Mitchell Starc, a pink-ball assassin, England must fear at the Gabba

The brilliance of Mitchell Starc with pink ball [Source: @RajpalShiv46534/X.com]

Mitchell Starc never set out to become the king of the pink ball. In fact, for a long time, he resisted day-night Test cricket, calling himself a traditionalist who preferred the red ball and natural daylight. 

But cricket has a funny way of deciding legacies for you. A decade after he bowled the very first pink-ball delivery in Test history, Starc now stands as its greatest ever exponent.

And as Australia prepares for another floodlit battle at the Gabba in the second Ashes 2025 Test, England knows exactly who the biggest threat is.

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Mitchell Starc’s pink ball legacy through numbers

(Table - Mitchell Starc's stats in pink-ball Tests)

For starters, Starc’s numbers with the pink ball are not just impressive. They are intimidating. In day-night Tests, he has taken 81 wickets at a staggering average of 17, a full 38 wickets more than anyone else in history in this format. 

In simple terms, when the floodlights are on, Mitchell Starc becomes twice the bowler he already is. 

A fifth of his Test wickets, more than 80 out of 400-plus, have come with the pink ball alone. That is a remarkable return in a format that has only existed since 2015.

The pink ball enhances Starc’s skills by miles

(Table - Most wickets in pink-ball Tests)

What makes him so dangerous under lights is a deadly combination of pace, late swing and deception. The pink ball behaves differently from the traditional red one. 

Its darker seam is harder for batters to pick up, especially when the lights reflect off the bright surface. 

Former England captain Alastair Cook once compared it to trying to track “a big planet” speeding towards you. Add Starc’s left-arm angle and 145kph thunderbolts to that mix, and batters are often reacting rather than reading the ball.  

Stuart Broad, who faced Mitchell Starc many times, explained it best when he said that with the red ball, you can sometimes see the seam and predict the swing. 

With the pink ball under lights, that visual cue disappears. By the time the batter realises which way the ball is moving, it’s already too late. That split-second delay is where Starc does his damage.

Mitchell Starc is a nightmare for England already

(Table - Mitchell Starc's stats in pink-ball Tests vs England)

England have painful memories to back that up. In the first Test of this Ashes series at Perth, Mitchell Starc tore through the batting line-up, taking 7/58 in the first innings and 10 wickets in the match. 

Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Ben Stokes were dismissed twice each for just 16 runs combined by Starc alone. It was a demolition job, and it immediately tilted the series in Australia’s favour. 

Now the contest moves to the Gabba, a venue with good pace, bounce and hostility under lights. While Australia have not been as unstoppable here in day-night Tests as they have in Adelaide, the conditions still heavily favour fast bowlers. 

The concern about the ball going soft may exist, but that is where Starc’s skill with the wobble seam and late swing becomes even more valuable. 

He does not need a perfect ball. He only needs a hint of shine and a little bit of darkness. 

Will Mitchell Starc have another heroic night in Gabba?

There is also a historic milestone waiting for him. With just three more wickets at the Gabba, Mitchell Starc will surpass Wasim Akram to become the most successful left-arm fast bowler in Test history.  Among Australian pacers, only Glenn McGrath will remain ahead of him. 

For a man who once doubted the pink ball, it now stands as the stage for his crowning moment. Marnus Labuschagne, one of Australia’s most reliable batters and the leading run-scorer in pink-ball Tests, summed it up perfectly. 

High pace. Late swing. Inconsistent movement. All delivered with brutal accuracy. That is the Mitchell Starc formula. And when the lights flick on at the Gabba, that formula becomes almost impossible to solve.

For England, preparation can only go so far. Technique, planning and analysis may help, but history suggests that sometimes, when Starc is running in with a pink ball in hand, there is very little anyone can do. 

Under the Brisbane lights, the Ashes may well glow pink, and Mitchell Starc may once again be the man who makes them shine Australia’s way.

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