Ricky Ponting Reflects On Starc's Brilliance (Source: @iamhasanat/x.com)
Australian superstar Mitchell Starc showed how to make special days unforgettable by delivering a career-best spell in his iconic 100th Test. His remarkable six-wicket haul bundled out the hosts in 27 runs, and Australia scripted history.
As the cricket world was stunned by his recent heroics, former Australian skipper witnessed the spark in Starc. In a recent interaction, he revealed that when Starc troubled Sachin Tendulkar, he knew the young pacer was destined for greatness.
Ponting Detects Spark In Starc Before The World Does
Despite a heartbreaking defeat in the WTC final, Australia made a fierce comeback in the recently ended Test series against West Indies. As Mitchell Starc played his 100th Test match in the third Test, the cricket world saw Starc’s best ever spell in the longest format.
Ending the second innings with an unreal figure of 6/9, Starc almost single-handedly tore through the West Indies batting lineup. As the cricket world was in shock, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting shared that he witnessed Starc’s brilliance long back. Speaking on ICC Review, Ponting recalled how, back in 2012, when Starc troubled Tendulkar, he knew the young pacer was destined for greatness.
“I remember, he was bowling a spell to Sachin Tendulkar and was able to sort of bowl a short one, get up under Sachin's armpit and Sachin just sort of knocked one into short leg on the leg side,” he said.
“And when you could see that sort of pace and bounce and have someone like Sachin not be able to cope with it, I think that was the reassurance for all of us that there was probably something extra special there for Mitchell Starc,” he added.
Starc’s Hunger To Improve Keeps Raising The Bar
From his Test debut in 2011 to his iconic 100th match, Mitchell Starc’s journey is pure inspiration. With 725 international wickets across formats, he’s mastered the game by keeping it simple: stay hungry and get better. Ricky Ponting credited Starc’s hunger for making him a modern-day legend.
“He's got better and better. Like skill-wise and mentally, I think he understands his body, understands his game probably better than ever, especially the last couple of years,” he said.
“He's added a couple of different skills maybe the last two or three years that don't seem like massive things, but he's sort of incorporated that three-quarters seam, that wobble seam delivery that's just made his in-swing of that little bit more potent as well and has given him a little bit more variation,” he added.
Starc’s heroics in his 100th Test powered Australia to yet another historic moment, sealing a commanding 176-run win. With sheer dominance, Australia wrapped up the Test series by a 3-0 margin.
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