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Australia's Mitchell Starc, centre, celebrates with teammate the wicket of during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.. (AP Photo)
Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc broke the record for the most wickets taken by a left-arm fast bowler in Test cricket history on Day 1 of the second Ashes Test at Brisbane on Thursday. The 35-year-old dismissed Harry Brook for 31, caught by Steve Smith at second slip, to claim his 415th Test wicket and go past Wasim Akram’s tally of 414 wickets in 104 Tests.
Starc broke the record in his 102nd Test match and began the opening day’s play at The Gabba by removing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope for ducks to set the tone for the hosts in the first session of play.
The left-arm pacer made his Test debut at the same venue against New Zealand in 2011 and is only one of three
bowlers, apart from Nathan Lyon and Ravichandran Ashwin, to have taken atleast 350 Test wickets since January 2015.
Mitchell Starc passes Wasim Akram as the most prolific left-arm bowler in Test cricket history 🤩#Ashes | #MilestoneMoment | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/gxzYjLGR2S
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 4, 2025
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He claimed his best Test figures in the first Test of the ongoing Ashes series, at Perth, where his 7/58 in the first innings helped Australia bowl England out for 172.
With both Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missing the opening two Tests of the series, Starc has had to essay the role of a leader and marshal the attack, which also includes the likes of Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett and in the second Test match, Michael Neser.
Australia’s Mitchell Starc bowls a delivery on day two of the first Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Perth, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
“Obviously, I’ve got a little bit more experience there. Scotty’s been around for a fair while now, so it’s not like I’m telling him what to do. We’ve got Patty in the sheds with us anyway. So yeah, I may take on a little bit of an experienced role, if you like. But we’ve all been around the traps for a while, so it’s just staying together as a group,” he had said before the first Test match.
The left-arm pacer had announced his retirement from T20Is in September, in a bid to focus on his Test career as well as the 2027 ODI World Cup.
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