Apart from the obvious high level of skill and consistency that it takes to play 100 Tests, there’s one quality that seems synonymous with Mitchell Starc when talking to his teammates.
“He’s a warrior.”
The left armer hasn’t missed a Test with injury since early 2023, and it took a tendon torn off the bone of his bowling finger to keep him out.
Over a 15-year career there’s been countless niggles and sore spots he’s pushed through, most recently in Sri Lanka when he fronted up through ankle pain as the side’s sole quick.
Having bowled with that busted finger in the 2022 Boxing Day Test, Starc himself quips it’s perhaps a touch of “stupidity” that has seen him push his body to the limit. But having suffered through back, knee, ankle, calf, foot and shin injuries early in his career, he’s since refused to leave his side a man down.
This weekend in Kingston, Jamaica, surrounded by three of his closest mates – Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon – Starc will become just the second Australian fast bowler after legendary Glenn McGrath to notch 100 Test caps, and just the 11th specialist quick overall.
“I’ve looked after or tried to look after my body and be able to find ways through pain barriers to make an impact for the team,” Starc told cricket.com.au ahead of reaching the milestone that only 15 of Australia’s 471 Test cricketers have managed.
“I’ve been a player that’s been injured and left them a man down before and I never wanted to do that again.
“So to find ways when things weren’t going well, or things were sore, or if I was carrying something, to still be able to push through and finish games and still be impactful, was part of it.
“But I’ve also had a lot of help along the way, with trainers and physios and my best mates being teammates, all helped me to keep playing and wanting to compete and still be a part of the group.”
With just five wickets to reach the magical 400 milestone, it could yet be a dual celebrations if he joins McGrath in reaching that mark in Kingston.
And he could quite possibly be the first former wicketkeeper to accomplish both having started his junior career behind the stumps until convinced by one of his coaches at age 14 that his tall and athletic traits were better suited in front of them.
“I didn’t think I’d play one (Test),” said Starc.
“(It’s) pretty humbling to play that much. A huge honour, probably something more to reflect on when I’m finished.
“Anytime you’re mentioned alongside some of those names, like Glenn (and) I’ve been fortunate enough to play with Mitchell Johnson (73 Tests), ‘Sidds’ (Peter Siddle, 67 Tests) and ‘Rhino’ (Ryan Harris, 27 Tests) and to have a bit of relationship with Brett (Lee, 76 Tests), I’ve been very lucky through cricket to a meet those guys and then play alongside or learn different pieces from them.
“I’ve had Craig McDermott (71 Tests) as bowling coach and (current Australia assistant coach) Dan Vettori (113 Tests, 362 wickets) has taken a lot of Test wickets as well, so if I do get there, that’d be incredibly humbling.
“And I guess it just means I’m a bit older.
“But to have some impact along (the way) in those games, to get somewhere near the 400-mark has been good fun.”
Having started his professional career averaging around the mid-140kph mark, his teammates are in awe of his “phenomenal” resilience and endurance that sees him remain at that speed more than 15 years later.
While the fast inswinger has and remains his bread and butter, it’s been a commitment to evolve his skillset with such assets as line and length control as well as wobble seam deliveries that’s transformed him into a bowler that can fill any role for Australia.
“I’ve always had a little bit of air speed, so there was a point of difference at times,” said Starc.
“I still don’t have all the skills, but I didn’t have perhaps the amount of skills that I’ve been able to develop down the road.
“A lot of it was try and swing it and try and bowl fast and my role was to try and take wickets and attack early.
“Fortunately, two of my best mates are two of the best fast bowlers in the world so you pick up a few things along the way and develop those skills to hopefully play a really big role in bowling attacks.”
While the 35-year-old routinely talks down his own achievements, Starc has sacrificed years of lucrative Indian Premier League cricket to ensure he remains at his peak for Australia.
“You think of the surfaces that we play in Australia – they’re firm, they’re hard, they take their toll and there’s a reason why there’s only two that have ever done it for Australia,” said men’s coach Andrew McDonald this week.
“His resilience, his planning, his preparation … he’s sacrificed a fair bit along the way as well.
“You look to some of the IPLs that he’s missed to get his body right to play for Australia, he’s put a lot of work into it – really proud of him and he’s getting his great reward for what he’s given up.
“His ball speed is still there – it’s phenomenal. He was hitting mid-140s again early in (the second Test) in quite oppressive conditions.
“If you looked at him as a younger bowler it was all about speed and swing and getting the ball full.
“If you look at the evolution, if you want to call it that, of Mitchell Starc, it’s his ability to hold line and length – now he can do any role you want.
“He’s still got those full swinging deliveries … but he’s able to hold length and control the scoreboard – that’s probably been his evolution and across three formats as well.
“Arguably, he’s our best 50-over bowler that we’ve had in terms of his impact on games and then you add that with 100 Test matches and 65 T20s and the impact he’s had there, it’s an incredible record.”
It’s also not lost on his two close fast bowling mates Hazlewood and Cummins that the Western Sydney-bred left-armer is quickest of them all, with the NSW pair alongside Starc for 59 and 55 of his respective Tests, but part of his journey for much longer.
“I first crossed paths with him in under-17s,” Hazlewood told the Unplayable Podcast in an episode to be released on Friday.
“We had like a city-country game and the NSW team got picked from that.
“I was like, ‘Jeez, this guy can bowl fast’. Left-arm fast bowler, you don’t come across them all that often.
“Then once the state team got picked for the carnival, they’re like, ‘Oh, this guy’s only been bowling for like six months, he’s been keeping up until then’.
“So I knew the raw talent was there from the start and it was just harnessing that and keep ticking off little improvements here and there throughout the years.
“We’ve played (59) Test matches together, a lot of white-ball for Australia, NSW (Sheffield) Shield games, growing up in under-17s and under-19s, there’s not many games where he hasn’t been at the other end bowling.
“To bowl that pace from day one all the way through to 100 Test matches … being a quick myself, I know how much goes into that and 100 Test matches is phenomenal effort.”
Cummins, who received his Baggy Green cap No.423 in the Test before Starc (No.425) made his debut against New Zealand at the Gabba in 2011, said pushing through the pain barrier was something he’d learned from his senior teammate following his re-entry into Test cricket in 2017 after years of injury setbacks.
“One-hundred Tests is huge for a fast bowler,” the Australian captain said. “There’s the obvious things – you’ve got to be skilful, be able to adapt to different conditions, which is really hard, you’ve play across a couple of different generations of players and other bowlers in Australia competing against you to play 100 Tests.
“But for me, it’s the longevity, discipline and professionalism to keep your body right for 100 Tests bowling at the speed that ‘Starcy’ does every Test.
“He’s always battling with something, (whether) it’s a sore toe, knee or shoulder, but he just cracks on.
“He never complains about it. He just straps up.
“Never wants to miss a day for Australia.
“And that’s something I’ve learned off him when I started playing Test cricket again, was you’ve always got something going on, but your job is to bowl, and you just grit your teeth and just get on with it.”
Qantas Tour of the West Indies
First Test: Australia won by 159 runs
Second Test: Australia won by 133 runs
Third Test: July 12-16, Kingston, Jamaica (4.30am AEST)
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
West Indies Test squad: Roston Chase (c), Jomel Warrican (vc), Kevlon Anderson, Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Mikyle Louis, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales
First T20I: July 20, Kingston, Jamaica (July 21, 11am AEST)
Second T20I: July 22, Kingston, Jamaica (July 23, 11am AEST)
Third T20I: July 25, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 26, 9am AEST)
Fourth T20I: July 26, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 27, 9am AEST)
Fifth T20I: July 28, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 29, 9am AEST)
West Indies T20 squad: TBC
Australia’s T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa