Mitchell Starc had a morning to remember in Mackay during the opening day of the second Test against Bangladesh. The Australian fast bowler took 6/12 and helped Australia bowl Bangladesh out for just 64. After his brilliant spell, Starc walked off the field and found his wife and former Australia women’s captain Alyssa Healy waiting with a microphone. The lunch interview soon turned into a fun exchange between the two.
Starc’s spell gave Australia the perfect response after their shock nine-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin. He took Shadman Islam’s wicket with the first ball of the Test and then completed his five-wicket haul in only 22 deliveries. He later returned to take the final Bangladesh wicket, dismissing Shoriful Islam and finishing with 6/12. Bangladesh were bowled out for 64, their fourth-lowest Test total.
At lunch, Healy started with some light-hearted talk about their dinner from the previous night. She joked that she had paid the bill and asked Starc if it was now his turn. Healy asked, “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.” The two then moved back to the cricket.
Healy asked Starc whether winning the toss and choosing to bowl was what Australia had wanted. Starc replied, “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.” He then spoke about using the wicket first and said, “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.”
Starc dismissed six Bangladesh batters during his outstanding spell. Along with Shadman Islam and Shoriful Islam, he removed Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque and Litton Das. His first-ball wicket also created Test history, as Starc became the first bowler to take a wicket with the first ball of a Test on four occasions. His fifth wicket took him to 440 Test wickets, moving him past Dale Steyn’s 439 and into 10th place on the all-time list.
Pat Cummins also played an important part in Bangladesh’s collapse, taking 3/25, while Josh Hazlewood claimed the other wicket. Australia’s bowlers kept Bangladesh under pressure and bowled them out in exactly 34 overs. Starc finished with 6/12 from 10 overs, while Bangladesh’s batting struggled to deal with the Australian attack. The performance gave Australia a strong start after the disappointment of the first Test in Darwin.
Starc’s comment about Healy having played at Mackay more than most of his teammates was also well founded. The former Australia women’s captain has enjoyed good performances at the Great Barrier Reef Arena. She scored 77 against India in an ODI in 2021 and made 70 from 44 balls for Australia A against India A in 2025. There was also some extra humour after Healy had recently blind-ranked a group of elite fast bowlers and placed her own husband at the bottom.
Starc’s six-wicket performance was a strong answer on the field, while Healy’s interview gave the morning an enjoyable moment. However, Australia’s day did not remain completely one-sided after Bangladesh were dismissed. Bangladesh hit back with the ball and reduced Australia to 50/3 by tea. Starc had already done his part with a remarkable 6/12, while Australia faced a new challenge after losing three wickets before the end of the session.
Loves all things female cricket