Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc bends the new ball at pace like few left-armers ever have. His yorker is one of the most feared deliveries in the game, and his ability to move the white Kookaburra both ways made him the defining fast bowler of Australia's 2015 World Cup triumph, where his 22 wickets earned him Player of the Tournament. At the 2019 edition he went further still, taking a record 27 wickets. With a high, slingy action that generates awkward bounce, he has troubled batters across formats since his international debut in 2010.

His Test career mixes brilliance with injury-enforced absences, yet the wickets have kept coming: past 350 of them, including a starring role in the 2021-22 Ashes win at home and the 2023 World Test Championship final victory over India. In white-ball cricket his numbers are exceptional, with well over 200 ODI wickets at an average around 23 and one of the fastest strike rates in the format's history.

In T20 cricket, Starc's death-overs yorkers made him a prized asset. He helped Australia win the 2021 T20 World Cup, and in the IPL he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore before Kolkata Knight Riders made him one of the league's most expensive signings and won the 2024 title with him; he has since turned out for Delhi Capitals. Off the field he is married to Alyssa Healy, Australia's women's captain and wicketkeeper-batter.

Now in his mid-30s and managing his workload, Starc has scaled back his T20 commitments to prolong his Test and ODI career. When fit he remains an automatic pick: reverse swing, toe-crushing yorkers at close to 150 kph, and the capacity to turn a match with a single spell.