Mitchell Starc is all set to become only the second Australian fast bowler after Glenn McGrath to feature in 100 Tests when he walks out to take the field in the third Test against West Indies on Sunday. The left armer hasn’t missed a Test with injury since early 2023, and it took a tendon torn off the bone of his bowling finger to keep him out then.
Right through his career he has pushed himself to the limits in Australian colours and choosing to skip the IPL riches to manage workload. Having suffered back, knee, ankle, calf, foot and shin injuries early in his career, he’s since refused to leave his side a man down. At one point there were serious doubts if he could play Test cricket for long. But this weekend at Kingston, Starc would get his 100th Baggy Green cap.
“I’ve looked after or tried to look after my body and be able to find ways through pain barriers to make an impact for the team,” Starc told cricket.com.au. “I’ve been a player that’s been injured and left them a man down before and I never wanted to do that again. So to find ways when things weren’t going well, or things were sore, or if I was carrying something, to still be able to push through and finish games and still be impactful, was part of it. But I’ve also had a lot of help along the way, with trainers and physios and my best mates being teammates, all helped me to keep playing and wanting to compete and still be a part of the group,” Strac added.
Having overseen Australia’s huge transition, he formed a lethal pair with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Apart from winning the 50-over World Cup twice, Starc was also part of the Australian squad that won the World Test Championship in 2023. Having began his age-group career as a wicketkeeper, Starc said he never thought he would feature in as many Tests.
“I didn’t think I’d play one (Test),” said Starc. “(It’s) pretty humbling to play that much. A huge honour, probably something more to reflect on when I’m finished. Anytime you’re mentioned alongside some of those names, like Glenn (and) I’ve been fortunate enough to play with Mitchell Johnson (73 Tests), ‘Sidds’ (Peter Siddle, 67 Tests) and ‘Rhino’ (Ryan Harris, 27 Tests) and to have a bit of relationship with Brett (Lee, 76 Tests), I’ve been very lucky through cricket to a meet those guys and then play alongside or learn different pieces from them,” Starc said.
