The bowler’s smarts and stamina from the first ball in Perth to the last in Sydney – not to mention his batting – made him a worthy man of the series
It was right that Mitchell Starc should clean up the last two English wickets of this Ashes. Right, too, that Travis Head should mop up a few more runs, but for all of the enjoyment that Head brings with his Jayasuriya-lite batting and his Boon-lite persona, the difference in the series has been the other left-hander. The fifth morning of the Sydney Test took Starc to 31 wickets at 19, and crossing 30 is the stuff of great Ashes series. Sixteen other Australians have done it, a list mostly comprised of players who only need be identified by surnames.
In the manner of schoolteachers meeting you as an adult, some people are stuck with a memory of Starc as he was at the beginning: a lanky possessor of promise with the risk of being wayward, expensive or injured. In the manner of truly fast bowlers, he is seen as part animal, part force of nature: his feats are elements unleashed, not the work of brain and skill. He is admired for that while still viewed as livestock. Like, Gandalf’s horse is awesome, but it’s still a horse.
Hopefully, that perception keeps changing as it should increasingly have done over recent years. He has become Australia’s most durable quick, and far more consistent in accuracy and performance. Thursday’s two wickets took Starc to 433 for his career, past Richard Hadlee, level with Rangana Herath, one behind Kapil Dev. Another seven would take him past Dale Steyn, into the top 10 wicket-takers of all time.
