Mitchell Starc is regarded as one of the best limited overs bowlers of all time and in 2015 was the highest-rated bowler in ODI cricket.
133 Facts About Mitchell Starc
2.
Mitchell Starc began playing international cricket in 2010, but the early part of his career was disrupted by persistent injuries.
3.
Mitchell Starc came to worldwide attention as a prominent member of the Australian squad that won the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and was declared Player of the Tournament as a result of his consistent performances throughout the matches.
4.
Mitchell Starc is fastest bowler in the history of ODI cricket to reach 200 wickets, taking 102 matches to reach the milestone.
5.
Mitchell Starc was a member of the Australian team that won the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup.
6.
Mitchell Starc started playing cricket from a young age, at 9 years old for Northern Districts as a wicket keeper.
7.
Mitchell Starc was a representative cricketer of the Northern Districts Cricket Association and attended Homebush Boys High School, representing the school's 1st grade cricket team.
8.
Mitchell Starc is a former junior cricketer for the Berala Sports Cricket Club in Sydney, where he was known to wicket keep and bowl in the same innings.
9.
Mitchell Starc made his first-class debut in New South Wales' final match of the season on 5 March 2009 against Western Australia.
10.
Mitchell Starc was selected to play for the Australian Institute of Sport in 2010, where his bowling helped the team to win the Emerging Players Twenty20 Trophy over teams from India, New Zealand, and South Africa.
11.
Mitchell Starc made his international debut on this tour, playing in a One Day International against India on 20 October 2010.
12.
Mitchell Starc played his second ODI later in the summer, in the final match of Australia's three-match series against Sri Lanka.
13.
Mitchell Starc was selected again to play for Australia A in the 2011 winter for a tri-series in Zimbabwe.
14.
Mitchell Starc made his Test debut for Australia on 1 December 2011, in the first Test of the two-Test series against New Zealand.
15.
Mitchell Starc was given his baggy green by Richie Benaud and took two wickets in the match.
16.
Mitchell Starc took another two wickets in the second Test, but he was left out of the team named for the first Test of the subsequent series against India, and was then removed from the squad entirely for the 2012 New Year's Test to make way for Ryan Harris, as Harris had recovered from his injury.
17.
Mitchell Starc was recalled to Australia's Test squad when James Pattinson was ruled out because of a foot injury, and he played in the third Test on the pace-friendly WACA Ground in place of spinner Nathan Lyon.
18.
Mitchell Starc excelled in bowling with swing to right-handed batsmen, and among his four wickets he successfully dismissed Sachin Tendulkar leg-before-wicket.
19.
Mitchell Starc was left out of the team for the final Test match of the series to make way for Lyon's return, and was removed from Australia's ODI squad to make way for the return of Ryan Harris.
20.
Mitchell Starc returned to the national squad for their Test series in the West Indies in April 2012.
21.
Mitchell Starc did not play in the first two Test matches, but was brought into the side for the final match of the series because of injuries to James Pattinson and Peter Siddle.
22.
However, upon his arrival in the United Kingdom, Mitchell Starc was detained and questioned at Heathrow Airport for more than four hours then deported because his visa forms had not been filled out correctly.
23.
Mitchell Starc again joined the Australian ODI squad for Australia's series against Afghanistan and Pakistan in August and September 2012.
24.
Mitchell Starc began the tour in superb form, winning man of the match in Australia's first two matches for taking four wickets against Afghanistan and five wickets against Pakistan in two wins.
25.
Australia won the series and Mitchell Starc was named the player of the series because of his nine wickets in Australia's two wins.
26.
Mitchell Starc featured prominently in the Sixers' game against his old side Yorkshire, taking three wickets to help restrict Yorkshire to just 96 runs from their twenty overs.
27.
Mitchell Starc followed this up in a game against the Highveld Lions with another three wickets.
28.
The Sixers won the tournament undefeated, and Mitchell Starc finished as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets, getting him named player of the tournament.
29.
Mitchell Starc was in consideration for the first Test match against South Africa, but was ultimately left out of the team in favour of Ben Hilfenhaus.
30.
Mitchell Starc was named as 12th man for the first two Test matches, and in the meantime played well for New South Wales to push his case for inclusion in the team.
31.
Mitchell Starc was finally included in the side for the final Test of the series in Perth.
32.
Australia's young fast bowlers in recent years had suffered from many stress fractures, which sports scientists attributed to heavy workloads, and with Mitchell Starc being the only bowler to play for Australia in all three formats he had a very heavy workload.
33.
Mitchell Starc chose not to submit his name for the 2013 IPL player auction despite the expectation that he would attract a considerable sum of money.
34.
Mitchell Starc instead opted to take two months to rest between Australia's 2013 tours of India and England.
35.
Mitchell Starc played "nervelessly" through most of his innings, but when he reached 99 India's captain MS Dhoni brought the fielders in to put more pressure on Starc, and he began to play false shots.
36.
Mitchell Starc attempted to drive the ball off of Ishant Sharma's bowling, but instead he edged the ball behind him and was caught by Dhoni.
37.
Mitchell Starc later revealed that he had been relying on injections of painkillers to get through his bowling, but the injections were no longer numbing the pain by the end of the India series.
38.
Mitchell Starc was brought back into the side for the third match, being preferred because he could help create footmarks on the pitch for off-spinner Nathan Lyon to bowl into.
39.
Mitchell Starc struggled to bowl with accuracy, but on day 3 of the match he was able to generate reverse swing with the ball and take several key wickets.
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Mitchell Starc's inaccuracy proved useful, as a wayward ball delivered to the leg side dismissed Alastair Cook when Cook was well set at the crease.
41.
Mitchell Starc's wickets helped to give Australia a chance of winning the match, but the match was ultimately drawn.
42.
Mitchell Starc was yet again dropped for the fourth match of the series, and yet again recalled for the fifth and final match, with England having already retained the Ashes.
43.
Mitchell Starc took seven wickets in his first match back against South Australia, but suffered a groin strain and was ruled out of the next match.
44.
Mitchell Starc returned to the Test team again for Australia's home series against India.
45.
Mitchell Starc played in the 2nd Test match at the Gabba, selected because his bowling style suited the wicket there, but he performed poorly and his body language was criticised by former Test cricketer Shane Warne.
46.
Mitchell Starc was dropped for the 3rd Test but recalled again for the 4th and final match of the series.
47.
Mitchell Starc was officially reprimanded by the International Cricket Council for an "exaggerated celebration" after taking the wicket of Murali Vijay.
48.
When Vijay was caught behind the stumps by Brad Haddin, Mitchell Starc celebrated by screaming in Vijay's face.
49.
Mitchell Starc helped Australia to win the 2015 Carlton Mid Triangular Series against India and England.
50.
Mitchell Starc bowled well from the very first match of the series, taking two wickets in the first three balls of England's batting innings.
51.
Mitchell Starc followed up his four wickets against England with six wickets against India, again taking a wicket in the first over of the innings.
52.
Mitchell Starc was named the player of the match in both matches, and his performances took him to a career total of 59 ODI wickets at a strike-rate of just 24.2 deliveries per wicket.
53.
Mitchell Starc was part of Australia's victorious team in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, hosted in Australia and New Zealand.
54.
Mitchell Starc took two wickets against England in the first match, but Australia's second match against Bangladesh was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain.
55.
Mitchell Starc bowled well with swing to begin with, but after bowling 6 overs he was taken out of the bowling attack.
56.
Mitchell Starc was brought back on later to bowl his remaining overs.
57.
Mitchell Starc bowled the 23rd over, the last of his allotted 10 overs, with New Zealand at 145 runs for 7, needing just 7 more runs to win.
58.
Mitchell Starc's next delivery was a yorker, which bowled out Adam Milne.
59.
Mitchell Starc finished the match with 6 wickets, the second time he'd achieved this during the season.
60.
Against Scotland, Mitchell Starc took four wickets for 14 runs in just five overs of bowling, including dismissing both of Scotland's opening batsmen in the first seven overs of the innings.
61.
Mitchell Starc finished the tournament with 22 wickets and a bowling average of 10.18.
62.
Mitchell Starc was named the player of the tournament, and he finished the tournament as the top-ranked ODI bowler in the world.
63.
Mitchell Starc returned to red-ball cricket in Australia's tour of the West Indies in June 2015.
64.
Mitchell Starc took time in his first few overs of the Test series to find his rhythm, but once he did he became very difficult for the West Indies batsmen to handle.
65.
Mitchell Starc was still able to take five wickets in England's first innings, and was Australia's most successful bowler during the match, but he took his wickets at the cost of many runs.
66.
Mitchell Starc experienced an ankle injury on the first day of the match, so he required painkillers to bowl for the rest of the match.
67.
Across the Ashes, Mitchell Starc had had numerous bowling spells that England's batsmen were incapable of responding to, but he was never able to bowl to his best in crucial moments.
68.
Mitchell Starc managed to take 18 wickets, but conceded nearly 4 runs per over through the series.
69.
Mitchell Starc played, but his ankle injury from earlier in the tour became aggravated again.
70.
MRI scans showed that Mitchell Starc had bone spurs in his ankles.
71.
Mitchell Starc required cortisone injections to treat inflammation in his ankle joint and missed the 4th ODI, but returned for the final match of the series despite many other players being rested because of the short turnover to their next tour in Bangladesh.
72.
Mitchell Starc took a wicket in the opening over of the match, reminiscent of the 2015 World Cup final, as Australia bowled out England for a mere 138 runs.
73.
Cricket Australia had him rested for New South Wales' fifth match because of his ankle injury, but Mitchell Starc dominated the rest of the tournament.
74.
Mitchell Starc helped New South Wales to win the tournament in the final, where he took three wickets.
75.
Mitchell Starc finished the 2015 calendar year by playing in Australia's Test series against New Zealand.
76.
Mitchell Starc threw the ball back at Craig, but it missed him and ran away for four overthrows.
77.
Mitchell Starc initially intended to delay surgery for his ankle spurs until after Australia's tour of New Zealand and the 2016 World Twenty20, but after meeting with specialists it was determined that it was best for him to have the surgery, making him unavailable for both of these events.
78.
Mitchell Starc trained ahead of the series at the National Cricket Centre alongside other Australian players who weren't participating in the 2016 Indian Premier League, including Australian captain Steve Smith, who hoped that his return would "scare" opposition teams.
79.
Mitchell Starc was rested for two matches early in the series to manage his workload, both of which Australia lost, but Australia went on to win the tournament with Mitchell Starc playing in the final.
80.
Mitchell Starc got through the series without any ankle pain and with much more flexibility in his ankle than before his surgery.
81.
Mitchell Starc bowled especially well in the second Test match, taking a wicket with the very first ball of the match.
82.
Mitchell Starc took even better bowling figures in the second innings with 6 wickets for 40 runs, though Australia went on to lose the match.
83.
Mitchell Starc had to adjust his follow-through to avoid the footholes, running further onto the pitch and attracting the attention of the umpires.
84.
Mitchell Starc's success continued into the subsequent ODI series, where he took his 100th ODI wicket in his 52nd match.
85.
Mitchell Starc was rested for Australia's tour of South Africa in October 2016, allowing him to prepare for the home summer.
86.
Mitchell Starc required 30 stitches, spent four days in hospital, and had to use a knee brace for four weeks to keep his skin in place while it healed.
87.
Regardless, Mitchell Starc played the match despite his wound still being open.
88.
Mitchell Starc had to bowl 50 overs in the Test match, which Australia lost.
89.
Mitchell Starc was rewarded for his performance and resilience when he won Australia's Men's Test Player of the Year award for 2016.
90.
Mitchell Starc was named in the ICC's Men's Test Team of the Year.
91.
In 2017, Mitchell Starc returned to New Zealand for the first time since the 2015 World Cup in an ODI series against New Zealand, but he wasn't able to recapture his form from 2015.
92.
Mitchell Starc contributed an important 61 runs with the bat in Australia's first innings, and Australia won the match by 333 runs.
93.
Mitchell Starc was deemed fit to play in the Champions Trophy, giving Australia a full-strength lineup with Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson all available as well.
94.
Australia's first two matches in the tournament were washed out, but Mitchell Starc was still able to perform well in these games.
95.
Mitchell Starc took three wickets in a single wicket without conceding any runs, the first triple-wicket maiden ever bowled in the Champions Trophy.
96.
Mitchell Starc was named player of the match for both performances.
97.
Mitchell Starc played in the first three matches of the Ashes, with Australia winning all three and regaining the Ashes with two matches remaining, but he suffered a bruised heel in the third match.
98.
Mitchell Starc was considered fit enough to play in the final match and the following ODI series, but his bowling was much slower than usual and he didn't pose as much of a threat to England's batsmen.
99.
Mitchell Starc spent time recovering from his injury before traveling for Australia's 2018 away tour of South Africa, where he had not previously played red-ball cricket.
100.
Mitchell Starc was able to get reverse swing with the ball, owing to the way the abrasive pitch at Kingsmead Cricket Ground roughed up the ball.
101.
Mitchell Starc played with a calf problem and bowled poorly during the match, only taking one wicket, which put him in doubt to play in the third Test match.
102.
Mitchell Starc passed a fitness test to play in the third Test match, but he was ruled out of the final match of the series with a stress fracture in his right leg.
103.
Mitchell Starc was not found to be involved, but Cricket Australia gave Smith a 12-month ban from international and domestic cricket and a subsequent 12-month ban from team leadership positions.
104.
Months after the scandal, Mitchell Starc said that his relationship with Smith had been "strained", but remained "very much in tact".
105.
Mitchell Starc made a deliberate effort to keep the criticism out of his mind and focus on his own bowling, deciding to focus on bowling at high pace instead of swing.
106.
Mitchell Starc was instrumental in setting up Australia's series clinching win in the second Test with a ten-wicket haul.
107.
Scans after the match revealed that Mitchell Starc had torn his left pectoral muscle, so he was declared unavailable for Australia's tour of India in February and March 2019.
108.
Mitchell Starc was set to return for the following ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE, but when he returned to bowling he aggravated his injury again, setting back his recovery.
109.
Mitchell Starc was seen as a very important part of Australia's chances at the World Cup because of his performance in 2015, but his lack of recent match practice but into doubt how well he'd bowl this time.
110.
Mitchell Starc took five wickets in Australia's 15-run win, including wickets at crucial times of the match to ensure Australia would get across the line.
111.
Subsequent replays showed that on the delivery before the wicket, Mitchell Starc had overstepped the popping crease in his delivery stride and bowled a no-ball, which Gaffaney had failed to call.
112.
On 29 June 2019, in the match against New Zealand, Mitchell Starc became the first bowler to take three five-wicket hauls at the Cricket World Cup.
113.
Mitchell Starc finished the tournament with 27 dismissals, which is an all-time record for most wickets as an individual in a single World Cup.
114.
In July 2019, Mitchell Starc was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Ashes series in England.
115.
On 16 July 2020, Mitchell Starc was named in a 26-man preliminary squad of players to begin training ahead of a possible tour to England following the COVID-19 pandemic.
116.
On 14 August 2020, Cricket Australia confirmed that the fixtures would be taking place, with Mitchell Starc included in the touring party.
117.
In November 2020, Mitchell Starc was nominated for the ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Decade award.
118.
Later the same month, Mitchell Starc was named in Australia's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
119.
Mitchell Starc picked 9 wickets in 7 matches with bowling average of 27.56.
120.
Mitchell Starc performed throughout the series, with both the ball and bat, scoring runs as a capable lower-order batsman and picked up 19 wickets in 5 matches with a bowling average of 25.36.
121.
In 2014, Mitchell Starc was signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore to play in the 2014 IPL.
122.
Mitchell Starc used a different method to most Australian cricketers to take these catches, with his fingers pointed down instead of up.
123.
Mitchell Starc's start to the 2015 season was delayed due to a knee injury which kept him in Australia.
124.
Royal Challengers Bangalore only lost one of their next seven matches, and Mitchell Starc finished the tournament with 20 wickets.
125.
Mitchell Starc missed the IPL in 2016 because of a foot fracture injury and in February 2017 parted ways with Royal Challengers Bangalore in order to reduce his workload and focus on his fitness for the upcoming 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
126.
In January 2018, Mitchell Starc was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for the equivalent of A$1.8 million, the second most of any Australian player bought in the 2018 auction, but he never played a match for the team.
127.
Mitchell Starc was ruled out of the 2018 Indian Premier League due to injury, having tibial bone stress in his right leg sustained in a Test series against South Africa.
128.
Mitchell Starc had taken insurance for his contract Kolkata, which would have entitled him to A$1.53 after missing the 2018 season because of injury, but the insurance company declared him ineligible and refused to pay.
129.
In 2019 Mitchell Starc took legal action against the insurance company to recoup his losses.
130.
Mitchell Starc pulled out of the 2022 IPL season, citing "bubble fatigue" as a reason.
131.
Mitchell Starc is the elder brother of Australian Olympic high jumper Brandon Starc.
132.
In 2015, Mitchell Starc became engaged to fellow Australian cricketer Alyssa Healy and they married on 15 April 2016.
133.
In March 2020, Mitchell Starc flew home ahead of the final ODI match against South Africa, so he could watch Healy play in the final of the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.