Mitchell Starc's 22-Ball Five-Wicket Haul Surpasses Dale Steyn in Mackay Test

Mitchell Starc produced one of the most destructive opening spells in recent Test history on Saturday, August 22, 2026, claiming five wickets in 22 balls as Australia tore through Bangladesh on day one of the second Test at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay. The left-arm quick’s fifth dismissal moved him to 440 career Test wickets, past South African great Dale Steyn (439) and into outright 10th place on the all-time list.

By lunch, Bangladesh had slumped to 35 for 6 — four of their top six batters out for ducks — after Starc single-handedly reduced the visitors to 12 for 5 inside the first seven overs. The spell came six days after Bangladesh had stunned Australia with a nine-wicket win in Darwin, their first Test victory on Australian soil.

Editor’s note: This article draws on match reporting from ESPNcricinfo, BBC Sport, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, and cricket.com.au, August 22, 2026. Wicket tallies and milestone figures reflect the first day of the second Test in Mackay.

Match at a glance

Detail	Information
Series	Bangladesh tour of Australia 2026 — 2nd Test
Date	Saturday, August 22, 2026
Venue	Great Barrier Reef Arena (Harrup Park), Mackay
Toss	Australia elected to bowl
Bangladesh at lunch	35 for 6 (after 26 overs)
Starc’s opening spell	5 wickets in 22 balls
Starc career Test wickets	440 (surpassing Dale Steyn)

How Starc dismantled Bangladesh

First ball, first wicket

Captain Pat Cummins chose to bowl on a sunny Mackay morning, and Starc vindicated the decision from the opening delivery. Shadman Islam edged a leading edge to gully and departed for a duck — the fourth time Starc has taken a wicket with the first ball of a Test innings, joining an exclusive club that includes dismissals of Dimuth Karunaratne, Rory Burns, and Yashasvi Jaiswal in previous years.

Five in 22 balls

What followed was a collapse of rare speed. Starc removed Tanzid Hasan — whose 101 had anchored Bangladesh’s Darwin triumph — without scoring, then trapped captain Najmul Hossain Shanto lbw, also for a duck. Mominul Haque edged a rising delivery to Cameron Green at gully, and Litton Das fell lbw to complete Starc’s five-wicket haul.

Batter	Dismissal	Score
Shadman Islam	Caught gully (Starc)	0
Tanzid Hasan	Caught (Starc)	0
Najmul Hossain Shanto	LBW (Starc)	0
Mominul Haque	Caught gully, Green b Starc	0
Litton Das	LBW (Starc)	4

By the time Litton Das departed, Bangladesh stood at 12 for 5, with Starc responsible for every wicket. The spell ranks among the quickest five-wicket hauls in Test cricket — Starc already holds the record for the fastest, having needed just 15 balls against the West Indies in 2025.

Cummins joins the rout

Pat Cummins added to the carnage before lunch, bowling Mushfiqur Rahim to leave Bangladesh 35 for 6 at the interval. Josh Hazlewood and Cummins continued the pressure after the break, and Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 64 — their fourth-lowest total in Test cricket and just 34 overs of batting on the opening day. Starc finished with 6 for 12 from 10 overs, having returned to remove Shoriful Islam (14), the innings’ top scorer.

Past Dale Steyn: Starc enters the top 10

Starc’s fifth wicket of the morning was also a career landmark. The dismissal took him to 440 Test wickets in 107 matches, moving him one clear of Dale Steyn, who finished his career with 439 from 93 Tests.

Rank	Bowler	Country	Test wickets
1	James Anderson	England	704
2	Stuart Broad	England	604
3	Glenn McGrath	Australia	563
…	…	…	…
10	Mitchell Starc	Australia	440
11	Dale Steyn	South Africa	439

Starc’s career figures stand at an average of 26.33, with 19 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket match returns. His best innings figures remain 7 for 58. Among fast bowlers, only Anderson, Broad, McGrath, and Courtney Walsh sit above him on the all-time chart.

The milestone followed another record set days earlier in Darwin, when Starc passed Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath to become the most successful left-arm bowler in Test history. That match ended in Bangladesh’s historic upset; Mackay offered a emphatically different response.

Series context: revenge in Queensland

The two-Test series arrived in Mackay with the balance unexpectedly tilted. Bangladesh’s nine-wicket victory at TIO Stadium, Darwin — completed on August 16, 2026 — was their first Test win in Australia and left the hosts needing a strong reply to avoid a series defeat on home soil.

Match	Venue	Result
1st Test (Aug. 12–16)	Darwin	Bangladesh won by 9 wickets
2nd Test (Aug. 22–26)	Mackay	In progress — Bangladesh 64 all out, Day 1

Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena was making its debut as Australia’s 12th men’s Test venue. The coastal Queensland ground, with its green surface offering bounce and movement under morning cloud cover, proved a far more hostile environment for Bangladesh’s batters than the Top End conditions that had favoured their spinners in the series opener.

Australia named an unchanged XI from Darwin, with Travis Head, Steve Smith, and Marnus Labuschagne set to bat after the bowlers’ demolition job. Bangladesh retained the side that had pulled off the Darwin upset, but the top order that had scored freely six days earlier could not survive Starc’s new-ball storm.

What the numbers say

Starc’s Mackay spell underlined his status as one of the most dangerous new-ball bowlers of his generation:

• 22 balls for his first five wickets — among the fastest in Test history
• 4 ducks among his first five victims
• 6 for 12 from 10 overs in the innings
• 440 wickets — sole Australian fast bowler in the all-time top 10 besides McGrath

With 761 international wickets across formats, Starc has also drawn level with Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas as the joint 12th-highest wicket-taker in all men’s international cricket.

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Discussion

Starc’s Mackay spell answered the questions Australia left hanging after Darwin — but the series is not yet decided.

1. Starc’s 22-ball five-for and Steyn milestone came six days after Bangladesh’s historic Darwin win. Does this spell change how you view the series — or was Mackay simply the conditions Australia needed?

Bangladesh scored 426 in their first innings at Darwin before their spinners took control. Mackay’s seam-friendly morning looked like a different sport entirely.

2. Starc now sits 10th on the all-time Test wicket list at 440, with Glenn McGrath (563) the only Australian fast bowler above him. How high can he climb before he retires?

He turns 36 later in 2026 and has already passed Steyn, Walsh, and several legends of the 1990s and 2000s.

Share your take on whether Starc’s Mackay burst ranks among the great Test opening spells — and whether Australia can close out the series from here.

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