Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who has witnessed Starc’s journey from the early days, heaped praise on his longevity and legacy, something he believed the left-arm pacer was always destined to achieve.
“He’s really now stacking up an amazing career – over 400 Test match wickets,” Ponting said, speaking to Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review.
“I think everyone who laid eyes on him as a youngster understood that there was every possibility that he could be a 100-Test match, 400 or 500-wicket fast bowler for Australia.
“He’s got to be 6’5”. He’s always had pace on his side. He’s always been sort of that high 140s and sometimes pushing that sort of 150 barrier. He’s had the ability to swing the new ball back into the right-handers.”
Starc made his first-class debut for New South Wales in 2009 at just 19, and within two years, he had earned his Test cap.
Sixteen years and 292 international matches later, the 35-year-old remains close to his physical peak. a testament to his commitment to putting national duty above all else.
“A lot of that physical stuff has never been questioned with him. It’s been spoken about a fair bit this week,” Ponting added.
“He’s made a lot of decisions to give him the best opportunity to have a long-term international career. When I say decisions, I mean by standing out of different IPL tournaments at different times when he’s had bigger international commitments coming up.”
