Mitchell Starc names the world-class bowler he admires the most

No matter how many heated words are exchanged or how much aggression is displayed on the cricketing field, the camaraderie that exists between the players is indeed, heartwarming. A prime example of such brotherhood emerged recently as Australian star pacer, Mitchell Starc named lethal South African fast bowler, Dale Steyn as the bowler he most admires.

While Starc will be missing out on Australia’s upcoming Bangladesh tour owing to a foot stress fracture, Steyn himself has been out of action since he suffered a shoulder injury in the first Test against Australia in Perth last November. However, things have been looking brighter for the latter as he announced last Friday that his comeback is expected to be only two-three weeks away. The 34-year-old Protean has also signed a new deal to play with Titans in South Africa’s domestic competition for the 2017-18 season.

Mitchell Starc is all praises for Dale Steyn

When asked about the rival bowler he most admires, Starc was prompt to name Steyn. He further elaborated on his choice by saying, “He’s taken so many wickets, he’s done it in all conditions. He’s not the biggest or strongest bloke but he’s played a lot of cricket, taken a lot of wickets, bowled fast for a long time and unfortunately it’s starting to catch up with him. For someone like that [I have] a lot of admiration for.” Starc said in an interview to The Unplayable Podcast, richly lauded the Protean pace master, calling him a “serious athlete”.

On his part, Steyn possesses staggering figures of 417 wickets in 85 Tests for South Africa, at an astonishing average of 22.31, along with a strike rate of a wicket in every 41.4 balls. The numbers are equally intimidating in the shorter format, as he’s scalped 180 wickets in 116 ODI matches at an average of 26.63.