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‘No end date’: How Starc plans to reach rare milestone

‘No end date’: How Starc plans to reach rare milestone

Mitchell Starc has no plans to quit Test cricket and become a white-ball gun for hire like other top players have done.

In fact the Aussie pace legend is already rolling back his short-form commitments in an effort to preserve his body and ensure he can don the baggy green for as long as possible.

The towering left-armer is only 11 matches shy of reaching 100 Tests for Australia.

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The only three bowlers ahead of him on Australia’s top Test wickets list – Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, and Nathan Lyon – all played more than 100 matches. No recognised bowler below Starc on the list managed to reach the ton.

And while it’s not a milestone he lets himself think about too often, he admits it would be special to get there.

Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins during the 2021-22 Ashes.  Getty

“However long I go for – if it’s 11 matches, if it’s more, if it’s not – I do thoroughly enjoy playing cricket for Australia and every time I get to wear the baggy green cap it feels very special,” Starc told Wide World of Sports.

“Hopefully it’s five times through the summer with five wins and we can sing that song five times, then we move on from there.

“If it does come to a point where I’m lucky enough to get past that 100 number then it’s obviously going to be pretty special as well.”

Starc represented Australia at the Twenty20 World Cup but has been home in Sydney for the past month and a half enjoying a well-earned rest.

He’s due to fly to England with the Aussie squad next month for a white-ball tour, but has already been rested from the T20 games.

When he returns back Down Under he plans to play some domestic cricket for New South Wales before launching into a Border-Gavaskar series on home soil.

While he may need another break at some point in the coming months, Starc doesn’t plan to miss any Tests.

“The Tests will always be taking precedence for me,” he said.

“We’ve got seven Tests on the bounce with five against India and then two in Sri Lanka, so they sit top of the tree with what’s coming up.

“The schedule is pretty fluid… the three quicks in particular, Josh (Hazlewood), Pat (Cummins) and I, we all play three formats so it might look differently for each of us. Pat is resting for this UK tour… we love playing all three formats but that could look different at different times over 12 months.

“I don’t think we’ve put a deadline on anything. The Test matches will remain a priority, certainly for myself and I think it would be similar for the other two as well.

“There is certainly no end date on (our bowling careers). That will be an ongoing one. We’ll see where (our) bodies are and the want to keep going, but at this stage it’s all guns blazing for five Tests against India.”

Australia has not beaten India in a Test series in almost a decade.

With the Border-Gavaskar trophy now played for over five matches, Starc wants to cleansweep the visitors and bring the silverware home.

“Being five matches now it’s probably right on par with an Ashes series. We always want to win every game at home and we know India are a very strong team,” he said.

“As we’re placed at the minute we’re the top two teams on the Test ladder… so a very exciting series coming up for the fans and certainly the players.

“Hopefully when we’re sitting there on the 8th of January we have that trophy back on our shores.”

Mitchell Starc of Australia prepares to bowl during day three of the First Test in the series between New Zealand and Australia at Basin Reserve.

Mitchell Starc of Australia prepares to bowl. Hagen Hopkins via Getty Images

Amazon on Wednesday announced Prime free same-day delivery is now available on orders that include at least $49 of eligible items for the majority of Prime members in Sydney.

Prime members can order from more than one million products as late as midday, for delivery before 10pm. Starc has started as Amazon Australia’s first-ever “chief speed officer”.

“As one of Australia’s fastest deliverers I know speed matters and that’s why I am proud to come on board as Amazon Australia’s chief speed officer just in time for the launch of same-day delivery in Sydney,” he said.

“I can’t wait to hit the road with Amazon Australia and deliver an awesome box of cricket loot to two lucky Sydneysiders.”