Mitchell Starc overtakes Dennis Lillee to become Australia's 4th highest wicket-taker in Test Cricket

Senior Australia pacer Mitchell Starc with his first wicket on day 1 of the 2nd Test against New Zealand, overtook Dennis Lillee to become the 4th highest wicket-taker for Australia in Test cricket. Starc scalped 3 wickets in total in the first morning at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The hosts eventually bowed out for just 162 after Pat Cummins won the toss and asked them to bat first.

Mitchell Starc overtook Dennis Lillee with the wicket of New Zealand opener Will Young for 14 off 57. With that, he jumped from the 5th spot to the 4th in terms of highest wicket-takers in Australia’s rich Test cricketing history. Starc went on to scalp another 2 wickets later in the day as Glenn Phillips departed for 8 while Scott Kuggeleijn was dismissed for a golden duck.

Mitchell Starc only below Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, and Nathan Lyon

With his 3 wickets on day 1, Mitchell Starc is only behind some legendary names like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, and Nathan Lyon in Australia’s highest wicket-takers list. The left-arm fast bowler had 354 Test wickets heading into the 2nd and series-concluding Test against the Trans-Tasman rivals led by Kane Williamson.

The hosts already find themselves 1-0 down in the series and their prospects of winning their first-ever red-ball series against Australia will only remain a dream as of now. New Zealand entered the series with positive momentum after beating a 3rd stroing South African team 2-0 on home soil of a 2-match Test series.

However, against Australia, they were always going to find it difficult to win the series. After all, Pat Cummins’ side are World Champions in both of the longer formats of the game. They defeated Rohit Sharma’s team India on both occasions, first at the World Test Championship final in June and then in the Cricket World Cup final later in November 2023.

Mitchell Starc had been a key figure in the Aussie core group alongside Josh Hazlewood, Cummins, and Nathan Lyon among others. The 34-year-old who will also be aiming to dominate the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 later this June, is far off from the 3rd highest Australian to claim most Test wickets.

Nathan Lyon, who registered a 10-wicket haul in the 1st Test against the Kiwis, is currently at the 3rd spot with 527 wickets. And above him is the only fast bowler ever from Australia to enter the 500-club, Glenn McGrath who has 563 Test scalps.

Late Australian legend and Test cricket’s second-highest wicket-taker, Shane Warne is the all-time leading Aussie with 708 Test wickets from 145 matches.

List of Australia’s 10 highest wicket-takers in Tests

1. Shane Warne: 708 wickets from 145 matches
2. Glenn McGrath: 563 wickets from 124 matches
3. Nathan Lyon: 527 wickets from 129 matches
4. Mitchell Starc: 357 wickets from 89 matches
5. Dennis Lillee: 355 wickets from 70 matches
6. Mitchell Johnson: 313 wickets from 73 matches
7. Brett Lee: 310 wickets from 76 matches
8. Craig McDermott: 291 wickets from 71 matches
9. Josh Hazlewood: 272 wickets from 70 matches
10. Pat Cummins: 265 wickets from 65 matches

Meanwhile, after New Zealand posted 162 in the 1st innings at Christchurch, the Aussies have responded quite well after losing openers – Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja early on. Australia are currently 56/2.