From Galle to Lord's: Starc's ten greatest Test performances

In conditions where Sri Lanka's spinners ran roughshod over Australia's batters, Starc put in a herculean effort to prove unequivocally that he did not need a swinging pink ball or fast bouncy pitches to be a force in Test cricket. He took 5 for 44 in the first innings and 6 for 50 in the second, which were his best Test figures until last season, to single-handedly give Australia a chance in a game they lost by 229 runs.

He took wickets in all three phases of each innings, too, knocking over top-order players when the pitch was at its best with the new ball, removing set middle-order players like Kusal Mendis with a 45-over-old ball, before blowing away the tail with reverse swing.

Having already lost the series, Starc again gave his side a chance in Colombo for a face-saving win with 5 for 63 from 25.1 overs in the first innings after Sri Lanka had won the toss at the normally batter-friendly SSC ground. He stormed through the top order with the new ball, taking three wickets, to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 24 for 4.

He later broke a 211-run stand to remove Dinesh Chandimal for 132 with extra pace in the 104th over of the innings before claiming a deserved fifth to finish the innings. It helped Australia claim a first-innings lead. Starc also took two in the second to finish with seven for the match and 23 in the series. Only one other wicket in the match was taken by a seamer on either team, as Rangana Herath took 13 to skittle Australia twice and seal a 3-0 series win.

Starc had made 99 on his first tour of India in Mohali on a very flat pitch but his batting in Pune in 2017 had as much of an impact on Australia's victory as Steven Smith's. In the first innings he walked out to bat with Australia 190 for 6 and peeled off 61 from 63 balls, adding 64 with Steve O'Keefe, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood who contributed one run between them to set up a vital first innings total of 260.

It will be remembered as O'Keefe's match with the ball, but before the left-arm spinner broke through, Starc had already removed the two danger men in three balls in the 15th over. He reared one from a length at searing pace to the immovable Cheteshwar Pujara to have him caught behind off the glove. Two balls later, he nicked off Virat Kohli.

In the second innings, Starc smacked 30 off 31 including three sixes and added 42 with Smith, who made a stunning 109 to take the game out of India's reach. Starc's aggregate of 91 with the bat for the match was only bettered by Smith and Matt Renshaw as Australia won handsomely.

A few weeks before the Sandpaper storm in Cape Town, Starc's nine-wicket haul in Durban had handed Australia a 1-0 series lead during a match that set in motion a chain events that would have a seismic impact on global cricket. He took 9 for 109, including 5 for 34 and 4 for 75 and was virtually unplayable. The majority of his success came with the old ball in a masterful display of reverse swing. He blew away South Africa's tail in both innings as Australia won by 118 runs.

Starc's performance at Manuka Oval won't be high on many people's lists of his best in Test cricket but it deserves as much praise as any of his best bowling efforts. On a pitch where Australia racked up 534 for 5 and 196 for 3 and four batters made centuries, Starc took 10 for 100 with a searing display of pace bowling, coming after three Tests where wickets had dried up. Among his ten, he forced Dhananjaya de Silva to hit his own wicket while trying to avoid a brutal bouncer. Most of the wickets were top-order players with the newer ball as there was no reverse swing to speak of.

Starc's fitness and durability is one of the most underrated aspects of his career. Never was it more evident than in oppressively hot conditions at Optus Stadium when Australia lost Josh Hazlewood to injury after eight balls of New Zealand's first innings. Without the aid of an allrounder in the XI to fill the void, Starc took 5 for 52 from 18 overs in the first innings and 4 for 45 from 14 in the second. He also added 30 with the bat in the first innings to complete a Player of the Match performance and help Australia to a thumping win.

Australia's quicks had bowled themselves into the ground across the first two drawn Tests. In the series decider, Starc and Pat Cummins dug deep with a mighty two-man effort to rip the series away from Pakistan. The hosts were 214 for 2 after Australia had posted a potentially under par 391. Starc took 4 for 33 from 20.4, tearing the heart out of the middle order including pinning an in-form Babar Azam lbw, while Cummins took five to bowl Pakistan out for 268 and establish a vital first innings lead that helped win the series 1-0.

Starc very nearly stole the third Test and the series from England with a phenomenal performance, having initially been left out of the first Test at Edgbaston due to his middling record in the country. The hosts were chasing 251 for victory and would have cantered home without Starc making life incredibly difficult.

He removed Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow at regular intervals to leave England wobbling at 171 for 6. A brilliant partnership between Harry Brook and Chris Woakes steadied the chase before Starc bounced out Brook to create more drama with 21 still needed. But Starc's five came with minimal support at the other end and England squeezed home by three wickets to change the course of the series.

Starc turned Australia's fortunes around in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar series. Having been battered by Yashasvi Jaiswal in Perth, who had accused Starc of bowling too slow, he blew the opener's pad off with the first ball of the match on his way to a career-best 6 for 48. It was yet another pink-ball masterclass from Starc, but this was done entirely in broad daylight as India lasted just 44.1 overs after opting to bat first. It set up a 10-wicket win and levelled the series at 1-1, with Australia going on to reclaim the trophy for the first time in ten years.

This was another standout performance from Starc in a losing cause. After Australia posted an underwhelming 212 in the first innings of the WTC final, Starc wrestled back the momentum by knocking over both openers. He also had a straightforward catch dropped by keeper Alex Carey that would have bagged him the top three. Australia still claimed a 75-run first innings lead before they lost 7 for 73 when batting a second time.

Starc ground out his first half-century in six years and one of his longest Test innings, making 58 not out off 136 balls and sharing a 59-run last wicket stand with Josh Hazlewood to give Australia 282 to defend. Again, he removed Ryan Rickelton early before ending a 61-run stand between Wiaan Mulder and Aiden Markram.

He should have had Temba Bavuma caught at second slip in his next over, but Smith spilled the edge standing very close and injured his finger badly in the process. Instead of having South Africa 75 for 3, with Starc claiming all three, Bavuma and Markram produced a match-winning stand of 147.