On August 23, 2026, during the second Test match against Bangladesh at Mackay, Australia’s best pacer Mitchell Starc surpassed Ravichandran Ashwin (765 wickets) and Chaminda Vaas (761 wickets) to become one of the top twelve wicket-takers in international cricket history.
With 10 wickets in both innings, the left-arm quick ended the game with a career total of 771 international wickets at an average of 25.07 in 302 games. As of right moment, he is ranked 11th overall.
After taking 12 wickets in four innings at an average of 12.08 in the two-match match against Bangladesh, Starc was named Player of the Series in addition to winning Player of the Match for his ten-wicket performance.
What impact did Mitchell Starc bowling statistics have on the second Test at Mackay?
With 6/12 in 10 overs, Mitchell Starc was at his most dangerous during Bangladesh’s opening innings. The visitors were reduced to 12/5 when he dismissed five batters in the opening seven overs, four of whom were ducks. Bangladesh was knocked out for 64, one of the lowest totals in recent Test history at this venue, with Pat Cummins providing support with 3/25.
Australia responded with 210 in their opening innings, but Bangladesh finished with 7/48 thanks to Shoriful Islam’s hard work. After that, Mitchell Starc came back in the second innings to complete the ten-wicket match haul with 4/39. Australia won after Bangladesh was bowled for 95 thanks to Cummins’ 3/10 and Nathan Lyon’s 3/25. After Australia lost the first Test at Darwin, where Bangladesh had won by nine wickets, the outcome tied the series.
Another significant accomplishment of Starc’s first-innings outburst was that it put him in the top ten of the format-specific list, surpassing Dale Steyn as the all-time Test wicket-taker.
How close is Mitchell Starc to being one of the top ten wicket-takers in international history?
With 771 international wickets, Mitchell Starc is six fewer than Tim Southee of New Zealand, who has 776. Starc’s current form makes it seem possible for him to reach that milestone, which would put him in the top ten in all international forms.
His best international stats of 7/58 are still in place, and his career record includes 28 five-wicket hauls and four ten-wicket hauls. To put things in perspective, Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record most international wickets with 1,347 wickets at an average of 22.86 in 495 matches, including 22 ten-wicket hauls and 77 five-wicket hauls.
