Mitchell Starc opens up on former coach's advice to "harden up" as he nears Dennis Lillee wicket tally

Christchurch [New Zealand], March 6 (ANI): As he gears up to surpass legendary Dennis Lillee in the tally of Test wicket-takers for Australia, pacer Mitchell Starc opened up on strong words from his former head coach Tim Nielsen that paved way for his durability and said that it would be humbling to surpass the Aussie icon in wicket-taking charts.
Australia will take on New Zealand in the second Test of the two-match series at Christchurch from Friday. Starc, sitting at 354 wickets in 88 Tests, is just a couple away from overtaking Lillee's tally of 355 in 70 Tests and moving to fourth position in all-time charts just behind Shane Warne (708 wickets), Glenn McGrath (563 wickets) and Nathan Lyon (527 wickets).
Being near such a great accomplishment, Starc is really happy to be playing his second successive Test in the southern hemisphere summer, something he has not been able to do much in his career due to injuries. He came close once back in 2017-18, missing just one out of eight Tests scattered between a five-match series against England at home and a three-match series against South Africa away from home, all played within four months.
But now, a once-fragile Starc is the Aussie 'Iron Man' who is pushing himself through pain to wear the whites and win series/tournaments for Australia. Ahead of the match, he reminisced on a conversation with his coach during one of his early tours back in 2010, that made him realise that it was his duty to push through the pain as an Australian cricketer.
"I was still learning what all those pains were and obviously the reports get around from physios to coaches and I sort of got told to harden up a little bit. Timmy Nielsen probably made me aware that early doors. Obviously, there are plenty of times you need to be honest with the medical staff but other times you got to know when to push through things," said Starc.
These last 12 months have been physically challenging for Starc, who was Australia's leading wicket-taker in the away Ashes series against England last year despite missing a match out of five.
He was then supposed to play the white-ball series against South Africa before the ICC Cricket World Cup in India, but withdrew due to groin soreness. Starc has still yet not revealed the extent of pain he was in or the issue with his groin. Heading into the WC, he had barely trained and had made changes to his run-ups in order to keep himself away from a long-term injury.
With all these factors combined, the beast that was the 'World Cup Starc' did not show up during the league stage, only offering flashes of his lethal abilities. But the 34-year-old saved his best for the very last, taking 3/34 against South Africa and 3/55 against India in low-scoring semifinal and final games to help Australia lift the title for the sixth time. He ended the tournament with 16 wickets in 10 games.
But more impressive than Starc's wickets was how he got through the entire tournament without any issues and is now back to playing in white clothing consistently.
"I think a lot of work goes into that a lot of work that people do not see or whether it be the rehab or the handling of niggles or there is certainly sore mornings for a lot of people. But I think that comes down to experiencing and knowing how to deal with certain things and finding ways through them to still make an impact with a team or perform and carry out your role," said Starc.
Surpassing Lillee would be impressive for Starc, who is the only bowler in Australia's top-eight wicket-takers with a strike rate below 50. Out of players with 350 scalps in Tests, only Dale Steyn, Waqar Younis and Malcolm Marshall have a better strike rate than Starc's 48.12.
"It is cool. It is humbling," Starc said on his imminent accomplishment. "It means I am old. I have played a little bit of cricket," he added.
Starc also aims to play 100 Tests for Australia, just 12 more games away from the milestone. The Kiwi skipper Tim Southee, will become the latest pacer to play 100 Tests at Christchurch this week. If Starc's form and fitness holds up, he could reach the milestone in 2025.
"To play 100 Test matches as a fast bowler is a huge achievement for [Southee]," Starc said.
"If I can get that far, that would be nice as a bowler and again that is probably showing a bit of age and experience but a bit of longevity as well and then the work to become resilient and to push through a few things. So if I can get that far it would be a nice touch but at this stage, it is one week at a time," concluded Starc. (ANI)