Starc the 'complete package': McDermott

Former Australia fast bowler Craig McDermott says Mitchell Starc’s record-breaking return to Test cricket has seen him become the first player picked for Australia in all formats.

Starc’s 24 wickets in the Test series loss to Sri Lanka this month was the most by an Australian fast bowler in a three-Test series, eclipsing legends and former mentors Dennis Lillee and Mitchell Johnson to the milestone.

It was a remarkable re-entry into Test cricket for the 26-year-old who had not played in a Test since fracturing his foot in last November’s inaugural day-night fixture at the Adelaide Oval.

Widely regarded as the premier white-ball bowler in the world, Starc’s explosion with the red ball in Sri Lanka has convinced former Australia bowling coach McDermott he’s now the "complete package".

"I think he (Starc) has come a long way in the last 18 months, two years," McDermott told The Unplayable Podcast.

"The Ashes before that (the 2015 series in England) his red-ball bowling wasn’t up to scratch but he his red-ball bowling is right up there now.

"He’s the best one-day bowler and T20 bowler in the world.

"He’s a complete package and can smack the ball and is a great fielder.

"He’d have to be No.1 picked in our team for all three forms going forward."

Quick Single: Starc climbs ICC rankings

While Starc was at times wayward in Australia’s 2-3 loss to England last winter, the left-armer finished the series as Australia’s leading wicket-taker with 18 wickets, only three scalps behind series-leader Stuart Broad.

Starc played that series and the first half of the Australian summer with injury, but it didn’t stop him from becoming Australia’s pace spearhead.

The retirement of Johnson and the 160.4kph thunderbolt he delivered in the same Test at the WACA Ground nine months ago elevated Starc to the highest rank in the Fast Bowler’s Cartel, the not-so-secret club of Aussie speedsters.

As the Sri Lankan batsman can testify, a fit and healthy Starc is an extremely difficult proposition even on wickets that aided spin bowling more than seam. 

Starc captured a career-best 11 wickets in the second Test in Galle, a feat McDermott’s successor and formal South Africa rival Allan Donald described as the best he had seen from a fast bowler in the five-day game.

"Singlehandedly ... I think that's probably the best I've seen," Donald told Ten Sports on the morning of the opening day of the third Test in Colombo.

"(In terms of) sustainability and his pace was right up.

"I think his last wicket, the 11th wicket, was 148kph late in the day. Swinging it both ways.

"That's got to go down as probably the best I've seen.

"And a great credit to his stamina, his skill, and just being relentless all day.

"He's got the world at his feet, there's no doubt.

"I know that he's a very humble bloke and he's got that greatness written all over him.

"It's just a matter of keeping him fit and healthy for years to come."

Australia’s next Test mission is against the Proteas in November, but in the meantime Starc will have a chance to regain his mantle as the world’s No.1 one-day international bowler when he locks horns with Sri Lanka in five matches starting Sunday in Colombo and then a trip to South Africa for another ODI series.