Some dismissals have an atmosphere to complement the strike: Mitchell Starc’s searing yorker to get rid of England all-rounder Ben Stokes at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in a group encounter comes to mind. Left with a millisecond to save himself from a booming inswinging toe-crusher, Stokes tried to bring his bat down in a last-ditch attempt to save his wicket and keep England in the game.
But as the ball tailed back in alarmingly, all Stokes could manage was an expression of despair as the timber behind him lay shattered. It was a statement of intent from the left-arm quick, who went on to break Glenn McGrath’s 12-year-old record for most wickets in a single edition of a World Cup, when he dismissed Jonny Bairstow during Australia’s semifinal clash against the host side at Edgbaston.
With 27 wickets, Starc surpassed McGrath (26), who had achieved the milestone in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. He had equalled McGrath during Australia’s last league game against South Africa — with the scalps of J. P. Duminy and Dwaine Pretorius.
Starc’s five for 26 against New Zealand at Lord’s was a record-breaking third career World Cup five-wicket haul.
He is currently joint-fifth in the all-time wicket-takers list in World Cups with 49 scalps from 18 matches across two editions. He is level with former Sri Lanka great Chaminda Vaas.
He was also named the player of the tournament in the last edition (2015) after he finished with 22 wickets, tied with New Zealand left-arm seamer Trent Boult.
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