'It makes me feel old' - Starc reflects on journey to 100 Tests
Starc reflects on his growth as a Test bowler, his relationships with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, his physical challenges, and his commitment to Tests over franchise cricket
Andrew McGlashan
11-Jul-2025 • 14 hrs ago
"It makes me feel old," Mitchell Starc joked as he was asked to reflect on playing his 100th Test.
While last week Kraigg Brathwaite became the 82nd player to reach 100 Tests, only 12 have done so as what would be considered a frontline pace bowler. Starc will join that group against West Indies at Sabina Park, nearly 14 years after his debut, and he also stands five short of 400 wickets.
"I don't like it," he said about the attention that comes with his looming milestones. "Just get on with the cricket."
But Starc was able to reflect on the journey to reach this point. "Growing up I was always wanting to pull on the baggy green. I didn't think I'd play one game, but to have 99 chances to do that has been a real privilege."
Despite only taking up bowling at the age of 14, once he reached the professional level Starc knew he had the ability to bowl quickly and swing the ball but didn't always have the "tools" to master a variety of conditions and match situations. He credits the long-standing alliance and friendships with Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins in helping him develop, including adopting the wobble seam.
"I didn't have a lot through the period where the ball didn't do anything," he said. "I obviously had the ability to reverse swing it, but that portion through the middle [of the game]. To grow up in international cricket with two of my closest mates who are two of the world's best, to learn from them along the way and develop a bit more to my game over the years has probably certainly helped me in the long run.
"Then to be able to bowl in different facets of the game, different conditions around the world. It's probably helped me get as far down the track as I have."
The bond between the three quicks, and overlapping nature of their careers in which they have played 37 Tests together, has also helped each of them. "It's not lost on myself or the three of us how lucky we are that we're all from the same place," Starc said. "We train together, we sit in rehab rooms together over the years. The ability to push each other along the way, whether it's a flat week or a Test week. I think that contributes to the longevity of the three of us, in particular."
"Test cricket was probably the hardest format to either feel like I was good enough for or felt like I was capable of doing. To get that opportunity, I wasn't going to let that pass at all. The years that I did miss franchise cricket, I don't regret that at all. To get my body in as good a spot as I could for Australia to play 99 games, spend some time at home, spend some time with Alyssa [Healy] and family. That's the reason why I did those things."Mitchell Starc on why he missed so many IPL tournaments
Starc himself has not missed a Test through injury since damaging a finger against South Africa in late 2022 which forced him out of three matches, although he still bowled through it in the game itself at the MCG.
"There's a few scars and a few sore bits most days," he said of the toll of fast bowling. "Whether it be jabs or pain killers along the way, I know what I can and can't get through. I'm never going to go into a game that I don't think I can get through.
"Whether it's the growing pains or your body adapting to different modes of bowling. Working out what good pain is, bad pain is, [or] just general soreness. They all contribute to the progression of a young cricketer or a young bowler. I certainly had to learn those pretty quickly, otherwise I was probably going to be at the back end of it pretty quick.
"There's a fair bit of stubbornness along the way. Maybe some stupidity at times. As long as I'm continuing to play my role, no matter how the body's feeling, then that's the best thing I can do for the team."
While in recent times Starc has been able to cash in at the IPL, for a number of years he opted not to put his name forward when he could easily have done so to prioritise Test cricket.
"I wouldn't change it," he said. "Test cricket was probably the hardest format to either feel like I was good enough for or felt like I was capable of doing. To get that opportunity, I wasn't going to let that pass at all.
"The years that I did miss franchise cricket, I don't regret that at all. To get my body in as good a spot as I could for Australia to play 99 games, spend some time at home, spend some time with Alyssa [Healy] and family.
"That's the reason why I did those things. Whether it's paid off now, being a couple of days away from playing 100, or the series wins or the Test match wins, looking back at it, I wouldn't change it."
In terms of the future, Starc didn't want to look past the upcoming summer which includes the Ashes. As an all-format bowler he will be involved in next year's T20 World Cup, with the 2027 ODI version a potential further carrot. In terms of Test cricket, which Starc has always said is his No. 1 format, Australia have a bumper period starting next August through to mid-2027.
"Andrew [McDonald] said something the other day, [about] we're not a young bowling group," he said. "Whilst having a little bit of an eye on what's to come, it's also having a mind on making sure we're as fit and impactful as we have been when we were younger. What that looks like going forward, I'm not sure. I'll have a few weeks to think about things along the way this year, but obviously we've got a big summer coming up."
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo