Ashes: Starc completes 200 WTC wickets with historic match 10-fer
What's the story
Mitchell Starc has made history by taking a stunning 10-wicket haul in the first Ashes Test at Perth Stadium. The left-arm Australian pacer, who had a stellar Day 1 with seven wickets, added three more on Saturday to complete the milestone. He achieved this feat by dismissing England captain Ben Stokes during an intense spell of bowling. His brilliance meant England were folded for 164 in their second outing.
Bowling finesse
Starc's unique bowling style and Stokes dismissal
Starc's dismissal of Stokes was a classic display of his unique bowling style. The England captain, on two runs, was lured by a short-of-length ball that straightened late and got the edge. Steve Smith took the catch at second slip, marking Starc's 10th wicket in the match and his 11th dismissal of Stokes in Tests. Meanwhile, Joe Root and Zak Crawley were his other two victims in the innings.
Record achievement
Starc's match figures and Ashes history
Having claimed a career-best 7/58 in his first outing, Starc backed it up with figures worth 3/55. With match figures of 10/113, Starc has become the first Australian seamer to take a 10-for in an Ashes Test since Craig McDermott's 11/157 at the same venue in 1990-91. Overall, this was Starc's third match haul of 10 wickets or more in Tests.
First-over heroics
25 wickets in first over
Starc trapped Crawley in the opening over of both England innings. As per Cricbuzz, the England batter's dismissal in the third innings marked Starc's 25th wicket in the first over of an innings in Tests and. Starc now has the most wickets (25) in the first over of an innings among all bowlers since his debut. He is followed by James Anderson (19) and Kemar Roach (10).
Career milestone
100 wickets in the Ashes
With his third wicket in the game, Starc completed his Ashes century (100 wickets), becoming the 21st bowler and first left-arm pacer to achieve this feat. His strike rate of 43 is the best among these 21 bowlers. Playing his 23rd Test against England as per ESPNcricinfo, Starc has raced to 107 wickets at 25.86. The left-arm pacer boasts five five-wicket hauls. On Australian soil, Starc has completed exactly 50 wickets against England from 10 matches at 23-plus (5W: 2).
Career
Here are his Test stats
Overall in Tests, Starc has raced to 412 wickets from 101 Tests at 26.64 (5W: 17, 4W: 20). Earlier in the game, Starc became the first bowler to take seven wickets on the opening day of an Ashes Test in Australia since Craig McDermott's eight-fer at the WACA in 1990/91 (as per Cricbuzz). At home, he has raced to 245 Test wickets at an average of 25.84.
WTC
Starc gets to 200 WTC wickets
With his ninth wicket in the game, Starc became only the third bowler in history to take 200 wickets in the World Test Championship (WTC). Playing his 50th WTC game, the pacer has raced to 201 wickets at an average of 25. This includes six fifers and 10 four-fers. Starc's Aussie teammates Nathan Lyon (219) and Pat Cummins (215) are the other bowlers with 200-plus WTC scalps.
Information
600 FC wickets
With his final wicket of the game, Starc also completed 600 wickets in First-Class cricket. Across 154 games in the format, the pacer averages a fine 26-plus as he has 30 four-fers and 25 fifers under his belt.