Starc @ 100: A beast at home, a pink-ball master and a menace for left-handers

A monumental landmark awaits Mitchell Starc in Jamaica. Taking the field in the third Test against West Indies at Sabina Park, Starc will complete 100 matches in the format, becoming only the second Australian quick after Glenn McGrath to amass a century of Test caps. Only 15 other Australian players have earned 100 Test caps.

Starc will be the 15th pacer overall, including Jacques Kallis and Ben Stokes, among players who have notched up a minimum of 100 Test wickets as a fast bowler and played 100 Tests or more.

Starc gets to the 100-Test mark in the 14th year of his career, having made his debut in the first Test against New Zealand in December 2011. Since then, he has featured in 99 of the 141 Tests that Australia have played, picking 395 wickets at an average of 27.39 while having a strike rate of 48 balls per wicket.

Five more wickets will take Starc to 400 scalps in 100 Tests, making him the eighth pacer to achieve the double. Whether he manages those remaining wickets in Jamaica or not, Starc is almost certain to become the second quickest bowler overall to 400 Test wickets in terms of balls bowled. Only Dale Steyn is ahead him, getting there in 16,334 balls. Starc, having bowled 18,971 deliveries, is likely to reach the mark at least 1000 balls ahead of the next best - Richard Hadlee (20322-20436 deliveries). He will also be ahead of McGrath, making him the quickest Australian to 400 Test wickets when balls bowled are considered.

In fact, Starc has the best bowling strike rate for a pacer heading into his 100th Test. While McGrath and Wasim Akram had more wickets at this point in their career, Starc is the only with a bowling strike rate under 50 after the first 99 Tests.

Ever since ball-by-ball stats are available (since 2002), Starc has taken the second most number of wickets in the first over of the innings (20), the most famous being Rory Burns' dismissal on the first ball of the 2021-22 Ashes. Only James Anderson (29) has more.

Starc's habit of striking early has fetched him 107 wickets of openers. He is among the only six fast bowlers to dismiss more than 100 openers.

Starc's striking powers elevate against the left-handers. Out of 395 wickets, 125 are left-handers at a strike rate of 44.86 balls per wicket. It is the second best after Kagiso Rabada among the 22 bowlers to have dismissed left-handers more than 100 times in Tests since the ball-by-ball record is available. Starc beats Ravichandran Ashwin by a margin of two balls here, the only bowler with over 250 wickets bowling to the left-handers.

Against right-handers, Starc has 270 wickets at a strike rate of 49.67.

Starc has been a big contributor in wins, picking 246 of his 395 scalps in victories, the second highest by a pacer for Australia. Including spinners, Shane Warne (510) and Nathan Lyon pip Starc.

Starc's 246 wickets are also the most for a pacer in Test wins since his debut in December 2011, followed by two other quicks known for their longevity, Stuart Broad (242) and Anderson (233).

The Adelaide Oval has been Starc's favorite venue where he also picked his career best of 6 for 48 against India in 2024. He has snaffled 55 wickets in only 10 Tests there averaging 17.14. He is the only Australian bowler to take over 50 wickets at a venue at an average less than 20.

Overall, with his 235 wickets at home, Starc is also only behind McGrath (289) in terms of most wickets for a fast bowler in Australia. Only three fast bowlers have taken over 200 Test wickets in Australia, with Dennis Lillee being the third (231). Warne (319) and Lyon (268) are again ahead of Starc if spinners are included.

Starc has also been the highest wicket-taker in the brief history of day-night Tests. He has 74 wickets in the 13 Tests he has played, which is 31 more than the next best, Nathan Lyon. Among the six bowlers with more than 20 wickets in day-night Tests, Starc's strike rate of 34.8 is the best.

Starc is also the only bowler with four five-wicket hauls in day-night Test matches, giving him a good opportunity of picking the remaining five wickets to complete the double of 400 wickets in his 100th Test.