Mitchell Starc Achieves Historic Feat, Surpasses Mohammed Shami To Become...
Australia's pace ace Mitchell Starc added another feather to his cap on Wednesday, becoming the highest wicket-taker in ICC tournament finals. The left-arm quick achieved the milestone during the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa at Lord's. Starc, playing in his fifth ICC final, has now taken 11 wickets across tournament deciders, surpassing India's Mohammed Shami, who had claimed 10 wickets in four finals. The record further cements Starc's reputation as a big-match performer for Australia.
The milestone came in style as Starc struck early in South Africa's second innings, cleaning up Aiden Markram for a duck. He followed it up with the dismissal of Ryan Rickelton for 16, ending Day 1 with figures of 2/10 in a fiery spell.
He also became the joint second-highest wicket taker in ICC knockout games. He is sharing the spot with former Aussie legend Glenn McGrath and Mohammed Shami, who each have taken 22 wickets. The top spot is with former Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan, who has 23 wickets.
Sri Lankan cricket coach
His efforts helped Australia put South Africa under pressure, reducing the Proteas to 43/4 at stumps. Trailing by 169 runs, South Africa will face an uphill task when play resumes on Day 2, with Starc expected to continue his assault on a responsive Lord's surface.
Australia had earlier been bowled out for 212 in their first innings, with Kagiso Rabada leading South Africa's charge with a five-wicket haul but Starc's early breakthroughs ensured Australia clawed back momentum by the close of play.
Starc will be eager to extend his record and guide Australia closer to securing their second WTC title.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
31 minutes ago
- Mint
'He is someone for the big occasion': Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince hails Aiden Markram after majestic century in WTC final
London [UK] June 14 (ANI): Ashwell Prince, South Africa batting coach, labelled Aiden Markram the "man for the big occasion" after the opener steered Proteas towards a famous run chase in the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025, against Australia on Friday, according to the ICC website. Chasing 282 to win, South Africa are 213 for two at the end of day three thanks to a majestic century from Markram and a gutsy 65 not out from captain Temba Bavuma. South Africa need just 69 more runs to become champions, and while Australia will refuse to give up hope of a remarkable comeback, the Proteas are firmly in the driving seat as they bid for a first ICC trophy in 27 years. Markram struck 11 fours in an unbeaten 102, bringing up his eighth Test ton with a gorgeous flick through mid-wicket in the penultimate over of the day. He struggled to contain his emotions, wiping tears away from his eyes, and batting coach Prince said a small technical adjustment was the secret to his success. "We certainly know he is someone for the big occasion, of that there is no doubt," Ashwell Prince said. "He has done some technical work, but not a lot. In the last little while, he has had a tendency to push his hands away from his body and cut across the ball, but it was not a big fix, and as soon as he saw a few videos, it was simple." "I think [coach] Shukri Conrad deserves credit for staying calm; it is one of his strengths." "As soon as Aiden and Temba came up the stairs, he said we need to do the same tonight as we always do, and tomorrow we do the same warm-up. It's the same processes. We understand the magnitude and what's at stake, but now we stay calm." They started Friday morning seeking two quick Australian wickets to leave the target as low as possible, but - despite Kagiso Rabada trapping Nathan Lyon lbw early - Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood dug in. They put on 59 for the 10th wicket and batted for the entire morning session, with Hazlewood finally out to the last ball before lunch to leave the target at 282. From there, it was all South Africa. While Australia benefited from benign conditions on a flat pitch to convert 144 for eight into 207 all out under the morning sun, it was the Proteas' turn for the rest of the day. Starc removed Ryan Rickelton for six, but a 63-run partnership between Markram and Wiaan Mulder settled the nerves, with runs flowing amid regular boundaries. A sharp Marnus Labuschagne catch sent Mulder back to the pavilion for 27, while Steve Smith dropped Bavuma on two and dislocated his finger in the process, earning him a trip to the hospital for the rest of the day. However, after that scare, Bavuma oozed class despite damaging his hamstring in the afternoon session. Prince admitted they considered retiring him during the tea interval but the captain insisted he could carry on and he hit five boundaries in a 121-ball knock. "It is not done yet, but he has had to fight throughout his career, and this could be a defining moment for his career," Prince added. "It is the biggest stage in Test cricket. He is tough, Aiden has great respect for Temba, and I think this team's greatest asset is the unity." "You only have to look at how they celebrate a wicket to understand that. They are all aware that South Africa have had greater individual players, but they have something special going on in the dressing room, and it helps them drag each other along." While 69 runs is not an intimidating number of runs to score, keeping South Africa's batters level-headed is now the challenge. Much has been made of their record in ICC tournaments - they have come close to adding to their ICC Men's Champions Trophy 1998 success on many occasions, but always fallen short - but this is their greatest opportunity of breaking the duck. Brief Scores: Australia: 212 and 207 (Mitchell Starc 58*, Alex Carey 43, Kagiso Rabada 4/59) against SA: 138 and 213/2 (Aiden Markram 102*, Temba Bavuma 65*, Mitchell Starc 2/37). (ANI)
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
'It was pretty benign wicket, going to be a real challenge': AUS assistant coach on sides WTC win chances after Markram-Bavuma stand
London [UK], June 14 (ANI): Following a tough day three at field during the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, Australian assistant coach Daniel Vettori hailed Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram for their partnership and acknowledged that getting rest of the wickets for 69 remaining runs would be a "real challenge". Markram's historic Lord's ton, first-ever by a Proteas player in an ICC tournament final, and his 143-run unbeaten stand with skipper Temba Bavuma have left SA just 69 runs short with eight wickets to go in pursuit of their first-ever world title in the sport. During the presser, Vettori acknowledged it was a tough day for the team and under the sunshine, bowling became difficult. "I think there was optimism in the way we started with Starc and Hazlewood (while batting, a 59-run stand). There was a really good partnership to put together a total that obviously, considering the rest of the how the match had played out, was a challenging one. But under those conditions, Markram and Bavuma were exceptional and were able just to, I suppose, navigate their way through any tricky situations and then be able to put pressure back on us when it was opportune time. So it was a pretty benign wicket and obviously conditions were not assisting the ball, but that partnership was exceptional." Vettori said that the team is aware of the magnitude of their task and the situation remains tricky for them. He expressed hope that conditions go in their favour. "But I think with the nature of where the ball is at and the surface, it is a difficult task, but it is a task that the group has probably done at times throughout the last three, four, some of them five, six, even longer years. But I think there is an appreciation of how well Bavuma and Markram batted to put all that pressure back on us. So, to get one of them tonight may have given that optimism. So it is going to be a real challenge tomorrow," he added. On Steve Smith's finger injury after dropping Temba's catch at slips, Vettori said that the team will "just wait and see what comes back after he gets back from hospital. And then everyone will be able to update from there." Speaking on his bowlers and if they could have used more variations, Vettori said that someone like Mitchell Starc does it naturally. "He does that naturally and his ability to change his length and potentially swing the ball both ways. I think the success that has come from the surface has been that six to eight meter length. That is what South Africa did so well. That is what we did in the first innings. So there is sometimes an appetite for that, but there is also a concern around the score running away from us," he said. "And sometimes when you go to that short ball stuff, it is hard to control the scoreboard. And that was probably our fear today, that if we could hang in those areas long enough, something would happen, like it has in the rest of the test match, but it was not to be," he added. South Africa has reached 213 runs in 56 overs, led by a century-run partnership between Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma. Despite a hamstring injury, SA captain Bavuma has fought through to register a half-century. Earlier in the day, A fine half-century partnership between Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder put South Africa in a solid spot at the end of the second session during day three of the WTC final at Lord's on Friday. At the end of the session, SA was 94/2, with skipper Temba Bavuma (11*) and Markram (49*) unbeaten. Starc played one of the finest innings of his life, which powered Australia to 207/10 from a poor position of 152/9, leading by 281 at lunch. Starc remained not out on 58, leaving Proteas to chase 282 to end their ICC title drought. Brief Scores: Australia: 212 and 207 (Mitchell Starc 58*, Alex Carey 43, Kagiso Rabada 4/59) against SA: 138 and 213/2 (Aiden Markram 102*, Temba Bavuma 65*, Mitchell Starc 2/37). (ANI)
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
World Test Championship final: Markram's century, Bavuma's grit put South Africa on brink of historic win over Australia
Hobbling captain Temba Bavuma and hundred-hitter Aiden Markram pushed South Africa to the brink of a sensational victory over Australia in a gripping World Test Championship final at Lord's on Friday. Bavuma, elevating the drama with a strained left hamstring, and opener Markram capitalized on ideal batting conditions. They partnered for an unbroken 143 runs against one of Australia's greatest bowling attacks to have South Africa 69 runs from an historic triumph. Chasing 282 to win, the Proteas were 213-2 at stumps on day three in a stirring bid to win a first ICC trophy in 27 years. Bavuma was 65 not out from 121 balls, his running restricted but not his batting technique, and Markram was 102 not out from 159, easily the highest individual score of the final. Defending champion Australia bombarded them with four of its top-10 all-time test wicket-takers — more than 1,500 wickets in total — but they couldn't part the Proteas pair, and hardly troubled them. In South Africa's huge favour, the day three pitch flattened, offered the bowlers little and was far easier paced than the first two chaotic days, when 14 wickets fell on each. Only four wickets were taken on Friday, and none after tea. South Africa won't go to bed entirely comfortably, though. The men's team has a heartbreaking history in ICC tournaments of blowing winning positions. It is the reason its only ICC trophy is the ICC Knock Out in 1998. 'This would be massive for our country,' Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince said. "Both in terms of what we want to do in test match cricket and what we want to achieve going forward. We've fallen short in some white-ball competitions with teams that have been favorites at times. History says we haven't done it yet, so we have to knuckle down. 'Not sure how I'm going to sleep tonight. Whether I can fall into a deep sleep, I'm not sure!' It's certain serial champion Australia still believes, too. 'In the morning we've got to come back and try and form a plan,' Beau Webster said. 'The boys will be looking at any advantage we can get. Strange things happen in this game. 'We tried some new things with the bowling attack but they were just too good in the end ... and both of them were chanceless so complete credit to them." The odds were in Australia's favour when South Africa's chase began straight after lunch. To win, a work-in-progress batting lineup needed to equal England's most successful ever run chase at Lord's from 2004. By the time pacer Mitchell Starc removed Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder, South Africa was 70-2 but flying. There was positive intent missing from the first innings, and the strike was rotated constantly. Australia managed only three maidens in 56 overs, all by spinner Nathan Lyon. Starc could have reduced South Africa to 76-3 when Bavuma, on 2, thick-edged to first slip. But a helmeted Steve Smith, standing closer than usual to the wickets because the ball hasn't been carrying to the cordon all game, couldn't hold Starc's 138 kph delivery and broke his right pinkie finger. He immediately left for a hospital, was out of the final and probably the following three-test tour of the West Indies. Given life, Bavuma was on 9 when he hurt his hamstring 10 minutes before tea. Prince said he was adamant about continuing but noticeably limping. The captain soothed his dressing room with pulls and sweeps and hobbled runs, each one rousing the South Africa fans. Bavuma reached his 50 off 83 balls. Meanwhile, Markram was cutting and driving to 50 off 69 balls. The best of his 11 boundaries was a late cut off Starc expertly sliced between two fielders. His reaction to his eighth test century five minutes from stumps was muted. He had enough strength to raise his bat to all sides and receive applause and a hug from his captain. South Africa's celebratory end to Friday the 13th contrasted starkly to the deflating start to the day. The Proteas would have expected to begin the chase by bowling out Australia, resuming on 144-8, half an hour after the start of play. Lyon was dismissed early and gave Kagiso Rabada his ninth wicket of the match but tailenders Starc and Josh Hazlewood resisted for almost two hours. Starc achieved his 11th test fifty, and first in six years. He and Hazlewood's third 50-plus partnership for the 10th wicket tied the all-time test record. The stand ended on 59, Hazlewood out for 17 to part-timer Markram. Starc was not out on 58 from 136 balls. He'd entered at 73-7, when Australia led by 147, and combined mainly with Alex Carey and Hazlewood to conjure 134 more runs. Those runs and South Africa's 20 no balls appeared to put Australia beyond reach. But Bavuma and Markram had the confidence and the pitch to defy nearly all expectations.
