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Glenn McGrath has more Test wickets, and Pat Cummins boasts a better average, but Mitchell Starc’s knack of striking in the first over of a Test innings is becoming one of fast bowling’s most remarkable feats.
The left-arm pace bowler continued his astonishing run on Thursday, removing England opener Ben Duckett for a golden duck with the sixth ball of the second Ashes Test at the Gabba.
After inflicting similar damage on Zak Crawley in Perth – who was dismissed for a duck on the sixth and fifth balls of his innings in the first Test – Starc made it three from three this series with another strike in the first over at the Gabba.
He also had Ollie Pope on his way for a third-ball duck in the third over of England’s innings.
With Australia missing fast bowling mainstays Cummins and Josh Hazlewood through injury, and Nathan Lyon omitted for the pink-ball Test, Starc’s day one haul of 6-71 from 19 overs was even more valuable.
It was the 26th time Starc has taken a wicket in the first over of a Test innings, well clear of anyone else to play the longest format. England great Jimmy Anderson is next on 19, despite taking 286 more wickets than Starc, while Kemar Roach (10), Stuart Broad (nine), Tim Southee (nine) and Trent Boult (nine) are well back.
Since making his debut in 2011, Starc has sent down the first delivery in 170 of Australia’s 195 bowling innings. With 26 first-over wickets, Starc strikes once every 6.5 times he opens the bowling.
Remarkably, 10 of those have come in the past 12 months. In the opening match of last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal sledged Starc about bowling too slow. A week later in Adelaide, Starc trapped him lbw with the first ball of the match.
From there, Starc’s hot streak continued against India with the wicket of Jaiswal in the first over in Brisbane, to go with the dismissal of South Africa’s Aiden Markram in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s.
The run continued in Barbados, when Starc dismissed West Indian opener Kraigg Brathwaite in the first over, before producing his most absurd burst a few weeks later in Kingston: three wickets in six balls to remove John Campbell, Kevlon Anderson and Brandon King as the West Indies were rolled for 27 in an innings that also featured a Scott Boland hat-trick.
Starc’s most famous strike, however, remains the one that opened the 2021-22 Ashes series at the Gabba, when he bowled Rory Burns around his legs for a golden duck. Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique also has an unwanted record: dismissed three times in the first over by Starc in the 2022-23 series.
Starc’s overall impact is also greater when he bowls the first over. His Test average is 25.78 when he has gets first use of the ball in an innings. That number slips to 27.63, 38.81 and 46, respectively, when he is Australia’s second, third or fourth bowler used.
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The 35-year-old also passed Wasim Akram’s career tally of 415 Test wickets on Thursday to become the most prolific left-arm fast bowler in history.
“I’ll reflect on it later,” Starc said. “Wasim is still a far better bowler than I am. He’s the pinnacle of left-armers and right up there with the greatest bowlers to ever play the game.
“Nice to be spoken about ... but I’ll keep trying to churn a few out.”
After three of a possible 10 bowling innings this series, Starc has 11 wickets more than any player in the series. His 16 wickets at 11.5 have him charging towards rarefied Ashes air.
His best haul in an Ashes series is 23 wickets in 2023, while Mitchell Johnson’s 37 wickets in 2013-14 remains the benchmark for an Australian bowler in a five-Test Ashes campaign at home.
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