Starc dominates then jokes with Healy

Australia responded to their nine-wicket defeat in the first Test by bowling Bangladesh out for 64 on the opening day of the second Test in Mackay on Saturday. Mitchell Starc led the attack, taking six wickets as Australia took control from the first session.

Starc completed his five-wicket haul inside the first seven overs and returned after lunch to take another wicket, finishing with figures of 6 for 12. His day also included a lighter moment during the lunch break, when his wife and former Australia women captain Alyssa Healy interviewed him on the field. Their exchange quickly gained attention on social media.

Healy began by joking about who should pay for dinner.

"Yeah, who would have thought they'd stitch this one up? I paid for dinner last night. Does that mean it's now your turn?"

Starc replied: "You're paid the bigger bucks than I am."

Healy then asked Starc about Australia’s decision to bowl first.

"You said it before, you've played here more than the rest of us, but, yeah, I mean, we clearly weren't at our best last week," Starc said. He added: "To get first use of that wicket, a lot of the Queenslanders here have said it's a lot like the Gabba. So, yeah, to make first use of that in the first session, you can't be too unhappy. Six in the first session, can't beat that. Obviously a little bit of anger. It's worked well so far, hopefully we can keep it up."

WTC milestones

Starc’s spell also moved him to the top of the list of wicket-takers in World Test Championship history. The left-arm pacer overtook Australia captain Pat Cummins to become the leading wicket-taker in the WTC. Starc now has 230 wickets from 56 matches, while Cummins and Nathan Lyon have 225 each. India’s Ravichandran Ashwin is fourth on the list with 195 wickets, followed by Jasprit Bumrah with 185.

Starc also moved to the top of the wicket-takers’ list in the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle. His six wickets took his tally to 54 from 10 Tests, one ahead of England pacer Josh Tongue, who has 53.