Mitchell Starc: Australia's Ageless Ace Ready to Attack in Ashes Opener

Mitchell Starc, 35, defies age as he leads Australia's pace attack against England in the Ashes opener at Perth. Despite opinions on declining pacers' effectiveness with age, Starc's stats reveal otherwise, reflecting improved performance and higher participation rates over the years, poised for yet another impactful outing.

Mitchell Starc, Australia's veteran fast bowler, is determined to lead the charge against England in the first Ashes Test at Perth's Optus Stadium starting Friday. At 35, Starc continues to defy conventional wisdom regarding the age and effectiveness of fast bowlers, as his performance stats remain on an upward trajectory.

Analyzing Starc’s career statistics from cricket.com.au reveals a pattern of increasing participation and performance across three distinct phases. Between December 2011 and November 2016, Starc was part of half of Australia's matches. This participation rate increased to 76.7% between 2016-2021, and further improved to an impressive 90.7% since 2021.

Starc’s bowling stats support his growing consistency. His wicket tally from 2011 to 2016 was 115 at an average of 27.36, which evolved to 140 wickets at 27.74 between 2016 and 2021. Most notably, since November 2021, he has claimed 147 wickets at an average of 26.06. Without his injured teammates Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Starc will be supported by Scott Boland and either Brendan Doggett or Michael Neser as he faces England's squad headlined by Ben Stokes.