Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has reached a major milestone in Test cricket. The left-arm fast bowler became the first left-arm bowler in the world to take 450 wickets in the longest format during the ongoing second Test against South Africa in Gqeberha.
Starc reached the landmark on Tuesday, October 20, when he dismissed South Africa all-rounder Wiaan Mulder on the third day of the match at St George’s Park. Mulder scored 13 runs off 38 balls before Matt Renshaw took the catch.
The Australian pacer had already picked up a wicket on the second day, dismissing Matthew Breetzke for four runs. Alex Carey took that catch as Australia continued to put pressure on the hosts.
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Mitchell Starc Becomes First Left-Arm Bowler To Take 450 Test Wickets
With Mulder’s dismissal, Starc became the first left-arm bowler, whether a fast bowler or a spinner, to reach 450 wickets in Test cricket.
He now leads the list of left-arm bowlers with the most Test wickets. Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath, Pakistan legend Wasim Akram, New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori and India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are among the other leading names on the list.
Starc has also become only the fourth Australian bowler to take at least 450 Test wickets. He joins Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Nathan Lyon in the exclusive group.
Starc Breaks Glenn McGrath’s Record
Starc has also set a new record for the fastest bowler to take 450 Test wickets in terms of balls bowled.
The 36-year-old reached the milestone after bowling 20,577 deliveries, surpassing McGrath’s previous record of 23,474 balls.
Starc is playing his 109th Test for Australia in the ongoing match against South Africa. Although he took longer than McGrath to reach the landmark in terms of matches, he needed significantly fewer deliveries to get there.
McGrath claimed his 450th Test wicket in his 100th match, making him the faster of the two in terms of appearances.
Muthiah Muralidaran Overall Record
While Starc has made history among left-arm bowlers and set a new mark for deliveries bowled, the overall record for the fewest matches needed to reach 450 Test wickets still belongs to Sri Lankan legend Muthiah Muralidaran. The former off-spinner got the milestone in just 80 Tests, a record still ahead of both Starc and McGrath.