Australia’s pace spearhead Mitchell Starc has added another major milestone to his illustrious career, becoming the most successful left-arm bowler in Test cricket. Starc achieved the feat during the first Test against Bangladesh in Darwin on Thursday.
Starc started the match with 433 Test wickets, level with former Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath. He then dismissed Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam in the ninth over, with Nathan Lyon taking the catch. The wicket took Starc’s tally to 434, putting him ahead of Herath.
With 434 wickets in 106 Tests, Starc is now joint 11th on the all-time Test wicket-takers’ chart alongside India’s Kapil Dev, who reached the same figure in 131 Tests.
The 36-year-old Australian is only six wickets short of entering the top 10. South Africa’s legendary pacer Dale Steyn currently occupies 10th place with 439 wickets from 93 Tests.
Starc made his international debut in October 2010 and has since established himself as one of the most dangerous fast bowlers of his generation. He has represented Australia successfully across all three formats.
He is also among the select group of players to have won all three major ICC men’s world titles—the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and World Test Championship.
In ODIs, Starc has 247 wickets from 130 matches at an average of 23.58. He was part of Australia’s World Cup-winning squads in 2015 and 2023.