Mitchell Starc Career Stats: 857 Wickets Across All Formats
433 Test wickets at 26.52. 239 ODI wickets at 23.69. 185 T20 wickets at 22.16. Mitchell Starc's career adds up to 857 wickets across 368 matches — a staggering haul that places the left-arm paceman among the most destructive fast bowlers cricket has ever produced.
Starc's weapon is the yorker. Not just any yorker, but a left-armer's inswinging yorker delivered at 150 km/h, angling into the base of the stumps from an angle that right-handed batters find almost impossible to negotiate. That single delivery has defined careers, decided World Cup finals, and turned Starc into Australian cricket's most reliable match-winner with the new ball and at the death.
Career at a Glance
| Format | Mat | Runs | Avg (Bat) | SR | HS | Wkts | Avg (Bowl) | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 105 | 2,478 | 20.48 | 59.3 | 99* | 433 | 26.52 | 3.44 |
| ODI | 126 | 579 | 11.82 | 77.4 | 52 | 239 | 23.69 | 5.26 |
| T20 | 137 | 224 | 9.74 | 94.1 | 29 | 185 | 22.16 | 8.20 |
| Total | 368 | 3,281 | — | — | 99 | 857 | — | — |
Three formats, 857 wickets, and a batting contribution — including a tantalising highest score of 99 not out in Tests — that makes Starc far more than a one-dimensional pace bowler.
The Test Record — Australia's Spearhead
105 Tests, 433 wickets at 26.52, economy of 3.44. Those numbers place Starc among the all-time great Australian fast bowlers — a lineage that includes Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, and Pat Cummins.
What distinguishes Starc in Test cricket is his ability to produce devastating spells at critical moments. His left-arm angle creates natural angles into right-handers that few bowlers in world cricket can replicate. The new ball in his hands is a genuine threat — but so is the old ball, where his reverse swing at pace has dismantled fourth-innings chases.
2,478 Test runs at 20.48 with thirteen half-centuries and a highest of 99 not out make Starc a valuable lower-order contributor. That unbeaten 99 — agonisingly one run short of a century — encapsulates both his batting talent and the cruel mathematics of tailend innings. With 256 fours and 49 sixes across 4,177 balls faced, Starc bats with intent, not survival.
20,013 Test balls bowled across 202 innings demonstrate the immense physical toll Starc has absorbed. Bowling at 145-150 km/h consistently over a decade-long Test career — while managing the injuries that accompany genuine pace — is one of the great feats of endurance in modern fast bowling.
ODIs — The White-Ball Destroyer
Starc's ODI record may be his most impressive format-specific achievement. 239 wickets at 23.69 across 126 matches gives him a strike rate that few ODI fast bowlers in any era can match.
His ODI economy of 5.26 is competitive given that he bowls both the powerplay and death overs — the two most expensive phases of a 50-over innings. Starc's ability to take wickets upfront with the new ball and execute yorkers under pressure at the death makes him the complete ODI fast bowler.
World Cup performances define ODI careers, and Starc has been Australia's most dangerous weapon in ICC tournaments. His ability to produce player-of-the-tournament-level performances on the biggest stage — swinging the new ball lavishly, then returning at the death to close out innings — has been central to Australia's sustained success in ODI cricket.
T20 Cricket — The Franchise Force
137 T20 matches and 185 wickets at 22.16 tell the story of a pace bowler who thrived in the shortest format despite the inherent risks of bowling fast at the death on flat pitches.
Starc's T20 economy of 8.20 reflects the challenge of bowling at the death in T20s, where even the best bowlers concede boundaries. But his bowling average of 22.16 — better than his Test average — shows that he takes wickets at an extraordinary rate in the format. He is not a containing bowler; he is an attacking weapon who accepts the occasional punishment as the cost of taking wickets.
Across five T20 franchises — Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sydney Sixers, and Australia — Starc has brought his pace, swing and yorkers to the IPL, Big Bash, and international T20 cricket. His record-breaking IPL auction price when he joined KKR underlined what franchises understood: in high-stakes T20 cricket, there is no replacement for genuine left-arm pace at 150 km/h.
What the Numbers Show
Starc's combined 857 wickets break down into a remarkably balanced three-format career:
- 433 Test wickets at 26.52 — top-10 all-time for Australia
- 239 ODI wickets at 23.69 — among the best ODI bowling averages for any fast bowler with 200+ wickets
- 185 T20 wickets at 22.16 — T20 bowling average better than his Test average
- 3,281 career runs including 13 fifties and a highest of 99* — genuine batting talent
- 29,464 balls bowled across all formats — extraordinary workload for a fast bowler
The most telling statistic is the bowling average across formats. Starc averages 26.52 in Tests, 23.69 in ODIs, and 22.16 in T20s. That inverse relationship — getting cheaper as the format gets shorter and more brutal — is almost unheard of among fast bowlers. Most pace bowlers see their averages balloon in T20 cricket. Starc's went down.
The Left-Arm Advantage
Left-arm fast bowling is cricket's rarest commodity. The angle, the natural inswing to right-handers, the ability to create doubt from over the wicket — these are advantages that cannot be coached into a right-arm bowler. Starc exploits this angle more effectively than any left-arm paceman since Wasim Akram.
His career bowling record stands comparison with the greatest left-arm quicks in history. Where Wasim Akram pioneered reverse swing at pace, Starc has mastered the yorker at pace — making it the most feared delivery in white-ball cricket over the past decade.
The 99 Not Out
Starc's highest Test score of 99 not out deserves its own mention. A number 8 or 9 batter reaching 99* means the innings ended one run short of a milestone that would have transformed his batting record. Thirteen fifties across 153 Test innings at 20.48 show a batter capable of substantial contributions — the kind of lower-order runs that shift match outcomes in close encounters.
FAQ
How many wickets has Mitchell Starc taken in his career?
Mitchell Starc has taken 857 wickets across all formats: 433 in Tests (at 26.52), 239 in ODIs (at 23.69) and 185 in T20s (at 22.16), making him one of the most prolific fast bowlers in cricket history.
What is Mitchell Starc's highest Test score?
Starc's highest Test score is 99 not out, falling agonisingly one run short of a maiden Test century. He has scored 2,478 Test runs at 20.48 with thirteen half-centuries.
Which IPL teams has Mitchell Starc played for?
Starc has represented three IPL franchises: Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. His record-breaking auction price when joining KKR reflected his status as one of the most valuable fast bowlers in T20 cricket.
Is Mitchell Starc the best left-arm fast bowler in history?
Starc's 857 career wickets, combined with his dominance in ICC tournaments, place him in the conversation with Wasim Akram and Mitchell Johnson as the greatest left-arm fast bowlers. His ODI bowling average of 23.69 with 239 wickets is among the best in ODI history for any fast bowler.