In a career spanning 65 matches, the New South Wales pacer bagged 79 wickets, making him Australia’s second-highest wicket-taker in the format behind leg-spinner Adam Zampa thus far.
He is known for his express pace and lethal yorkers, and was a constant threat to batters worldwide. He decided to hang up his boots in the shortest format to focus on Tests and ODIs, where he has been equally impactful. As he bids goodbye to T20Is, CricTracker revisits three of his finest spells in the shortest format of the game in the Australian jersey.
Top 3 bowling spells of Mitchell Starc in T20Is
3/20 vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2012, Colombo
One of Starc’s early standout performances came in the 2012 T20 World Cup against Pakistan. Even though Australia failed to chase the target, the spearhead made inroads during the Men in Green’s innings effectively. Starc struck immediately with the first ball of his spell, dismissing Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez to get the moment in his team’s favour right from the word ‘go’.
He returned later to remove Kamran Akmal, who looked well-settled at the crease to hand yet another breakthrough. In the final over of the innings, he bowled Shahid Afridi over with a searing delivery to finish with 3/20. Despite Australia losing the match by 32 runs, Starc’s fiery spell remained one of the highlights of the tournament.
3/11 vs Pakistan, 2012, Dubai
Earlier in the same year in Dubai, Starc produced another brilliant performance during Australia’s tour of the UAE, where they faced Pakistan in a multi-format series. Chasing 169, Pakistan were blown away for just 74, with Starc leading the charge. He struck in the very first over, sending Imran Nazir back cheaply.
In his next spell, he dismissed Kamran Akmal for a duck, breaking the backbone of the hosts’ batting. To wrap up his effort, he uprooted Saeed Ajmal’s stumps, finishing with superb figures of 3/11. His early breakthroughs set the tone for Australia’s dominating 94-run win, who also won the series quite comfortably.
4/20 vs West Indies, 2022, Brisbane
Almost a decade later, Starc showcased his experience and class with his career-best T20I figures against West Indies in Brisbane. Defending 178, he opened the attack with a sharp caught-and-bowled dismissal of Kyle Mayers. Soon after, he sent the Caribbean skipper and attacking batter Nicholas Pooran packing, before removing all-rounder Jason Holder.
In the final over of the match, he cleaned up Odean Smith to cap off a brilliant spell of 4/20. His performance sealed the series for Australia and underlined why he remained such a dangerous bowler until the end of his T20I career.