Indestructible Starc backed to defy history in 2027

As Mitchell Starc straps himself up to complete a third consecutive home summer of playing every Test, the indestructible fast bowler has been backed to do what no Australian fast bowler has done for almost 70 years.

Starc will turn out in his home Sydney Test this week pushing to send the series margin to 4-1 over England and cap one of the best individual Ashes series of recent times.

With regular bowling partners Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood limited to two Tests between them this summer due to injury, the left-armer has snared 26 wickets at 17 and added 151 runs at 30.

Four more English victims at the SCG will give him the best Ashes wickets swag since Mitchell Johnson's 37 in 2013-14, with Cummins' 29 in 2019 well within reach.

Another solid return with the bat will also have him in the conversation for the best all-round Ashes series since Shane Warne's haul of 40 wickets and 249 runs. Johnson arguably holds that mantle having scored 165 runs during his 2013-14 wicket spree.

And with Starc set to play his 27th consecutive Test (he has missed just four of 56 Tests dating back to the end of the 2019 Ashes) Australia are now pondering whether their ultra-durable quick could make another return bout against England.

Coach Andrew McDonald today said he believes Starc could defy history and play in the 2027 Ashes in the UK, by which time he will be well past his 37th birthday.

The last Australian fast bowler that old to play a men's Test was Ray Lindwall who was 38 when he turned out for his final international against India at Eden Gardens in 1960.

"Historically, you would say realistically it's not possible as a fast bowler to get through that. But is it possible with Mitchell Starc? I think it is," McDonald said.

"Our medical team, and the players and the coaches as a collective, have done a really good job in managing players in and out of different series. We have our priority series, so if we were to manage him around that and place him well, then it's possible.

"He's going to play five Test matches again this summer. It's incredible."

The durability shown by Starc, and likely Scott Boland too, in pushing through to play for all five Tests is a contrast to their pace counterparts from both teams.

Gus Atkinson has been confirmed as England's third quick to go down with a tour-ending injury, joining Mark Wood and Jofra Archer after straining his hamstring in Melbourne, while Cummins, Hazlewood and Sean Abbott have been hobbled this summer.

Jimmy Anderson set the benchmark for a modern fast bowler playing well beyond their expected use-by date. The 188-Test great hung up the boots last year weeks before his 42nd birthday after taking 704 wickets.

Starc, who remains Australia's fastest bowler while still consistently topping 140kph, has previously cast doubt on his ability to follow in Anderson's footsteps.

"I’m not someone like Jimmy who played until he was 40-odd and had incredible skills to swing it both ways," Starc said last year.

Speaking to Triple M radio this week, he added: "There's guys that do that a lot better than I do – look at 'Nes' (Michael Neser), Scotty (Boland) and when Pat's played.

"So for me, it's that extra air speed, doing it for long periods, doing it for back-to-back spells. I'd rather empty the tank through a week of Test cricket than pace myself."

Glenn McGrath played his final Test aged 36 and won the 2007 ODI World Cup after turning 37, but relied more on accuracy and bounce than speed.

Brett Lee may be a better blueprint, yet although he continued to bowl at express pace in limited-overs cricket well into his late 30s, he was 32 when he pulled on the Baggy Green for the last time.

"I know first-hand of the toll it takes on the body," Lee said this week after being inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

"Being up in the (Fox Cricket) comm-box, I'm trying to articulate the hard work that goes into being a fast bowler, because people at home don't realise how hard it is on the body, the stresses that go through the body and the pain barrier you have to consistently push yourself through.

"I played my last game of cricket (aged) 17 pain-free. Mitch, he's just incredible, he just goes from strength and strength. He's been in a purple patch the last couple of weeks. I don't see him pulling up stumps anytime soon.

"We've been blessed over the last seven or 10 years with the bowling stocks that we've had … but it won't last forever. We have to look at the younger generation coming through now.

"But I would see no reason why Pat Cummins. Mitchell Starc and co. can't go into their mid to late 30s."

That Lindwall mark could indeed be reached by one of Starc's teammates before he does. Boland, who turns 37 in April, will get there if he plays for Australia beyond this summer.

Starc is among several ageing stars who McDonald has kept the door ajar for to keep playing through to a monster 2027 calendar year that features away tours to India, England, an ODI World Cup in southern Africa and a World Test Championship final if Australia qualify.

Next year's Test series against Bangladesh in northern Australia begins the marathon stretch that sees Australia play 21 Tests in 14 months.

There will be question marks over how much veterans like Starc, Lyon, Boland, Hazlewood, Cummins and Steve Smith can play.

Starc has already retired from T20Is, and Smith from ODIs. Boland and Lyon are Test specialists, while Hazlewood and Cummins are certain to be rested from white-ball series anyway. Usman Khawaja meanwhile could play his final Test this week in Sydney.

McDonald suggested conversations with those veterans about the 2027 Ashes will begin next year, but insisted: "There's so much to go before that.

"We've got New Zealand here next time (at home for four Tests). We've got South Africa away (from October), we've got India away into trying to get into that WTC final.

"So I think that will all happen probably 12 months out from it.

"If Steve Smith is there, that's fantastic news for us. Would we talk to him about pursuing that? It's such a long way away at the moment.

"But I remember having a conversation with him in in Nagpur, going back to 2023, about what does it look like going forward? At that stage, he was on the record around taking it Test by Test.

"It feels as though now Steve's got the appetite to potentially push on.

"We're in constant communication with our players, so we wouldn't be surprised if some don't make it. But, on the other side of that, we wouldn't be surprised if all of them got there as well.

"Because they're physically capable, it'll be whether their bodies allow it."

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Third Test: Australia won by 82 runs

Fourth Test: England won by four wickets

Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT

Australia squad (fourth Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue