Australia's premium pacer Mitchell Starc has finally surpassed legendary cricketer Dale Steyn, who is hailed as one of the greatest fast bowler in history in the list of most international wickets. Starc joined the 700 club on January 30 (Thursday), when he dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne in the first Test match of the series against Sri Lanka. In the history of Australia, Starc became just the fourth bowler to reach 700 wickets in international cricket (ODIs, Tests, and T20Is). The pacer was added to the list among the likes of Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, and Shane Warne. This amazing feat has only been accomplished by a few fast bowlers.
Pacers with more than 700 wickets
The only non-Australian pacers on the list to accomplish this feat are James Anderson and Stuart Broad from England, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis from Pakistan, South Africa's Shaun Pollock, New Zealand veteran Tim Southee, Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas, Windies' Courtney Walsh.
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Recently, Starc has been playing at an incredible level. The pacer took 18 wickets from 5 Test matches in the just-finished Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which helped captain Pat Cummins defeat India 3-1 in the series. Starc has already discussed his passion for Test cricket. He had mentioned prolonging his red-ball career in international cricket back in 2022.
"It's certainly impossible at the moment to play every game as a three-format player. Having (the IPL period) to rest might help me keep bowling at decent speeds for a period of time," Starc was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia back in 2022.
Following that remark, though, Starc participated in the Indian Premier League 2024 in order to get ready for the 2024 T20 World Cup. He also registered for the 2025 auction, where the Delhi Capitals selected him. The 2021 T20 World Cup, 2023 ODI World Cup, and 2023 World Test Championship have all been won by the pacer.
Additionally, Starc helped Australia advance to the WTC Final 2025 by defeating the Indian team, one of their most formidable opponents. In the upcoming six months, the fast bowler has two ICC events scheduled for him. He will compete in the World Test Championship Final after playing the Champions Trophy.