How irreplaceable Starc has kept England's beast at bay

The moment, given all else that was happening this morning, seemed to pass by without its usual significance. In the sixth over of day two of this fifth Ashes Test in Sydney, Mitchell Starc approached Ben Stokes from over the wicket.

It was the 11th ball Stokes had faced. The sixth from Starc. From the other five – all from 140.8-146kph – the England captain had defended twice, shouldered arms twice, and miscued once.

Then came the ball that mattered. Another probing line and length, more good pace at 142.3kph, and angled in towards the left-hander once again. Altogether similar to the others. Only this one hit the seam, and jumped a little off the pitch. Stokes reared back, surprised, though he betrayed no hint of an edge as it whistled through to the wicketkeeper.

Starc enquired politely. Behind the stumps, Alex Carey was more confident, and skipper Steve Smith ran with that feeling. Technology revealed a feather of an edge, and Stokes was on his way for nought.

These past two days we have seen a couple of England's lead actors, Joe Root and Harry Brook, play true to type. Root as the banker. Brook as the unpredictable genius.

Throw back to Perth, in the build-up to that chaotic two-day series opener. Ben Duckett described Stokes as being in "beast mode" in England's training sessions.

"He's been running, bowling two spells, batting for two hours," Duckett said on the Willow Talk podcast. "The way he trains these days is something I've never seen before. He's an absolute beast."

Australians have tough memories of their own version of Stokes in 'beast mode', notably in the form of his Headingley and Lord's hundreds back in 2019 and 2023 respectively. Seventeen sixes crashed amid 290 runs, the visitors seemingly powerless to stop the carnage as one contest slipped away, and another almost did.

Yet beast-mode Stokes – with the bat at least – has not been sighted in this Ashes series. A key England archetype has gone missing. And a large degree of credit for that must go to Starc, who has consistently had the measure of the man many labelled England's most important player in the lead-up to the summer.

Five times in nine innings he has dismissed the left-hander, conceding just 40 runs from 119 deliveries in the process. They're numbers that suggest Stokes' watchfulness throughout the series – his overall strike-rate is 36.74 – can be at least in part attributed to the relentlessness of Australia's spearhead.

Just last week, Starc reiterated his desire to head to the UK for next year's Ashes. In his press conference after stumps on day one, Australia's assistant coach Dan Vettori joked that Starc would "just keep playing" through the looming hectic Test schedule from mid-year.

None of it would have made pleasant listening for Stokes. Arguably the key battle of this Ashes series has been decidedly one-sided, and it continues an overall trend; Starc now has his wicket 14 times in Tests, with Stokes' batting average against him just 16.07.

England's skipper wouldn't have been the only left-hander wincing at the comments. Starc has averaged 13.50 in this Ashes series against the lefties (Stokes, Duckett and Jacob Bethell), while the rest of Australia's pace attack is at 29.63. The England trio loom as potentially critical to the outcome of next year's series.

Starc's agelessness has been remarkable. His 28 wickets in this Ashes series makes it his most prolific yet, on the eve of his 36th birthday. Midway through today, as he athletically strode in with that mesmeric run-up and sent down the second new ball at 145.5kph, Ricky Ponting marvelled at his endurance.

"His pace is going nowhere," Ponting said on Seven. "Still charging in and challenging the best players."

In the broadcast area, another former Test skipper, Michael Clarke, who was in charge back in December 2011 when Starc made his debut, was equally praiseworthy.

"Starcy's nowhere near done," Clarke said. "He's not playing T20 … he could still walk away from one-day cricket to (extend his career).

"He always trained as hard as anybody else. When it comes to fitness, when it comes to the extra stuff, he never skipped that as a young player. He's as fit and healthy as I've seen him, he's bowling as well as I've ever seen. How long (will he play for)? Who knows?"

Australia will hope the 2027 Ashes proves a realistic finish line. Vettori's comment was sandwiched in a broader point about managing their fast-bowling group through those 20 or more Tests in around 14 months. Starc has shown himself to be an ironman, and his diligence in looking after himself is renowned as one of his great strengths.

But his unique skillset also makes him one of Australia's biggest concerns, for the simple fact that there is currently no like-for-like replacement selectors can call upon. Where Scott Boland, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson and Brendan Doggett have all capably (and to varying degrees) filled the giant shoes of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood through this Ashes series, Starc's ever-presence has been the key.

Without him, Australia lose not only 430 Test wickets but a crucial point of difference in their attack. Duckett's troubles against the left-armer are almost as pronounced as Stokes'. Already he has been dismissed by him eight times in nine Tests, and in this campaign, the Australian's figures read 5-79 from 77 deliveries against England's opening bat – another figure who was tipped to be influential on the series.

After his recent T20I retirement, Starc's absence from Australia's set-up is being felt on the eve of the forthcoming World Cup. Selectors opted against including their left-arm option Ben Dwarshuis in the squad, evidently unconvinced by what he has offered them in his 19 white-ball internationals to date.

Another excellent left-armer, Spencer Johnson, has lurched from one injury to another. A third, Western Australian Joel Paris, has an outstanding Sheffield Shield record and was on standby for Starc during the 2023 Ashes, but will be nudging 36 by the end of the '27 series. And a fourth, 24-year-old Perth product Liam Haskett, is currently with Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash but has caught the attention of national selectors with WA in the Shield.

Starc will be 36 before the month is out. But in a game obsessed with numbers, he has spent the summer showing that age is just another.

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, 10am AEDT

Australia squad (fifth Test): 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), 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