Starc challenges McGrath's legacy; Comparing two talismans after 100 Ashes wickets 

Starc vs McGrath - (Source: AFP)

On Friday, November 21, England and Australia locked horns in the first of a five-match Ashes series at the Perth Stadium. The visitors won the toss and opted to bat first. 

However, the decision quickly turned into a nightmare as the Three Lions fell prey to Mitchell Starc's masterclass in the first over of the match. Further, the left-arm seamer wreaked havoc and picked up two more quick wickets, including Joe Root, to reduce England to 3/60 in the first session of day 1.

Starc, who is breathing fire with the new ball, reached a new milestone as he completed 100 wickets in the Ashes and became the first left-arm Australian seamer to do so.

Overall, Starc is the seventh Australian seamer to reach 100 wickets after Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, George Giffen, Charlie Turner, and T Alderman. Now, since Glenn McGrath, who is the leading wicket-taker by an Australian seamer in Ashes history, let's compare his stats with Mitchell Starc and determine who has been a better bowler after 100 Ashes wickets.

Glenn McGrath vs Mitchell Starc: The better bowler till 100 Ashes wickets

Notably, Starc has taken just 43 innings to reach 100 Ashes wickets, whereas McGrath achieved the same in 37 innings, six fewer than Mitchell Starc. Let's shed light on their detailed stats. 

Key takeaways

• Glenn McGrath is an absolute legend of the game and Mitchell Starc is not too far away from matching the great man's legacy. The stats show that Starc has taken six more innings than the former seamer but still manage a similar strike-rate of 44.
• However, in terms of averages, McGrath is way ahead of Mitchell Starc as the right-arm seamer averages 20.11, whereas Starc is 26.72, which means that McGrath was more effective in every game, bringing in more consistency than the left-arm seamer.

Glenn McGrath vs Mitchell Starc: Home and Away Tests

It is also equally important to see Starc and McGrath's record at home and away from home to further determine who is the better and more effective bowler.

Starc vs McGrath's Ashes record at home

• Talking about the home stats then interestingly, they both have identical figures. If we talk about the strike-rate, then Starc actually has outshone McGrath here with a strike-rate of 44, whereas the former right-arm seamer has a strike-rate of 48.2.
• However, again McGrath manages to have a slightly better average than Starc with 22.71 and 23.27.

Starc vs McGrath's Ashes record away from home

• When it comes to away games, McGrath is on a different level as he averages 18.27 and a strike-rate of 39.1. Starc is nowhere near McGrath when it comes to his stats in England and this is where the difference between the two bowlers.

Conclusion

Mitchell Starc is a great bowler and among the finest, but McGrath is on a different level all-together. To perform on away condition is actually tough than producing results on home turf. Meanwhile, Glenn McGrath and Starc have performed on both conditions, but the right-arm seamer had outdone the southpaw here.

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