World Cup winner

Starc's international career of excellence is rounded off by his performance in 20-over cricket, in which he can sometimes be expensive, but also highly likely to strike vital blows with the white ball.

He has taken 74 wickets in 60 T20I matches at an excellent average of 23.33 and a respectable economy rate of 7.67 runs an over.

A World Cup win is again the pinnacle of his time in the 20-over international set-up, with Australia beating New Zealand by eight wickets in the 2021 final in Dubai.

Starc's best return in a T20 international is the 4-20 he took against the West Indies in Brisbane in October 2022, with his T20I career having started as far back as September 2012.

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