Mitchell Starc bowled a magnificent spell in Mackay. Image Credits: AFP
We all saw it coming, didn’t we? Mitchell Starc has bowled multiple such spells in his Test career, but this one in Mackay felt almost inevitable. After all, Bangladesh’s mauling of Australia in Darwin last week was still fresh.
Phil Simmons, Bangladesh’s head coach, had already warned his team of a harder response from Australia. And harder they came. Starc took matters into his own hands, replying with a 22-ball five-wicket haul before adding another to bundle Bangladesh out for 64.
Mitchell Starc’s fuller lengths vs LHBs
Mitchell Starc faced an all-LHB top four to start, against whom he has been hot and cold with the new ball recently. Since 2025, he had taken 11 wickets at 19.09 apiece against southpaws in the first 10 overs, compared to 19 at 23.70 against RHBs, before this game.
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But one thing he has done more consistently of late is bowl very full, giving the ball maximum time to swing against LHBs. Against Bangladesh, that was imperative, given all of their LHBs are relatively short and good lengths are generally fuller than usual hard lengths on Australian pitches. The first session also offered substantial sideways movement on a fresh Mackay pitch.
With the first delivery, Starc started with straighter lines and on the fuller side. Because the ball was so full, it swung almost at the last moment, and Shadman Islam did not cover for it. He tried to work it on the on side with the angle but could only get a leading edge, sending the ball straight to gully.
Mitchell Starc bowled fuller lengths to Bangladesh LHBs
On the first delivery of the very next over, Starc went even fuller, almost to yorker length, to Tanzid Hasan, who tried to keep it out but was again undone by the late away movement. The length was fuller than any of the deliveries he faced from pacers in the first 10 overs in Darwin. The course correction had come, and so had the wicket of the previous match’s centurion, dismissed for a two-ball duck.
“Clearly half volleys work when they're not going straight, but obviously we had to bowl a bit fuller. They were quite patient through that first Test and batted really well. So really, it was just getting our lengths a bit fuller, using the bouncer a bit more, and holding onto our catches,” explained Mitchell Starc on tactical changes from the previous Test.
Then came a vulnerable Najmul Hossain Shanto, possibly anticipating another away-going delivery after seeing his partners dismissed similarly. He stayed deep in his crease, watching the ball move away rather than taking a forward stride to smother the line. Starc knew it. And while he did get the ball to move away a touch, it nipped back after pitching.
The ball went past Shanto’s inside edge and struck on his front pad. He did try to move his front pad away at the last moment, but at Starc’s pace, it is nearly impossible to adjust that late. He was dismissed for a golden duck, with the previous dismissals clearly having a role in his approach.
Mominul Haque’s dismissal was a replica of Tanzid’s in several ways. Again, Starc went very full, almost to yorker length, and again got the ball to move away at the very end. Like Tanzid, Mominul played a tentative, unnecessary poke towards gully, resulting in a nothing shot and a dismissal.
Inswingers from good lengths to RHBs
When Mushfiqur Rahim arrived to prevent Mitchell Starc’s hat-trick, Starc naturally brought the ball into the right-hander from the same angle. He bowled in the channel, but slightly shorter than the lengths he had used against the LHBs during the earlier carnage. Angling across the batter, the ball just managed to swing back at the very end.
Rahim played it out, but Starc continued with his plan, bringing his lines closer to the stumps. On the very next delivery, Rahim again made a tight leave as the ball nipped back from the fourth-stump line. When Litton Das arrived, Starc continued to probe that channel, looking to bring the ball back in sharply.
That finally came when Starc went to the fuller side of a good length, with his line moving closer to the stumps. The ball swung back sharply, forcing Litton to play across the line. At that pace, with that much movement, he was always in danger of being beaten. The ball struck him on the back pad and pinned him LBW.
Mitchell Starc moved the ball into RHBs from straighter lines
It was a typical Starc dismissal against a RHB. He has always had a lethal inswinger to right-handers, and in Mackay, the late movement only made life harder for Bangladesh’s batters. From bowling fuller to the LHBs to going straighter and slightly shorter to the RHBs, Starc barely put a foot wrong as he ran through the batting lineup.
It was fitting that he ended the resistance from Bangladesh’s last pair, who had added 25 runs to take them past 50. This time, Starc’s height, which helps him generate extra bounce, came into play. It was not a short delivery, but it climbed on Shoriful Islam, who could only get a thick edge through to the wicketkeeper.
The ball had been flying off good lengths throughout the innings, as was also evident on the hat-trick delivery Starc bowled to Rahim. The conditions did become slightly easier for batting from the second session onwards, as sideways movement subsided a bit. However, Starc was in no mood to let Bangladesh get there.
Starc continues to evolve in his Test career
Mitchell Starc has always been a skilful bowler, but he was never quite the force he has become in recent years. Even at his best, the left-arm quick was often the easiest of Australia’s pace trio to milk and, in turn, relieve some pressure. Strong batting lineups could expose his waywardness, both at home and away.
Around five years ago, the writing seemed to be on the wall. Starc was becoming a bowler with diminishing control, increasingly reliant on pace and the occasional unplayable delivery. Then came the evolution. He developed a scrambled seam that allowed him to challenge both edges more regularly, giving him more avenues to take wickets with both the new and old ball.
His fuller lengths have become particularly incisive. Batters looking to drive on the up against him are now increasingly getting themselves into trouble. Since 2024, Starc averages 27.93 from drives and induces false shots on around 39% of them. The scrambled seam has played a direct role, allowing the ball to move further away rather than simply following the angle.
More importantly, Starc no longer needs to constantly search for those magic balls to take wickets. He can settle into the 6-8 metre range, allowing the movement in the air and off the pitch to do the rest. It has added another dimension to his Test bowling.
He is no longer the hittable option who could leak runs through wayward lengths across a spell. The results are there to see. Starc now has a growing collection of spells in which he has simply ripped through batting lineups before they have had time to settle.
He took five wickets in 15 balls in Jamaica last year before producing an all-time great Ashes campaign in 2025. With Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins absent, Starc stepped up for Australia, taking 31 wickets at 19.94 to deliver a performance for the ages and help Australia retain the urn. Earlier, he had also been Australia’s standout quick in otherwise spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka, taking six wickets at 14.33 apiece across two Tests.
Longevity has always been one of Starc’s defining strengths. But to keep improving and adding new skills to his repertoire this deep into his career is the mark of a great bowler.
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