Mitchell Starc leaves Bangladesh shell-shocked with 22-ball five-fer, moves past Dale Steyn in all-time Test list

Mitchell Starc produced a devastating burst of fast bowling to rip through Bangladesh’s top order in the second Test in Mackay on Saturday, completing a five-wicket haul from just 22 deliveries while also climbing past South African great Dale Steyn on the all-time Test wickets list.

Australia needed a response after their stunning nine-wicket defeat in the series opener in Darwin, and Starc provided one almost immediately. The left-arm quick struck with the very first delivery of the Test and barely allowed Bangladesh to recover from there.

By the time Litton Das became his fifth victim, Bangladesh had crashed to 12/5, with Starc responsible for all five wickets. At the time of writing, Bangladesh were 21/6.

Starc began the destruction by removing Shadman Islam for a duck with the opening ball of the match. Tanzid Hasan, who had scored a century in Bangladesh’s historic victory in Darwin, was the next to fall without scoring. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto also departed for a duck as Starc reduced the visitors to 4/3 after just eight deliveries of his spell.

Mominul Haque briefly resisted and accounted for most of Bangladesh’s early runs, but Starc struck again to claim his fourth wicket. Litton then fell for another duck to complete an extraordinary five-for, with four of Starc’s first five victims dismissed without scoring.

The speed of the collapse placed Starc’s spell among the quickest five-wicket hauls ever recorded in Test cricket. Starc needed only 22 balls to take his first five wickets. Remarkably, he already owns the Test record for the fastest five-for, having required just 15 deliveries against the West Indies in 2025.

Only five five-wicket hauls in Test history have been completed in fewer than 22 balls. Ernie Toshack against India in 1947, Stuart Broad against Australia in 2015 and Scott Boland against England in 2021 all needed 19 deliveries, while Shane Watson took five wickets from 21 balls against South Africa in 2011.

For Australia, Starc’s latest effort is behind only his own 15-ball burst, Boland’s 19-ball five-for and Watson’s 21-ball effort. It was also another reminder of Starc’s ability to inflict damage immediately with the new ball. Pat Cummins’ decision to bowl first on a surface offering bounce and movement was vindicated from the first delivery.

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The spell also carried Starc further up one of Test cricket’s most prestigious lists. Starc’s fifth wicket took his career tally to 440 Test wickets, moving him past Steyn, who finished his career with 439. The Australian moved into outright 10th place among the highest wicket-takers in Test history.

The milestone came only days after Starc created another piece of history in Darwin. His dismissal of Shadman in the first Test took him past Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath and made him the most successful left-arm bowler in Test cricket. That achievement, however, came during a rare, difficult match for Australia.