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Sport

Mitchell Starc becomes first left-arm bowler to 450 Test wickets

Mitchell Starc dismissed Wiaan Mulder on day three of the second Test at Gqeberha to become the first left-arm bowler to take 450 Test wickets, reaching the mark faster than anyone by balls bowled.

By Tom Ellery · · 1 min read

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc in a 2023 portrait photograph
Mitchell Starc in 2023, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mitchell Starc became the first left-arm bowler in history to take 450 Test wickets on Tuesday, reaching the landmark on day three of the second Test between South Africa and Australia at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.

Starc removed Wiaan Mulder with the final ball of the 50th over to bring up the milestone. Mulder could only glove a sharply rising bouncer that deflected off his helmet and was held at slip; the on-field umpire initially rejected the appeal before Australia’s review showed a clear spike off the glove and the decision was overturned. Starc had earlier dismissed Matthew Breetzke to move within one wicket of the record.

The 36-year-old is the fourth Australian to reach 450 Test wickets after Shane Warne (708), Nathan Lyon (573) and Glenn McGrath (563), and the 10th bowler overall to achieve the feat. He also reached the mark faster than anyone in terms of balls bowled: his 450th wicket came from his 20,577th delivery, bettering McGrath’s previous benchmark of 23,474. Gqeberha was Starc’s 109th Test.

Among left-armers, Starc now stands clear of Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath (439) and Pakistan great Wasim Akram (414).

The landmark came amid a South African fightback: after slumping to 40 for 4, the hosts were steadied by captain Temba Bavuma’s century and Marco Jansen’s brisk 85 off 100 balls. Australia lead the three-match series 1-0.

Sources:

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