Cummins, Hazlewood praises Starc's grit, longevity ahead of 100th Test milestone

Kingston [Jamaica], July 10 (ANI): As Mitchell Starc gears up to become just the second Australian fast bowler after Glenn McGrath to play 100 Test matches, tributes have poured in from his long-time pace partners Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. The left-arm seamer is also on the cusp of another milestone, five wickets away from joining the elite 400-wicket club, as he prepares for the landmark Test against the West Indies in Jamaica.
Josh Hazlewood, speaking on the Unplayable Podcast in an upcoming episode, recalled his first encounter with a raw and fiery young Starc.
"I first crossed paths with him in under-17s," Hazlewood said, as quoted from cricket.com.au.
"We had like a city-country game and the NSW team got picked from that," he added.
"I was like, 'Jeez, this guy can bowl fast'. Left-arm fast bowler, you don't come across them all that often," he noted.
"Then once the state team got picked for the carnival, they're like, 'Oh, this guy's only been bowling for like six months, he's been keeping up until then'," he said.
"So I knew the raw talent was there from the start and it was just harnessing that and keep ticking off little improvements here and there throughout the years," he remarked.
Hazlewood, who has shared the field with Starc across formats and age groups, reflected on their journey together.
"We've played (59) Test matches together, a lot of white-ball for Australia, NSW (Sheffield) Shield games, growing up in under-17s and under-19s, there's not many games where he hasn't been at the other end bowling," he said.
"To bowl that pace from day one all the way through to 100 Test matches ... being a quick myself, I know how much goes into that and 100 Test matches is phenomenal effort."
Starc's durability and dedication were also highlighted by Australian skipper Pat Cummins, who debuted in the Test match just before Starc received his Baggy Green (Cap No. 425) in 2011.
"One-hundred Tests is huge for a fast bowler," Cummins said, as quoted from cricket.com.au.
"There's the obvious things - you've got to be skilful, be able to adapt to different conditions, which is really hard, you've play across a couple of different generations of players and other bowlers in Australia competing against you to play 100 Tests," he added.
"But for me, it's the longevity, discipline and professionalism to keep your body right for 100 Tests bowling at the speed that 'Starcy' does every Test," he noted.
"He's always battling with something, (whether) it's a sore toe, knee or shoulder, but he just cracks on," he said.
"He never complains about it. He just straps up," Cummins remarked.
"Never wants to miss a day for Australia," he said.
"And that's something I've learned off him when I started playing Test cricket again, was you've always got something going on, but your job is to bowl, and you just grit your teeth and just get on with it," he added. (ANI)