Mitchell Aaron Starc (born 30 January 1990) is an Australian international cricketer who plays for the Australian national team and New South Wales in domestic cricket. A left-arm fast bowler and a lower order left-handed batsman, he is Australia's fourth highest wicket-taker in both Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket.
Starc began playing international cricket in 2010, but the early part of his career was disrupted by persistent injuries. He came to worldwide attention as a prominent member of the Australian squad that won the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and was declared Player of the Tournament as a result of his consistent performances throughout the matches. He also was a part of the team that won the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. At the 2019 Cricket World Cup, he picked up 27 wickets, which is an all-time record for the most wickets taken in a single edition of the tournament. In doing so, he became the leading wicket-taker in successive Cricket World Cup tournaments, having previously achieved the feat in 2015 as well. As of November 2023, he is the 3rd-highest wicket taker of all time in ICC Cricket World Cups.
He is the fastest bowler in the history of ODI cricket to reach 150 and 200 wickets, taking 77 and 102 matches respectively to reach the milestone. He is also the fastest bowler in the history of Cricket World Cups to reach 50 wickets, taking just 19 WC games to reach the milestone. Starc was also a key member of the Australian team that won the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, and the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final. He is one of five players who have managed to win an ICC trophy in all three formats of the game.
Starc has been noted for his ability to bowl at great pace, with his fastest delivery being measured at over 160.4 km/h (the fastest ever recorded in a Test match), and for generating reverse swing with his bowling.
Starc started playing cricket from a young age, at 9 years old for Northern Districts as a wicket keeper. He was a representative cricketer of the Northern Districts Cricket Association and attended Homebush Boys High School, representing the school's 1st grade cricket team. He is also a former junior cricketer for the Berala Sports Cricket Club in Sydney, where he was known to wicket keep and bowl in the same innings.
Starc had a rookie contract with New South Wales for the 2008/09 summer, and in February 2009 was brought into their squad to replace Aaron Bird after Bird was suspended for having an illegal bowling action. He made his first-class debut in New South Wales' final match of the season on 5 March 2009 against Western Australia. The match was drawn and New South Wales finished on the bottom of the ladder for the 2008–09 Sheffield Shield season as a result.
Western Australia approached Starc to recruit him for their team in the 2009/10 season, but he already had a contract with New South Wales and stayed with them instead. In eight Sheffield Shield games through the season, he took 21 wickets, including a best of 5 for 74 against Queensland, and scored a half-century against Victoria. Starc was selected to play for the Australian Institute of Sport in 2010, where his bowling helped the team to win the Emerging Players Twenty20 Trophy over teams from India, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Due to his impressive performances in the 2010 winter, Starc was chosen as a late replacement in Australia's tour of India in late 2010, replacing the injured Josh Hazlewood. Starc made his international debut on this tour, playing in a One Day International (ODI) against India on 20 October 2010. He did not bat and was wicketless. Starc played his second ODI later in the summer, in the final match of Australia's three-match series against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka had already won the series by winning the first two matches, their first ever series win in Australia. Starc and fellow fast bowler Clint McKay took nine wickets between them in Sri Lanka's innings to set up an eight-wicket win for Australia. The win ended a seven-match losing streak for Australia. Ahead of the 2010–11 Ashes series, Starc was selected to play for Australia A in a warm-up match against England. During a Sheffield Shield match for New South Wales the week before the match, Starc suffered a side strain injury, ruling him out for four weeks. As a result, he missed the Australia A match and wasn't considered for selection in the Ashes. He was selected again to play for Australia A in the 2011 winter for a tri-series in Zimbabwe.
Starc came into contention for a Test cricket debut in the 2011/12 season. He took two five-wicket hauls against Queensland in November: first in a Sheffield Shield match, then in a one-day match. Despite New South Wales losing both matches, Starc was named the player of the match in the one-day match because of both his bowling performance and strong hitting late in New South Wales' batting innings. He was once again selected to play for Australia A, this time in a warm-up match against New Zealand at the end of November. During this match, he was announced as part of Australia's team for the first Test match against New Zealand to replace the injured Ryan Harris, setting him up to make his 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. He was given his baggy green by Richie Benaud and took two wickets in the match. He took another two wickets in the second Test, but he was left out of the team named for the first Test of the subsequent series against India, and was then removed from the squad entirely for the 2012 New Year's Test to make way for Ryan Harris, as Harris had recovered from his injury. While out of the squad he played for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, and took three wickets in a man-of-the-match performance against the Sydney Thunder. Starc was recalled to Australia's Test squad when James Pattinson was ruled out because of a foot injury, and he played in the third Test on the pace-friendly WACA Ground in place of spinner Nathan Lyon. He excelled in bowling with swing to right-handed batsmen, and among his four wickets he successfully dismissed Sachin Tendulkar leg-before-wicket. He was left out of the team for the final Test match of the series to make way for Lyon's return, and was also removed from Australia's ODI squad to make way for the return of Ryan Harris. This freed him up to play domestic cricket for New South Wales for the rest of the season.
Starc returned to the national squad for their Test series in the West Indies in April 2012. He did not play in the first two Test matches, but was brought into the team for the final match of the series because of injuries to James Pattinson and Peter Siddle. Once the series was finished, Yorkshire County Cricket Club attempted to sign to Starc for the 2012 County Championship to bolster their fast bowling line-up. He was signed for a five-week contract and was set to play in four matches for Yorkshire, starting with a match on 9 May. However, upon his arrival in the United Kingdom, Starc was detained and questioned at Heathrow Airport for more than four hours then deported because his visa forms had not been filled out correctly. He had to fly home to Australia then back to England, missing the 9 May match. Starc didn't make his county championship debut for Yorkshire until 30 May, a drawn match against Northamptonshire in which he took 5 wickets. Starc was called up again to return to the Australian squad in early July for the final ODI of a series against England, though he did not play in the match, and then he joined Australia A for their subsequent tour of England.
Starc again joined the Australian ODI squad for Australia's series against Afghanistan and Pakistan in August and September 2012. He began the tour in superb form, winning man of the match in Australia's first two matches for taking four wickets against Afghanistan and five wickets against Pakistan in two wins. He did not take any wickets in the 2nd ODI against Pakistan, during which he complained of a chest injury, and Australia lost the match. In the final deciding ODI of the series, Starc bounced back and took four wickets. Australia won the series and Starc was named the player of the series because of his nine wickets in Australia's two wins. Then-captain Michael Clarke pointed to Starc's bowling in the series as a standout, saying, "He bowled with good pace. He's such a tall guy and he swung the ball beautifully in conditions where there wasn't much there for the fast bowlers as well." Starc stayed in Australia's squad for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, where Australia made it to the semi-finals but were knocked out of the tournament by the West Indies.