Mitchell Starc declined to call himself the GOAT of left-arm pace, saying Wasim Akram was "still a far better bowler than I am" after surpassing the Pakistan great as the leading Test wicket-taker among left-arm fast bowlers on day one of the Brisbane Test against England.
Starc claimed 6 for 71 at the Gabba, his fourth haul of six wickets or more in four innings, to once again shoulder the burden of leading an Australia attack shorn of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood at the start of the 2025-26 Ashes. That took him to 418 Test wickets, four more than Wasim, who tweeted his congratulations to Starc during the day's play.
Super Starc! Proud of you, mate. Your incredible hard work sets you apart, and it was only a matter of time before you crossed my tally of wickets . I am pleased to give this to you! Go well, and keep soaring to new heights in your stellar career . @mstarc56
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) December 4, 2025
Asked in his post-match press conference if he was now the GOAT (greatest of all time), Starc replied: "I won't be calling myself that." He instead said he was feeling "pretty tired", having extended his peerless record in pink-ball Tests to 87 wickets at 16.72.
"I'll reflect on it later, Wasim's still a far better bowler than I am. So as far as I'm concerned he's still the pinnacle of left-armers and certainly right up there with bowlers to ever play the game. So it's nice to be spoken of up around that, but I'll just try and keep churning a few out."
Australia were again grateful to Starc, Player of the Match in Perth, as England fought their way to 325 for 9 at the close in Brisbane on the back of Joe Root's first Test hundred in Australia. They were missing 1,116 wickets from what would be viewed as their first-choice Test attack: the combined tally of Cummins and Hazlewood nearly doubled by Nathan Lyon's surprise omission.
Having rattled England early with the wickets of Ben Duckett - Starc's 26th in the first over of a Test innings - and Ollie Pope, he was recalled by Steven Smith during the middle session having been held back for the twilight period. His second delivery back was angled across Harry Brook who played a horrid flat-footed drive, sending a high, fast edge to Smith.
It took Starc to 415 Test wickets, moving past Wasim as the most prolific left-arm quick in history. A fair few stumps have been rattled by the pair: Starc's removal of Pope was the 99th time he had bowled a batter in Test cricket.
He went on to dismiss Will Jacks, caught in the cordon, and Gus Atkinson, well held by Alex Carey off a steepling top edge, to notch his 18th five-for in Tests. When he had Brydon Carse caught behind in the same over as Atkinson, he was in with a chance of recording career-best innings figures for the third Test in a row, but England's No. 11, Jofra Archer, was able to keep Root company to the close.
"Right now, [Starc] is the number one bowler in world cricket and the hardest one to face in all forms of cricket,'' Wasim told News Corp before the Test. "He will go past my record and that is fine because he is a man for the job and a worthy champion.
"I am actually really proud of this guy. He has done wonders for his side and for cricket as a game. There are a lot of youngsters in the world who just want to be Mitchell Starc.
"He has plenty of cricket in him. I think he will get 500 Test wickets. He is a modern great and in the top bracket of fast bowlers in the history of the game."