Mitchell Starc claimed 6 for 12 against Bangladesh in Mackay, moving to 230 World Test Championship wickets and becoming the competition’s leading wicket-taker.
Mitchell Starc turned a devastating spell against Bangladesh into a landmark day for his Test career, becoming the highest wicket-taker in World Test Championship history during the second Test in Mackay.
The Australian left-arm pacer finished with six wickets as Bangladesh were bowled out for just 64. His first five wickets came in only 22 balls, while his complete 10-over spell produced remarkable figures of 6 for 12, including six maidens. Bangladesh’s 64 was also their fourth-lowest all-out total in Test cricket.
What made the spell particularly destructive was how quickly Starc removed Bangladesh’s top order.
He struck with the very first ball of the match, dismissing Shadman Islam for a duck. Tanzid Hasan followed without scoring before Starc removed Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das and Mominul Haque in quick succession. At that stage, Bangladesh had collapsed to 12 for 5. Starc later returned to dismiss Shoriful Islam, completing his six-wicket haul as the innings ended at 64.
Starc moves clear at the top of the WTC wicket chart
The Mackay spell pushed Starc’s World Test Championship tally to 230 wickets from 56 matches, at an average of 24.50. His WTC record now includes eight five-wicket hauls and 10 four-wicket hauls.
That was enough to take him past Australian teammates Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins, who have 225 WTC wickets each.
The scale of the achievement becomes clearer further down the list. Starc, Lyon and Cummins are the only bowlers identified in the available figures to have reached 200 wickets in the WTC era, with no other bowler having crossed that mark.
For Starc, however, the record was only one part of an innings in which several milestones arrived almost together.
Current WTC cycle underlines Starc’s form
Starc is also leading the wicket-taking charts in the ongoing 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.
His performance against Bangladesh took him to 54 wickets from 10 matches in the cycle at an average of 17.51, with four five-wicket hauls. England’s Josh Tongue is close behind with 53 wickets and is the only other bowler listed with more than 50 wickets in the current cycle.
The Mackay performance therefore did more than establish an overall WTC record. It also strengthened Starc’s position at the top of the wicket-taking table in the current championship.
A 22-ball five-for, but not Starc’s fastest
Taking five wickets in 22 balls would ordinarily stand out as the defining statistic of a bowling spell. In Starc’s case, it is not even his quickest Test five-wicket haul.
He already holds the record for the fastest five-wicket haul in Test cricket after taking five wickets in just 15 balls against the West Indies in 2025. His 22-ball effort against Bangladesh still ranks among the fastest five-wicket hauls in Test history.
The unusual symmetry of his final figures was equally striking: 10 overs, six maidens, 12 runs conceded and six wickets.
Starc also moves past Dale Steyn
Starc’s fifth wicket of the innings delivered another major career milestone.
It took him past former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn, who finished with 439 Test wickets. Starc ended the Bangladesh innings with 441 Test wickets from 107 matches, moving to 10th place on the all-time Test wicket-taking list. His Test bowling average stands at 26.27.
The six-wicket performance was also Starc’s 19th five-wicket haul in Tests. His career record includes 20 four-wicket hauls and three matches in which he has collected 10 wickets.
On a day dominated by Bangladesh’s collapse, Starc’s numbers told a second story. Six wickets for 12 runs took him to the summit of the WTC wicket chart, 54 wickets in the current championship cycle and 441 wickets in Test cricket overall.
For a bowler who already owned the fastest five-wicket haul in Test history, Mackay delivered another collection of records, this time built around six wickets, six maidens and a new place at the top of the World Test Championship.
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