Mitchell Starc reached No. 1 in the ICC Test bowling rankings after taking ten wickets against Bangladesh in Mackay. He took six for 12 in the first innings, including a wicket with the first ball of the match, as Bangladesh were dismissed for 64.

Australia won the second Test by an innings and 51 runs to level the series 1–1. Starc’s 10 for 51 earned him player of the match and player of the series honours.

Six for 12 in the first innings

Shadman Islam was dismissed by Starc’s first ball. Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto followed in his third over, with Mominul Haque becoming the fourth wicket. Starc took five wickets in 22 balls and bowled six maidens in ten overs.

The surface was lively—18 wickets fell on the first day and Shoriful Islam took six for Bangladesh—but Starc’s new-ball spell set Australia’s win up.

Ten wickets level the series

Australia made 210 before Starc returned four for 39 in Bangladesh’s second innings. His match figures of 10 for 51 helped Australia complete an innings-and-51-run win inside two days and level the series at 1–1.

Australia had lost the first Test in Darwin, so the Mackay performance gave them an immediate response.

Starc’s first No. 1 ranking

Starc’s previous best Test ranking was No. 2. The ICC’s 26 August update moved him two places to first on 872 points, the first time he has topped the men’s Test bowling rankings in his 15-year career.

The ranking followed a match in which Starc took the new ball, dismantled Bangladesh’s first innings and finished the job in the second.