Is Mitchell Starc the Greatest Modern Bowler with 100 Test Matches in His Career?

Shane Warne, the former Australian player, once said about Starc:

He has to change his body language, it needs to be stronger — he looks a bit soft. He needs to puff his chest out a bit, look harder.

Fast forward to 2025, Mitchell Starc has placed himself as a primary bowler for the Australian team across all formats, particularly in Test cricket.

In the upcoming Test match against West Indies, he will be playing his 100th Test match, showcasing his resilience and consistency in this format. Playing 100 Test matches for their nation is definitely one of the biggest achievements any player could get in their career. Along with that, an aspect which is notable for Starc is that he has not compromised his speed in the 99 Tests he has played.

Having played 99 Test matches, he has taken 395 wickets at an average of 27.39 and an economy of 3.42 runs per over. With 15 five-wicket hauls and 20 four-wicket hauls, it shows that Starc has been no less than a deadly pacer in the current generation.

Matches	Innings	Wickets	Average	Economy	5 Wicket Hauls	10 Wickets in a Match
99	190	395	27.39	3.42	15	2

In the era where most of the players give priority to the T20 leagues, Starc has compromised with the same in order to make himself available for the Tests. His career has also been affected by some injuries, but he also ensured a timely recovery to be available for the Test matches. Let’s take a look at Starc’s Test journey as he gets ready to play his 100th Test match.

Bowling Stats

Mitchell Starc made his debut for the Australian team long back in 2011 against New Zealand, as the match was being played at Brisbane. His maiden Test wicket came in the form of Brendon McCullum, giving a kickstart to his career. In the same innings, he was also able to take the wicket of Jesse Ryder.

He went wicketless in the second innings, finishing his maiden Test match with just 2 wickets. But that didn’t stop him, as he came back stronger in the upcoming matches he played. In the second match also, he took just 2 wickets but remained economical in both innings.

Ever since his debut series, he has not looked back and improved himself even more. Let’s take a look at some of his glorious wicket achievements:

• 100th Wicket: In the second Test match against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2016, Starc took the wicket of Kusal Mendis to get his 100th wicket;
• 200th Wicket: His 200th wicket also came against Sri Lanka, in his 50th Test match, which was being played at Brisbane. He dismissed Suranga Lakmal to bring up the milestone, and also on the very ground where he made his debut;

• 300th Wicket: Call the Gabba a lucky Stadium for Starc, as he also completed his 300 Test wickets at this ground. This happened in 2022, when Australia and South Africa faced each other. Starc dismissed Rassie van der Dussen to complete the historic 300 wickets mark.

The Gabba has proven to be a historic ground for Mitchell Starc, as he made his debut, taking his 200th and 300th Test wickets at the same ground. With his 100th Test match against West Indies coming up soon, fans also expect him to complete his 400 Test wickets in the game. Currently, Starc holds 395 wickets in the longest format of the game.

Records Against Country

Mitchell Starc has proven to be a dominant bowler across multiple countries against whom he has played. His best records still stand against England, where he holds 97 wickets in 22 matches at an average of 27.37 and an economy of 3.57 runs per over. This is followed by his records against Sri Lanka, which have also been great, with 57 wickets in 11 matches.

Opponent	Matches	Innings	Wickets	Average	Economy	5 Wicket Haul	10 Wickets in a Match
England	22	42	97	27.37	3.57	4	0
India	23	43	66	35.84	3.42	1	0
New Zealand	10	19	37	26.64	3.42	1	0
Pakistan	14	28	54	30.00	3.19	1	0
South Africa	10	19	47	28.06	3.68	2	0
Sri Lanka	11	21	57	18.89	3.39	6	2
West Indies	9	18	37	21.59	3.10	0	0

Starc has been one of the best bowlers for Australia when it comes to the iconic Test series of the Ashes. In the previous Ashes series, which took place in England, Starc finished as the leading wicket-taker with 23 wickets in 7 innings at an average of 27.08, spearheading the team’s bowling line-up.

Even in the Ashes 2021-22, Starc finished as the second highest wicket-taker for the team, taking 19 wickets in 10 innings at an average of 25.36 runs per wicket. At this time, several fans and cricket analysts made criticism of his form, but his performances in the Ashes came as a redemption for all the hatred he received.

But England is not the only opponent against whom Starc prefers to dominate. He has also performed well against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, taking 66 wickets in 23 matches at an average of 35.84 runs per wicket. Although he may not be very effective in the Tests in India, he has been strong in the home tests.

In the 2024-25 BGT, he played all matches and took 18 wickets at an average of 28.66, and an economy of 3.36 runs per over. His performances didn’t go well in the BGT 2020-21, where he took just 11 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 40.72, and an economy of 3.27 runs per over. Even in the 2018-19 BGT, he took 13 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 34.53 and an economy of 3.23 runs per over.

The year 2016 is considered his prime time in the Test formats, where he took 50 wickets in just 8 matches at an average of 22.58, and an economy of 3.46 runs per over. Along with that, he also took 3 five-wicket hauls and also grabbed 10 wickets in a match.

Batting Stats

Not only has Starc shone with the ball, but he has also showcased his ability to bat for the Australian cricket team. Playing 99 Tests, he has scored 2311 runs at an average of 20.27, with 11 half-centuries. Yes, it is a notable fact that he has not scored even a single century in his Test career, while most of the fans even say that he didn’t have the need to score a century.

During the Australia tour of India 2013, Starc played his best innings with the bat during the third Test, which was played at Mohali. In the first innings, where Australia posted a total of 408 runs, Mitchell Starc came out as the top scorer for the team, scoring 99 runs in 144 balls, before losing his wicket to Ishant Sharma. With this innings, it was clear that the lower order of Australia is in safe hands.

Later, he scored another magnificent half-century against India, which came in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2017, which was again hosted in India. In the first match being played at Pune, he scored 61 runs in just 63 deliveries with 6 fours and 3 sixes, before losing his wicket to Ravichandran Ashwin.

Not only against India, Mitchell Starc has also stepped up with the bat in the Test matches against England. During the historic 2019 Ashes, he played just one match, being a part of the team in the 4th match of the series. He did contribute with the ball, taking 4 wickets in the match, but his major contribution came with the bat.

During the first innings, he helped to save a lower-order collapse, having a partnership with Steven Smith and Nathan Lyon. This helped Starc to remain not out as he scored 54 runs off just 58 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. His partnership with Nathan Lyon is still regarded as the game changer in this match, as both batsmen didn’t lose their wickets.

Out of the 11 half-centuries in the Test format he has scored, 4 of them have been against India and 3 of them have been against England. However, there is another team against whom he has scored 3 half-centuries, which is South Africa. His latest half-century against the Proteas came in the World Test Championship final.

In the final match, Australia already had a lead but had to set a good target against South Africa. As the top order failed to score well, Mitchell Starc decided to take the matter into his own hands, and he received some assistance from Josh Hazlewood. As a result, he ended up scoring 58 runs in 136 balls with 5 fours, being the only batsman from the team who didn’t lose his wicket in the innings.

Despite that, it was not enough for Mitchell Starc to help Australia win the match, as South Africa went on to chase down the target of 282 with 5 wickets remaining. If there is still something which he is looking forward to achieving with his bat, it would probably be a century, which he missed out on a long time ago.

As Starc gets ready to play his 100th Test match against West Indies, can he finally take his 400th wicket in this game?