Australia’s Mitchell Starc has joined an elite list of Australian stars after he reached a major milestone in his career. Playing against South Africa, Starc showed no mercy on the opposition as they edged the Proteas on the second day of the Gabba Test to win by six wickets. The win saw Australia take a 1-0 lead in the series while the defeat saw South Africa drop to the third spot in the World Test Championship (WTC).
Starc joins elite list
At the ground where his Test career began 11 years ago, Mitchell Starc completed his journey to 300 wickets to elevate himself into the pantheon of great Australian fast bowlers. Starc became just the fifth Aussie paceman to reach the milestone when he snared the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen in South Africa's second innings in the first NRMA Insurance Test at the Gabba.
The left-armer clean bowled van der Russen with a trademark delivery that seamed back into the right-hander, sharing handshakes and embraces with teammates as the Proteas slumped to 2-3. It was at this same Brisbane venue in 2011 that Starc received his Baggy Green from Richie Benaud, quickly sealing a memorable maiden wicket when he had Brendon McCullum caught by David Warner.
Australia's top Test wicket-takers
Shane Warne: 708 wickets
Glenn McGrath: 563 wickets
Nathan Lyon: 450 wickets
Dennis Lillee: 355 wickets
Mitchell Johnson: 313 wickets
Brett Lee: 310 wickets
Mitchell Starc: 300 wickets
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By his own admission it has been an up-and-down journey to achieve that, but the now 32-year-old believes the last two years have marked his best as a Test cricketer. And the fact he has joined Glenn McGrath (561 Test wickets), Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee as the only Aussie quicks to the 300-wicket mark underlines just how well his record stacks up.
Spinners Nathan Lyon (450) and Shane Warne (708) are the other Australians to have passed the milestone.
