Mitchell Starc becomes first left-arm bowler with 450 Test wickets
What's the story
Australian talisman Mitchell Starc has entered the record books by becoming the left-arm bowler to complete 450 wickets in Test cricket history. The ace pacer unlocked this special milestone on Day 3 of the second Test against South Africa at Gqeberha's St George's Park. He also became the fourth Australian and 10th bowler overall to attain this feat. Here are his stats.
Stats
An average of around 26
Starc entered the game, needing two scalps to reach this landmark.
He has now raced to a staggering 450 scalps from 109 Test matches at an average of around 26, as per Cricinfo.
While Starc strikes every 45 balls in Tests (approximately), no other bowler in the 450-wicket club has a sub-50 strike rate.
Shane Warne (708), Nathan Lyon (573), and Glenn McGrath (563) are the only Aussie bowlers with more Test wickets than Starc.
Information
Fastest to the milestone
In terms of balls bowled, Starc is the quickest to complete 450 Test wickets (20,577). As per Cricbuzz, the veteran bettered McGrath's tally of 23,474 deliveries. Meanwhile, Lyon and Starc are the only active bowlers with 400-plus Test wickets.
Fifers
19 fifers in the format
Starc's tally also includes 19 four-wicket hauls, 21 four-fers, and four match 10-fers.
His career-best figures of 7/58 came against England in the Perth Ashes game last year.
In fact, each of his top-four Test innings figures has come within the last couple of years.
While Starc has claimed 89 wickets in Day-Night Tests at 17.11, no other bowler has even 50 wickets in this regard.
All-round stats
Over 2,500 runs in Tests
With the bat, Starc has scored 2,504 Test runs at an average of 20.03.
The 36-year-old has hammered 13 half-centuries in this format, with his highest score of 99 coming against India back in 2013.
Warne, India's Anil Kumble, his compatriot Ravichandran Ashwin, and England's Stuart Broad are the only other all-rounders with the Test double of 450 wickets and 2,500 runs.