After left-arm fast-bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc delivered a dream spell in his landmark 100th Test against the West Indies, legendary Australia cricketer Ricky Ponting recalled how his spell to Sachin Tendulkar in Perth in 2012 showed him that he was destined for greatness.
In the pink-ball Test in Jamaica, Starc claimed a five-wicket haul in just 15 balls to end with career-best figures of 6/9 as West Indies were bowled out for 27, the second-lowest total in Test cricket’s history.
Ponting recalled how Starc, playing only his third Test, kept Tendulkar on a tight leash by targeting his shoulder in the second innings of the WACA Test in 2012. “I remember, he was bowling a spell to Sachin Tendulkar and was able to sort of bowl a short one, get up under Sachin's armpit and Sachin just sort of knocked one into short leg on the leg side.
“And when you could see that sort of pace and bounce and have someone like Sachin not be able to cope with it, I think that was the reassurance for all of us that there was probably something extra special there for Mitchell Starc," said Ponting on The ICC Review show.
During the Test in Jamaica, Starc also completed 400 Test wickets, adding another illustrious landmark in his glittering playing career featuring two 50-over World Cup wins, T20 World Cup victory, and World Test Championship triumph.
“He's got better and better. Like skill-wise and mentally, I think he understands his body, understands his game probably better than ever, especially the last couple of years. “He's added a couple of different skills maybe the last two or three years that don't seem like massive things, but he's sort of incorporated that three-quarters seam, that wobble seam delivery that's just made his in-swing of that little bit more potent as well and has given him a little bit more variation.
“A lot of that physical stuff has never been questioned with him. It's been spoken about a fair bit this week. 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,” elaborated Ponting. He signed off by noting the small but meaningful routines Starc has developed over the years to keep himself focused while bowling.
“When I talk about working out his own game, you've probably seen it and heard about in the past, but he wears a bit of tape on his, I think it's his right wrist, his non-bowling hand.” “And he's just got a couple of words, which is just a reminder for him of what he has to do and how he has to think about it mentally.
So those little things, I think, are things you learn along the way with the more experience that you have.” “He's physically going along as well as ever. He's always had those little niggles like all fast bowlers do but he finds a way to push through them, he plays games out with niggles and that's why he's standing there now with 400 Test wickets next to his name,' he said.