It all started with Starc’s trademark first ball wicket of Shadman Islam, who became the fourth batter to lose his wicket on the opening delivery of a Test match off the Australian pacer
Published: August 22, 2026, 11:47 AM IST
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File photo of Mitchell Starc(Credits: IANS)
Bangladesh batters got to witness the true colours of left-arm express pacer Mitchell Starc, who breathed fire right from the start of day one of the series concluding second Test against Australia at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in South MackayIt was a day to forget for the Bangla Tigers, who not more than a week ago handed the Aussies a shock 9-wicket defeat in Darwin.
That was one of the lowest moments in Australian cricket but one of the finest in Bangladesh’s historyHowever, in a matter of just five days, the 2023 World Test Champions have turned it all around with Mitchell Starc leading the way with his 19th five-wicket haul but it was no ordinary fifer.
Records galore for Mitchell Starc as Bangladesh suffer days after thrashing Australia
It all started with Starc’s trademark first ball wicket of Shadman Islam, who became the fourth batter to lose his wicket on the opening delivery of a Test match off the Australian pacerThis is a record in itself.
In the 149-year long history of the longest format, the left-arm speedster stands as the only bowler to take a wicket on the first ball of a match on four separate occasionsMitchell Starc was tied with former West Indies seamer Pedro Collins, who had done so three times in his career.
Starc had previously taken first ball wickets of Dimuth Karunaratne (2016), Rory Burns (2021) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (2024) and now he has added Shadman Islam to the list.
After Islam’s dismissal for a golden duck, Starc continued his relentless spell with back-to-back four wickets of Tanzid Hasan (0 off 2), captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (golden duck), Mominul Haque (9 off 16) and Litton Das (0 off 5) to send half of the Bangladeshi batting order packing for just 12 runs.
Skipper Pat Cummins clean bowled the well experienced Mushfiqur Rahum for five off 42 before adding Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed to his three-wicket tallyJosh Hazlewood joined the party in the 26th over with the wicket of Hasan Mahmud and Mitchell Starc wrapped up the Bangladeshi innings at just 64 with his sixth of the day in the form of Shoriful Islam.
Interestingly, Starc’s 19th five-wicket haul came within the span of just 22 deliveries, making it the sixth fastest in the history of Test cricketThe 36-year-old also holds the record for the fastest five wickets off just 15 deliveries against the West Indies last year.
Mitchell Starc also scalped his 440th Test wicket, going ahead of former South Africa great Dale Steyn to become the 10th highest wicket-taker in the format.
With those six scalps, Starc also went past his captain Pat Cummins (54) at the summit of the list of most wickets in WTC history with 56.
Bangla Tigers register fourth lowest Test total
Bangladesh’s first innings total of 64 became their fourth lowest score in a Test match and it was the first time since 2022 that they got all out without touching triple figuresThe Bangla Tigers had scores of 43, 53 and 62 back in 2018, 2022 and 2007 respectively.
New Zealand’s 26 and West Indies’ 27 remain the two lowest totals of Test cricket and only two occasions when a team got all out before scoring 30 runs.
Meanwhile, after bowling Bangladesh out for 64 within 34 overs, Australia successfully saw off the trail and are now leading by 51 runs with Steve Smith and Cameron Green at the crease.
