Cricket news: Mitchell Starc closing in on 300-wicket milestone and opportunity to silence all criticism

Justin Langer has paid Mitchell Starc the ultimate compliment, calling him ‘a ripper’, but the fast bowler knows a huge milestone at the Gabba has the potential to silence his critics forever.

Mitchell Starc is poised to enter the hall of fast bowling greats at the same ground Shane Warne once accused him of being “soft.”

It would be fitting for Starc to take the four scalps needed to celebrate 300-Test wickets at the Gabba, given what the milestone says about how he has so emphatically proven his critics wrong.

Last summer, Starc set the Gabba alight with his first-ball Ashes wicket which will be replayed for decades, and starting next Saturday the left-armer has the chance to again make Brisbane his field of dreams.

Justin Langer might have raised the ire of some players before the series, but on Sunday after Starc took 3-29 to move to 296 Test wickets, the former Australian coach gave a sincere and passionate appraisal of why he believes Starc is in the top echelon of fast bowlers he’s seen.

Back in 2014, Warne said in commentary that Starc displayed “soft body language” in a Gabba Test. It was criticism which stung Starc and polarised opinion.

The best part of a decade later, Langer paid Starc the ultimate compliment as a “warrior” and one of Australia’s “tough” great men, in part for sacrificing more than $10 million in IPL money for the baggy green.

Australia's Mitchell Starc celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of West Indies' Kyle Mayers. Picture: AFP

“The way Mitchell Starc is bowling at the moment is absolutely world class and I admire so much about him. He’s an elite athlete. An elite professional,” Langer said on Channel 7.

“The other thing about Mitchell Starc, he’s often been the subject of criticism for the way he’s bowled or his body language.

“He might not smile much, he’s a warrior on the field, but he’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in your life.

“The other thing, is he loves playing Test cricket. An example of that, is that he hasn’t been to the IPL because he wants to make sure his body is in the best shape possible to play cricket for Australia.

“I really admire that. I admire everyone who goes and takes their career into their own hands.

“He has certainly done that. He is a ripper.”

Mitchell Starc can celebrate 300-Test wickets at the Gabba. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

Nathan Lyon was once again the milestone man on Sunday in Adelaide as he added to his crowning as the ground’s greatest ever wicket-taker, surpassing Warne, before a second innings scalp took him to exactly 450 Test wickets.

The legend of The GOAT continues to grow, and at age 35, there is no sign of Lyon slowing down or being close to the end. Five hundred Test wickets beckon.

“He’s been an amazing player for a long period of time. I think the way he’s bowling at the moment he’s getting some lovely shape. He’s changing a few things up,” said stand-in captain Steve Smith.

“A few of his wickets, he got Joshua da Silva LBW with a side spinning ball which is one he’s really been working on that hit the seam and spun quite sharply and doesn’t bounce quite as much which is probably why it hit the stumps.

“(Even now) he’s still learning and getting better. That’s what you want from someone who has played 100 Tests. It sets the standard for everyone else.

“You can’t just keep going on and doing the same thing over and over again. You’ve got to continue to get better and evolve and Nathan is certainly doing that.”

Frank Worrell Trophy broken … is series beyond repair?

– Daniel Cherny

The Frank Worrell Trophy fell apart at Adelaide Oval on Sunday. And the dispiriting news for Australian cricket fans who prefer more of a contest, is that it won’t be long until it is brought out of its case again.

The ball atop the six-decade old trophy was dislodged as the Aussies were presented with their prize for beating the West Indies 2-0, leaving Australian captain Steve Smith having to fumble to put the ball back in its place.

“Something happened to it. The ball came off the top of it. Not really sure what happened there. Hopefully someone can glue it back together,” Smith said.

The symbolism was all too fitting for the demise in competitiveness of the series. Having pluckily taken Australia to beyond lunch on day five during the first Test in Perth, the undermanned tourists were crushed by 419 runs in Adelaide, routed for 77 in the second innings in a capitulation condemned by Windies captain Kraigg Brathwaite.

Having gone almost seven years between Tests between the sides, a quirk of scheduling — the fact that a new ICC future tours cycle is about to commence — means that the Windies are back for another couple of Tests next summer.

Unlike this season where the Windies are the clear entree for a three-Test series involving South Africa, next summer the Windies are due out second, and not until January, with Pakistan coming here first for three Tests scheduled to fall across December and January. The later start to Australia’s Test summer comes about because of the 50-over World Cup in India and a subsequent Twenty20 series also in India.

Alex Carey and Steve Smith celebrate winning on day four of the second Test at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Melbourne and Sydney are clear candidates for two of the Pakistan Tests in the traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s slots respectively, however it is unclear which of Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth would be handed a Pakistan Test, and who would be left with the lowly West Indians.

Despite the lopsided affair, Adelaide Oval drew 86,617 across the three and a bit days of the second Test, more than double the turnout across the five days of the Perth Test, which was a day match and started in an unusual Wednesday slot.

Adelaide’s pink-ball spectacular and carnival atmosphere is a consistent winner with local fans regardless of the opposition, which could theoretically hurt South Australia’s chances of being given a more compelling Test.

Looking out the back of the SACA members area showed that hundreds of Test patrons in Adelaide come to the ground more for the canapes than the cut shots.

More of a concern for Cricket Australia however is the likelihood that its Test stars will be taken out of the Big Bash League pool for much of next January playing against an opponent who will have by that time not beaten Australia in a Test for more than 20 years.

CA had been keen to free its top players to play in the domestic Twenty20 league but as has long been acknowledged has its hands tied by the idiosyncrasies of the international calendar.

Brathwaite noted that it had actually been a reasonable year for the Windies in Test cricket, having beaten England at home earlier in 2022.

Australia's captain Steve Smith shakes hands with West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite after their 2-0 victory. Picture: AFP

But he was disappointed by how badly they fell away in Adelaide, notwithstanding that the team was hit hard by injuries.

“We didn’t show any fight at all,” lamented Brathwaite of the second Test showing, while still hopeful that the team would acquit itself better in little over a year’s time.

“[For] a lot of the guys it was their first time to Australia, so I think the experience will help, and that is both as batsmen and as bowlers, and then seeing how Australia have played … we can learn from that.

“It is important that you come back, that you don’t necessarily make the same mistakes. The key from experience is to learn from it.”

Smith was diplomatic when asked about the Windies’ prospects.

“I think they’ve got some good players. We probably got the best of the conditions, we won both tosses and got in front of the game pretty early on,” Smith said.

“West Indies put up some good fights in this series, the second innings in Perth in particular, it took us a while to get through them and they’ve got some players there who can play, so next summer is going to be another challenge for us.”

Originally published as Cricket news: Mitchell Starc closing in on 300-wicket milestone and opportunity to silence all criticism