Mitchell Starc claimed 6 for 71 at the Gabba on the first day of the second Ashes Test. This is his fourth haul of six wickets or more. He also went past Wasim Akram's tally of 414 wickets when he picked up the wicket of Harry Brook who played a horrid flat-footed drive, sending a high, fast edge to Smith. It was a memorable day for the left arm pacer as he broke several records. The achievement came during another dominant pink-ball performance from Starc, who now boasts an incredible 87 wickets at just 16.72 in day-night Tests.
"Right now, Starc is the number one bowler in world cricket and the hardest one to face in all forms of cricket,’’ Wasim Akram told News Corp before the start of this Test. “He will go past my record and that is fine because he is a man for the job and a worthy champion.
But even after claiming the record, Starc kept the spotlight on the Pakistani legend, calling Wasim Akram “the pinnacle” of left-arm pace bowling. When he wqs asked post match on how he felt going past Wasim Akram, Starc said “I’ll reflect on it later. Wasim still the pinnacle left-armer, I think he’s still better.
Wasim Akram himself was among the first to congratulate the Australian pacer. On X, he put out a tweet “Super Starc! Proud of you, mate it was only a matter of time before you crossed my tally of wickets. Go well and keep soaring.”
Prior to Mitchell Starc, the only bowler who had taken six-plus wicket hauls in the first two matches of an Ashes series was Warne, at Brisbane and Adelaide in 1994-95. Also Starc’s 16 wickets in this series so far are also the most for a bowler across the first two matches of an Ashes series since Mitchell Johnson’s 17 in 2013-14 Ashes.
