Mitchell Starc becomes 3rd bowler in the world to achieve remarkable WTC feat after heroics in 1st Ashes Test
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc became the third bowler to achieve a huge feat in the World Test Championship (WTC) after picking up 10 wickets in the 1st Ashes Test against England.
Australia pacer Mitchell Starc continued his impressive run with the ball in England's second innings of the ongoing 1st Test between the two sides in the Ashes 2025-26. The left-arm pacer picked up a three-wicket haul to help Australia bundle out the visitors for 164 runs in their second innings and finish with a ten-wicket match haul at the Perth Stadium in Perth.
With his heroics in the first Test, Starc entered his name in record books as he became only the third bowler in the world to complete 200 wickets in the World Test Championship (WTC). The veteran pacer needed nine wickets to reach the 200-wicket mark in the World Test Championship, and he managed to achieve the feat by dismissing England batter Joe Root on Day 2.
Starc cleaned up Root with a searing delivery to send him packing cheaply on just 8 off 11 balls. It was his second wicket of the day as he went on to dismiss England captain Ben Stokes next to complete his three-wicket haul during the visitors' second innings.
Starc now has 201 wickets in 50 matches in the World Test Championship. He is only the third bowler to have completed 200 wickets in the competition after his teammates Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins. Lyon is the leading wicket-taker in WTC with 219 wickets in 54 matches, followed by Cummins, who has 215 wickets in 51 matches.
Most wickets in World Test Championship (WTC):
Nathan Lyon - 219 wickets (54 matches)
Pat Cummins - 215 wickets (51 matches)
Mitchell Starc - 201 wickets (50 matches)
Mitchell Starc breathes fire in 1st Ashes Test against England
Starc breathed fire with the ball in the first Ashes Test against England in Perth with ten wickets across two innings. The left-arm pacer was the destructor-in-chief for Australia during England's first innings with a magnificent seven-wicket haul and followed it up with a three-wicket haul in the second innings to complete a ten-wicket match haul.
Starc ran through the visitors' batting line-up in their first innings to finish with excellent figures of 7/58 in 12.5 overs, his best-ever in the World Test Championship. The left-arm pacer picked up the important wickets of the likes of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in the first innings.
He continued his red-hot form in the second innings with another exceptional spell. Starc opened his tally in England's second innings by removing Crawley on a duck in his first over. The left-arm speedster cleaned up Root on 8, before dismissing Stokes on 2 to complete his three-wicket haul.