Australia v South Africa Tests – Men
As he approaches 300 Test wickets, Mitchell Starc has overcome several hurdles on his way to becoming one of Australia's best ever
Louis Cameron in Brisbane
15 December 2022, 05:28 PM AEST
@LouisDBCameron
Usman Khawaja vividly recalls facing a young Mitchell Starc in a grade game in Sydney, well before either had represented Australia.
"I thought 'This guy's all right, but he's still got a bit to go'," Khawaja, the left-armer's long-time former state and national teammate, told reporters in Brisbane, "and then I faced him next year here at the academy.
"I'm like, 'this was not the Mitchell Starc I faced last year'.
"This guy's bowling fast and when I saw that, I thought this guy's got something special that can actually take him to the next level."
Even now, as Starc stands on the brink of becoming just the fifth Australian paceman to reach 300 Test wickets, the story is an illustrative early sign of the kind of resilience that has characterised his career.
"I'm not sure that I'd get one wicket, let alone 300," said the left-armer, who is four short of the milestone heading into the first NRMA Insurance Test against South Africa at the Gabba.
Starc will join Glenn McGrath (561 Test wickets), Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee as the only Aussie quicks to the 300-mark, while Nathan Lyon (450) and Shane Warne (708) are the only spinners.
A bowler capable of generating rare velocity from his 197-centimetre frame, who swings the ball prodigiously back into the right-hander's pads with the new ball and viciously away with the old, the expectations on Starc have always been high.
As a tearaway who burst onto the international scene aged just 20 in 2010, dealing with those proved a challenge.
"(He was a) very emotional young kid and he knows that, I always give him a bit of stick about that – I give him stick about that because it’s nice to see the journey," said Khawaja.
"He always had the skills, but it was more about what was going up there (pointing to his head) for him which is the case for all international players and he's found a way through it."
For too much of his 73-Test career, Starc admits he paid too much attention to those who thought he fell short of those lofty standards.
"I was someone who listened to and read everything," said Starc.
"And then that year we had multiple broadcasters start (when Seven and Fox won the television rights for the 2018-19 summer), everyone coming in with radio and whatever, that's when it really doubled down on the noise and it really got away from (me).
"That's where I learnt it was best to let things go and only worry about the groups that mattered most to me."
Most prominent among Starc’s critics had been the late Shane Warne who, before his death earlier this year, insisted his comments had never been personal.
"The disappointing part, or the sad part, is that we never got to have that conversation," said Starc.
On the surface, as one of the most effective white-ball bowlers of his generation, particularly in the 50-over format in which he can already count himself as one of the all-time greats, there was some risk Starc could have been lost to Test cricket.
There are several reasons why that has never happened.
One, as Starc alluded to and Khawaja has observed, has been his mental fortitude.
"Seeing the emotional side, he had to fight his battles through there because Starcy's mean on the field, but he's also got a sensitive side that you don't see either," said Khawaja.
"So to balance that out, I think was the key for him and once he started getting more mature, getting experiences and getting better at it, like anyone else, now you've got to reap the rewards."
Equally important in Starc's eyes has been his willingness to prioritise the Baggy Green before just about anything.
It is not an exaggeration to suggest the 32-year-old has forsaken more than $A10 million in his repeated decisions not to play in the Indian Premier League, which has richly rewarded Australian fast bowlers in recent years.
Starc last played in the tournament in 2015.
In his eyes, it has paid off not only physically, having gotten extended periods of rest between international campaigns, but also mentally given the playing and travelling schedule of his wife, Alyssa Healy, is often equally as demanding as his own.
"It's not been great for the back pocket," Starc said with a smile. "(But) it certainly helped my body.
"If I look at the last couple of years of Test cricket, that decision has certainly helped – just the holistic approach to life and being able to see that when both of us (him and Alyssa) have a little bit of time away from cricket.
"Mentally and physically it's been hugely beneficial and probably paid for itself."
Starc believes the last 48 months marks the most consistent period of his 11-year Test career.
He has spoken previously about how he snapped out of a post-2019 Ashes funk when he played just one match and was left questioning whether he needed to change his approach to be more economical to fit in with Australia's bowling strategy.
It is an irony that his resolution to double down on accepting his 'strike weapon' tag, and to accept he is not the same type of bowler as close friends Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, has actually coincided with him becoming the most dependable version of himself.
He has even added to his arsenal in recent years, most notably with the 'wobble-seam' ball, a delivery popularised by Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad which reduces the chance of swing but increases the likelihood of seam movement.
"He's actually got a lot more skills now than before. He just used to try to swing it and when the ball stopped swinging he really didn't have much else," said Khawaja. "Now he can swing it in, bowl wobble seam – he's got a lot more accuracy."
Starc puts some of that down to learning off his pace partners Hazlewood and Cummins, who, along with spinner Nathan Lyon, are the first quartet all boasting 200-plus wickets that have taken to the field together in Test history.
"Picking up things along the way from Josh and Pat – it'd be extremely stupid of me if I didn't work closely with those two," said Starc. "They're two of my closest mates who are a couple of the best bowlers in the world.
"I've picked up a few thing along the way from them – we often talk about cricket and I've picked up a few things, whether it be the wobble seam or how they go about it.
"That's one thing our group does really well, but specifically the four of us bowlers who are extremely close.
"That, plus a tighter focus on red ball cricket, has played a part in those last couple of years."
Men's NRMA Insurance Test Series v South Africa
Dec 17-21: First Test, Gabba, 11.20am AEDT
Dec 26-30: Second Test, MCG, 10.30am AEDT
Jan 4-8: Third Test, SCG, 10.30am AEDT
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner
South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Gerald Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Sarel Eree, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams, Khaya Zondo
Buy #AUSvSA Test tickets here
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