Sporting songs from the outer are typically mediocre, partly due to their frequent tuneless rendition by bothersome inebriates, and partly because they often comprise a single cringeworthy couplet crammed without regard for cadence or meter into the barely noticed melodic line of a mid-tier radio hit. The rare few that exhibit a bit more artistry stand out, appearing far superior by comparison rather than by their own merit. One such recent example that occasionally brings enjoyment is: “Hark, the herald angels sing – Mitchell Starc, the new-ball king.” The phrasing aligns well, the use of a Christmas hymn is seasonally fitting for Australia in December or January, and the sentiment mirrors a cricketing reality. Starc with a polished Kookaburra (though that sounds like an odd possession without context) is a formidable force. Substituting “new-ball” with “pink-ball” would make it even more fitting. In the day-night Test format, no one has excelled better.
As the second Test commenced against India at Adelaide Oval on Friday, Australia embarked on its 13th day-nighter. Starc has participated in all 13. By the end of the first innings after the second session, he had accumulated 72 wickets in the format at an average of 17.81 runs each, a remarkable record bolstered by his latest haul of six for 48. Nathan Lyon is the only other cricketer to have played in all 13, though he was limited to a single over here, having bowled more overs than Starc collectively. His wicket count stands at 43, barely half of Starc’s. Similarly, Josh Hazlewood has 37, while Pat Cummins has exactly half at 36. These are the top four globally, partly due to opportunity: among non-Australians in day-night Tests, a few Englishmen have played six or seven, while India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and West Indies’ Kraigg Braithwaite have five. In his 13 matches, Starc has taken his wickets at a strike rate of 34.6 – fewer than six overs per dismissal. Those with a better number in this category have mostly bowled very little, with Ashwin’s 88 overs being the most. Starc has maintained this record across 416 overs and 10 years.
He bowled as his record suggests on day one. Arriving at the crease, the new ball on the TV screens glowing vividly like a rave toy in his hand, he delivered one that did everything a new-ball swing bowler could hope for. Starting on the left-hander’s leg stump, it moved back enough to beat the bat and hit the pad in front of middle and leg. With a finger raised, he hinted to Jaiswal: that wasn’t his slower ball. It marked the third time in his career that Starc had struck with the first ball of a match, after removing Rory Burns’ leg stump in the Brisbane Ashes Test of 2021, and having Dimuth Karunaratne edge one to midwicket in Galle in 2016. Pedro Collins is the only other bowler to achieve this feat thrice.
Then, strangely, that start seemed to signal the end of Australia’s good fortune, as Shubman Gill and KL Rahul capitalized on plenty of luck, surviving dropped catches and no-ball wickets while scoring runs off Starc through risky and sliced shots. They built their partnership past 60, with Australia appearing flat. But Starc’s return before the break reignited the team. His extra bounce led to a pair of unusual dismissals, with Rahul and then Virat Kohli unable to keep the bat from the ball while trying to leave, deflecting catches from their backlift to the cordon.
Into the second session, after Scott Boland and Cummins had added wickets thanks to the opening created by Starc, he returned, and for the third time in the day, took a wicket in the opening over of his spell. Ashwin’s lbw was beyond doubt, prompting one of the worst reviews imaginable as the full ball swinging into his ankle was indeed confirmed to be hitting the base of middle stump. Harshit Rana’s shot was as comically ambitious as Ashwin’s review: a square drive off the back foot with the bat about nine inches wide of the line of the near-yorker that smashed up his stumps without concern for being interrupted on its way. And while no Indian innings is complete on this tour without Nitish Kumar Reddy launching some powerful shots at the end, the one luxurious six he hit off Starc soon had its consequences, via a skied drive caught at mid off.
In Perth, Starc had struggled for impact after dismissing both openers early on day one. In Adelaide, he saw the job through. India were all out for 180 to open the second Test, similar to their 150 in the first. Unlike Perth, though, Australia’s batters provided the other necessary part of the equation, reaching stumps one wicket down with 86 on the board. Jasprit Bumrah again bowled some sensational deliveries, dismissing Usman Khawaja and having Nathan McSweeney dropped, but also struggled at times with the pink ball swinging for extras down the leg side. He hunted, but his principal quarry Marnus Labuschagne made it back to the burrow. Bumrah is one of those rare bowlers with a day-night strike rate close to Starc’s, but he is only playing his fourth such match, and has so far bowled 64 overs with a pink ball after a couple of very brief outings in India. On the evidence of this first day, even before the night came in, Mitchell Starc remains the king.
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