Are Mitchell Starc’s Pink Ball Spells the Scariest in Tests?
With his 100th Test coming to an end, Mitchell Starc has accomplished the historic feat of 400 wickets in the same game, reaching a new level in International cricket. Although he has dominated with the red ball, his dominance grows even more when he is handed the Pink Ball.
When the day-night Test matches were introduced, it was known that the batsmen would be facing a challenge in these Tests. Watching the ball in the night sky comes as a challenge for the batsmen, but also a treat for the bowlers. However, among all the bowlers who have played the pink ball test, Mitchell Starc’s aura remains unmatched.
Recently, Starc made several achievements when he played his 100th Test match, which was against the West Indies. In the final innings of the game, he bowled an impressive spell with the pink ball, absolutely dominating the West Indies batsmen. His quick wickets helped Australia to bundle out the West Indies for 27 and win the game.
With Starc’s magic, Australia secured yet another win in the pink ball Test, but this is not the only magical spell he bowled in the day-night Test matches. Being a generational bowler, he has dominated for Australia in almost every pink ball Test he has played, whether it is at home or away.
Having played 14 day-night Test matches for the Australian team, Mitchell Starc holds an impressive total of 81 wickets at an average of 17.08, and a strike rate of 33.3, with 5 five-wicket hauls. Let’s take a look at some of Starc’s best spells in the Test format, with the pink ball.
Australia vs England 2017-18: 2nd Test
The Ashes have always been heated, but with the inclusion of Starc with the pink ball, it surely means destruction for the English batsmen. The second Test match of the series was played in Adelaide, where England decided to field first. Australia scored well while batting first, as they scored 442 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.
| Australia vs England, 2nd Test, Adelaide | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| Australia: 442/8d (149 Overs) | England: 227 (76.1 Overs) |
| Shaun Marsh: 126* (231) | Craig Overton: 41* (79) |
| Craig Overton: 3/105 | Nathan Lyon: 4/60 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| Australia: 138 (58) | England: 233 (84.2 Overs) |
| Mitchell Starc: 20 (25) | Joe Root: 67 (123) |
| James Anderson: 5/43 | Mitchell Starc: 5/88 |
| Australia Won by 120 Runs | |
In England’s first innings, the team was bundled all out for just 227 runs. Mitchell Starc led the pace bowling from the front, as he ended up taking 3 wickets in 20 overs, conceding just 49 runs. In his spell, Starc took the wickets of Mark Stoneman, Jonny Bairstow, and Chris Woakes.
Australia came to bat in the third innings, but their batsmen struggled to score well. As a result, the team got all out at the score of 138, giving England the target of 338 runs to chase, if they want to win. But this target was never easy against the Australian bowling line-up, which was spearheaded by Starc.
He ended up taking 5 wickets in the final innings of the game, conceding 88 runs in 19.2 overs, as he also took the last wicket. Mitchell Starc grabbed the wickets of Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, and Jonny Bairstow. This helped him to finish the match with 8 wickets in total.
Australia vs Pakistan 2019: 2nd Test
The rivalries between Australia and Pakistan have been one-sided for a long time, as the Aussies can showcase their dominance over the Paks with ease. This also happened when both teams clashed against each other in the pink ball Test, which was once again set to be played in Adelaide. Australia had won the toss in this match and decided to bat first.
| Australia vs Pakistan, 2nd Test, Adelaide | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| Australia: 589/3d (127 Overs) | Pakistan: 302 (94.4 Overs) |
| David Warner: 335* (418) | Yasir Shah: 113 (213) |
| Shaheen Afridi: 3/88 | Mitchell Starc: 6/66 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| Pakistan: 239 (82 Overs) | |
| Shan Masood: 68 (127) | |
| Nathan Lyon: 5/69 | |
| Australia Won by an innings and 48 Runs | |
David Warner dominated with the bat, and he also received the required support from the other batsmen. Pakistan’s bowlers had no answers to their batsmen and ended up taking just 3 wickets. In the end, Australia had declared at a massive score of 589 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets.
In Pakistan’s first innings, the team tried its best to score well but ended up being all out at the score of 302. Mitchell Starc got the most of Pakistan’s batting line-up, as he finished his spell with 6 wickets, conceding 66 runs in 25 overs. He took the wickets of Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, and Shaheen Afridi.
Pakistan was sent for a follow-on, as they were nowhere near Australia’s score in the first innings. But this time also the team got all out at the score of 239, allowing Australia to win the game by an innings and 48 runs. Mitchell Starc secured another wicket in the final innings of the game, finishing the match with 7 wickets.
Australia vs New Zealand 2019: 1st Test
Mitchell Starc had his best pink ball Test back in 2019, when Australia and New Zealand faced each other. It was the first match of the series, which was played at Perth, and Australia decided to bat first in this game. This decision came in the team’s favour, as they scored 416 runs in the first innings.
| Australia vs New Zealand, 1st Test, Perth | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| Australia: 416 (146.2 Overs) | New Zealand: 166 (55.2 Overs) |
| Marnus Labuschagne: 143 (240) | Ross Taylor: 80 (134) |
| Neil Wagner: 4/92 | Mitchell Starc: 5/52 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| Australia: 217/9d (69.1 Overs) | New Zealand: 171 (65.3 Overs) |
| Joe Burns: 53 (123) | BJ Watling: 40 (106) |
| Tim Southee: 5/69 | Nathan Lyon: 4/63 |
| Australia Won by 296 Runs | |
New Zealand’s first innings was filled with a lot of struggle, as the team fumbled at the score of 166. Mitchell Starc finished with 5 wickets, conceding just 52 runs, as he took the wickets of Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Neil Wagner, and Colin de Grandhomme.
In Australia’s second innings, their batsmen were able to show some resilience and ended their innings at the score of 217 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. New Zealand now had the target of 468 runs to chase, which was impossible for the team.
As a result, they got all out at the score of 171, allowing Australia to win by a margin of 296 runs. Starc again finished with 4 wickets in the final innings, taking the scalps of Jeet Raval, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, and Neil Wagner. This helped him to finish the match with an impressive 9 wickets in total.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25: 2nd Test
The current edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was just about the Australian bowlers, dominating the Indian batsmen. This started when Australia marked its comeback in the second Test, which was a pink ball Test being played at Adelaide. India won the toss in this game and decided to bat first, but this decision backfired.
| Australia vs India, 2nd Test, Adelaide | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| India: 180 (44.1 Overs) | Australia: 337 (87.3 Overs) |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy: 42 (54) | Travis Head: 140 (141) |
| Mitchell Starc: 6/48 | Jasprit Bumrah: 4/61 |
| 2 Innings | |
| India: 175 (36.5 Overs) | Australia: 19/0 (3.2 Overs) |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy: 42 (47) | Nathan McSweeney: 10* (12) |
| Pat Cummins: 5/57 | Jasprit Bumrah: 0/2 |
| Australia Won by 10 Wickets | |
The team got all out at the score of 180, and this time Mitchell Starc grabbed 6 wickets and conceded just 48 runs in 14.1 overs. He grabbed the important wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Australia did well in its first innings and ended up scoring 337 runs. But batting in the third innings was not easy for India, which allowed the Australian bowlers to dominate again. Eventually, India was bowled out for 175, where Starc finished with 2 wickets and 60 runs conceded.
This time, Mitchell Starc took the wickets of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, wrapping up India’s innings with a lead of 18 runs. Australia chased down the target with 10 wickets remaining, as Mitchell Starc dominated with the ball, taking an impressive total of 8 wickets.
Australia vs West Indies 2025: 3rd Test
One of his finest spells with the pink ball came in his 100th international Test match, which was against the West Indies. During the third match of the series, which was being played at Kingston, Australia decided to bat first, and this decision helped them. The team finished its first innings at the score of 225 runs.
| Australia vs West Indies, 3rd Test, Kingston | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| Australia: 225 (70.3 Overs) | West Indies: 143 (52.1 Overs) |
| Steven Smith: 48 (66) | John Campbell: 36 (65) |
| Shamar Joseph: 4/33 | Scott Boland: 3/34 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| Australia: 121 (37 Overs) | West Indies: 27 (14.3 Overs) |
| Cameron Green: 42 (66) | Justin Greaves: 11 (24) |
| Alzarri Joseph: 5/27 | Mitchell Starc: 6/9 |
| Australia Won by 176 Runs | |
In response, the West Indies was not able to score well and got all out at the score of just 143 runs in its first innings. Mitchell Starc took just one wicket and conceded 32 runs, which was the wicket of Kevlon Anderson.
Australia’s second innings was also filled with several struggles, as the team got all out at the score of 121. Now, the West Indies had to chase down the target of 204 runs, but one man was standing in their way, and it was none other than Mitchell Starc.
He ended up taking 6 wickets, conceding just 9 runs in 7.3 overs, as West Indies were bowled out for just 27. Mitchell Starc ended up being the Player of the Match in this innings, as he took 7 wickets with the pink ball, when Australia needed them the most.
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