11 facts about Mitchell Starc: The lethal left-armer

Mitchell Starc has long been touted as a future star of Australian cricket. Starc has a gentle run up and can generate chilling pace and bounce. His pinpoint yorkers are dreaded among batsmen. These skills have made him one of the most promising young fast bowlers in Australia. He has earned heaps of rewards in the limited overs Starc has slowly carried his limited over performances into the longest form of the game. The tall left-hander has battled through the struggle with form and inconsistency but has now emerged as the leader of the Australian pace attack after Mitchell Johnson settled down from Australian duties.

1.Born:

Mitchell Aaron Starc was born on 30 January 1990 Baulkham Hills, Sydney, New South Wales. Starc is of Slovene descent.

2. Love for wicket-keeping:

Starc began his career as a wicketkeeper before being convinced to quit the gloves and turn into a fast bowler. He idolized Adam Gilchrist.  When Starc had initially started playing cricket as a child, he played as a wicketkeeper-batsman.

3. Early cricketing life & education:

Starc was a junior cricketer for the Berala Sports Cricket Club in Sydney, Australia where he was known to keep wickets and bowl at the same time. He attended the Homebush Boys High School, representing the school’s 1st-grade cricket team.

4. The fastest ball ever in Cricket:

In 2015, on day three of the Second Test between Australia vs New Zealand, Starc delivered his fastest ball at a rapid thunderbolt of 160.4 kmph. This also was the fastest ball ever bowled in a Test. The highest electronically measured speed for a ball bowled by any bowler is 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) by Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan) against England during the 2003 World Cup match at Cape Town, South Africa.

5. First bowler to use the ‘Pink Ball’:

Mitchell Starc is the first bowler to bowl in a day-night test match ever, and first bowler to use pink ball in a test match.

6. Australian debut:

Starc earned his first international call-up for Australia’s 2010 tour to India, debuting in an ODI.

7. Test debut:

Starc made his Test debut for Australia on 1 December 2011 in the first Test of the two-Test series against New Zealand in Brisbane.

8. Great batting skills:

Starc holds the record for the second fastest test fifty (32 balls) by an Australian. He did this during Australia’s second innings against South Africa on 4th December 2012.

9. Unlucky at 99:

Starc became the first batsman to be dismissed for 99 after coming in at No. 9 in a Test match. This was in the third Test at Mohali. He also is the first tail-ender (No. 9-11) to play at least 100 balls in both innings of a Test. He also achieved the rare distinction of bowling as well as facing 200 balls in a Test.

10. Sporting brother:

Mitchell’s younger brother Brandon Starc is also a sportsperson: he has represented Australia in the men’s high jump at the Commonwealth Games and other international competitions.

11. Personal Life:

Starc is currently dating Australian Women’s team wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy.