Mitchell Starc added another major record to his name during Australia's second Test against Bangladesh in Mackay. The Australian left-arm pacer became the first bowler in Test cricket to take a wicket with the very first delivery of a match on four different occasions.

Starc strikes with the first ball

Starc opened the bowling at the Great Barrier Reef Arena and immediately put Bangladesh under pressure. His first delivery removed opener Shadman Islam. Cameron Green took the catch, sending Shadman back for a golden duck. That dismissal gave Starc the record for the most first-ball wickets at the start of a Test match. Before Starc, the record belonged to former West Indies fast bowler Pedro Collins, who had achieved the feat three times. Interestingly, all three of Collins' first-ball wickets came against Bangladesh opener Hannan Sarkar.

Bowlers who picked up wickets on the first ball

PLAYER COUNTRY OCCASIONS
Mitchell Starc Australia 4
Pedro Collins West Indies 3
Geoff Arnold England 2
Richard Hadlee New Zealand 2
Kapil Dev India 2
Suranga Lakmal Sri Lanka 2

Starc's four first-ball wickets

Starc's first such dismissal came against Sri Lanka in Galle in August 2016. He removed Dimuth Karunaratne with the opening delivery, with Joe Burns taking the catch.

His second came during the first Ashes Test at the Gabba in Brisbane in December 2021. Starc bowled England opener Rory Burns with the very first ball.

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The Australian reached three first-ball wickets during the day-night Test against India in Adelaide in December 2024. Yashasvi Jaiswal was trapped lbw by Starc from the opening delivery.

Now, Shadman has become the fourth batter to fall to Starc's first ball of a Test.

Only Collins had previously managed three such dismissals. Behind Starc and Collins on the list are Geoff Arnold, Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev and Suranga Lakmal, who each took a wicket with the first delivery of a Test twice.

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Another record goes to Starc

Shadman's dismissal also helped Starc move past England great James Anderson for another record. Anderson took eight wickets in the first over of Test matches during his career. Starc has now taken nine wickets in the opening over.

First-ball wickets by Mitchell Starc

PLAYER COUNTRY MODE OF DISMISSAL FIELDER INVOLVED VENUE START DATE
Dimuth Karunaratne Sri Lanka Caught Joe Burns Galle August 4, 2016
Rory Burns England Bowled – Brisbane December 8, 2021
Yashasvi Jaiswal India LBW – Adelaide December 6, 2024
Shadman Islam Bangladesh Caught Cameron Green Mackay August 22, 2026

Starc finishes with six wickets

The record-breaking first ball was only the beginning of a brilliant day for Starc. He went on to take 6/12 from 10 overs as Bangladesh were bowled out for just 64 in their first innings.