Mitchell Starc can breach 300 Test wickets: Darren Lehmann

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc is one of the most talented bowlers in the cricketing circles today. But Starc for most part of his short career was forced to stay out of action due to injuries. Australian coach Darren Lehmann said that the pacer can easily go pass 300 Test wickets if he stays fit.

Only 4 Australians have crossed the 300 Test wickets mark – Glenn McGrath (563) leads the list ahead of Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310). “If he stays in the park, he could,” Lehmann was quoted by Fairfax Media on Tuesday.

He has been the spearhead of the Australian bowling unit over the last 2 years, but injuries have always followed him. After a long lay-off following an ankle surgery, he came back in the tri-series also featuring West Indies and South Africa. Starc played a vital role in Australia beating the hosts Windies in the final.

“He plays all formats — that is the hardest part for him. Managing him through that is going to be our challenge as a coaching staff and selection panel, and (for) high-priority test tours, one-day tours, World Cups and all that … making sure he is fit and available for those,” he added.

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He took 8 wickets in the tri-series from his 5 appearances at an average of 21.37. Lehmann was delighted with his return to form as soon as he made his comeback. “Happy he got through … He said he was a little bit rusty early but felt better as the tournament went on. It’s a good sign,” the coach said.

“For us, it was a pretty good tick-the-box exercise where he got through and we’re looking forward to the next phase of test cricket.”

He praised Starc’s capabilities and advised him to stay fit to achieve more heights. “He obviously has air speed, which is going to be important when the ball goes reverse. It’s important that we keep him fit and playing. We know how good he can be,” Lehmann said.

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“It’s all up to him. His ability to knock over good batsmen and also knock over the tail quite quickly, for us, that is a really important thing when you are trying to get 20 wickets in a space of time,” he concluded.