Starc reaches 450 Test wickets, adding another landmark to his late surge
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Mitchell Starc’s 450th Test wicket required a review. Wiaan Mulder tried to avoid a short delivery in Gqeberha, the ball reached Matthew Renshaw at second slip, and Australia’s appeal was initially rejected. Pat Cummins sent the decision upstairs; the replay confirmed contact with Mulder’s glove before the ball struck his helmet. Cricket Australia’s account of the milestone.
The dismissal on 20 October made Starc the tenth bowler to take 450 Test wickets. It also extended a prolific period for a fast bowler whose wicket-taking has continued well beyond the stages at which careers are usually expected to slow. Milestone report.
Another fifty came quickly
Starc reached 400 in his hundredth Test at Sabina Park in 2025. He followed that with 31 wickets at 19.93 in the home Ashes, earning the Compton–Miller Medal as player of the series. The 450th arrived a little over a year after the 400th. Cricket Australia’s milestone chronology.
That recent sequence is significant because a career total can hide the way it was assembled. Reaching a large number by adding small returns across many years is different from arriving after a period of heavy wicket-taking. Starc’s latest landmark belongs to the latter part of that distinction.
The Ashes return also puts the achievement in a team setting. Sustained success across a series demands more than one outstanding spell. It asks a bowler to recover, return and find wickets as the opposition changes its response.
The milestones show more than one kind of threat
| Landmark | Batter dismissed | Venue and year |
|---|---|---|
| 100 wickets | Kusal Mendis | Galle, 2016 |
| 300 wickets | Rassie van der Dussen | Brisbane, 2022 |
| 400 wickets | Mikyle Louis | Kingston, 2025 |
| 450 wickets | Wiaan Mulder | Gqeberha, 2026 |
The latest wicket came from the short ball. Other milestones in that list involved very different problems for the batter. A fast bowler’s threat grows when the batter has to account for more than one length: a fuller ball can attack the stumps or invite the drive, while the shorter delivery changes the position from which the next ball is played.
The table is a selection of individual moments, rather than a complete description of Starc’s methods. Its value is in showing how an enormous total is still made up of specific contests, each with its own batter, conditions and decision.
Longevity is part of the skill
Cricket Australia’s chronology places Starc among just five fast bowlers to reach 450 Test wickets and identifies him as the most prolific left-arm bowler in the format. Historical standing.
For a quick, staying available is inseparable from the record. Every wicket requires selection and fitness as well as execution. A long career involves returning after difficult spells, managing the physical demands between matches and retaining enough threat to remain useful when the ball or surface is less helpful.
That is why the number carries more weight than a highlight reel alone. The spectacular deliveries are memorable, but the total also includes the less celebrated overs that make a complete attack function.
Starc’s record does not need a prediction about how many more wickets he will take. Those forecasts depend on fitness, schedules and selection. The substantial point is already established: he has combined the capacity to change an innings quickly with the durability to keep doing it across a long Test career. The Gqeberha dismissal adds another marker to that work.