Overview:
He has surpassed Harbhajan Singh (417) and now has a chance to go past Shaun Pollock (421) and Richard Hadlee (431).
Mitchell Starc has become the most successful left-arm fast bowler in Test history, but the Aussie great said that he is not better than legendary Wasim Akram.
Starc went past Akram during Day 1 of the second Test against England at the Gabba, where his six wickets took his tally to 418, four more than Akram’s count of 414. The 35-year-old didn’t accept the comparison with the bowler regarded as the great left-arm seamer to play the game.
“Wasim Akram is a far better bowler than me,” Starc told former England captain Michael Vaughan. “He is still the best left-arm bowler as far as I am concerned. He is right up there with the best bowlers to ever play the sport. It is nice to be among the big names, but I will try to take a few more wickets,” he added.
Akram lauded Starc for breaking his record. Starc is leading the bowling attack in the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, who are recovering from injuries. England had no answers to Starc’s brilliance, and the pacer has taken 16 wickets in three innings. He has reached the 15th spot in the list of most wicket-takers in Test cricket.
He has surpassed Harbhajan Singh (417) and now has a chance to go past Shaun Pollock (421) and Richard Hadlee (431).
Starc is closing on the record of Sri Lankan great Rangana Herath, who holds the record of most wickets by a left-arm bowler in Test cricket. The legendary bowler amassed 433 wickets in the longest format of the game. Starc was also named the Player of the Match for taking 10 wickets in the series opener against the Ben Stokes-led team at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Australia won the match by 8 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.