Mitchell Starc may now stand alone as the most successful left-arm fast bowler in Test cricket, but the Australian pacer insists he is not worthy of comparison with the legendary Wasim Akram.
Starc broke the Pakistani great’s long-standing record on day one of the second Ashes Test at the Gabba, where his six-wicket haul lifted him to 418 career wickets, four clear of Akram’s 414.
Speaking after stumps, the 35-year-old was quick to deflect the spotlight. “Wasim’s still a far better bowler than I am,” Starc told former England captain Michael Vaughan.
“He’s the pinnacle of left-armers and one of the best bowlers to ever play the game. It’s nice to be spoken of around that, but I’ll just try to keep churning a few out.” Akram, in turn, congratulated Starc for overtaking his tally.
With Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood injured and Nathan Lyon left out, Starc led a depleted Australian attack in the day-night Test.
His decisive spells including the record-breaking dismissal of Harry Brook continued his superb Ashes form.
Having already claimed 7–58 in Perth, Starc now sits on 16 wickets in the series and has climbed to 15th on the all-time Test wicket-takers list, moving past Harbhajan Singh and closing in on Shaun Pollock and Richard Hadlee.
