Starc is set to become just the second Australian fast bowler after Glenn McGrath, and 16th player overall from his country to play 100 Tests..It\u2019s an incredible achievement. You think of the surfaces that they play on in Australia. They\u2019re firm, they\u2019re hard, they take their toll. There\u2019s a reason why there\u2019s only two that have ever done it for Australia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"He\u2019s sacrificed a fair bit along the way as well\u2026 some of the IPL that he\u2019s missed to get his body right to play for Australia. Really proud of him. He should get all the plaudits this week that he deserves,\u201d McDonald was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With 395 scalps currently against his name Starc is also on the verge of becoming the second Australian fast-bowler to take 400 Test wickets. Skipper Pat Cummins, who has been a long-time team-mate of Starc, said he has the utmost respect for him still clocking high speeds in Tests.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll come up with something (to celebrate). It\u2019s a huge effort. It\u2019s a pretty small crew that have played 100 Tests. He\u2019s the second-fastest bowler, which is really rare and tough to do. Proud of him. He\u2019s still bowling 145km\/h at the end (of the recent Test against the West Indies).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI can\u2019t fathom playing 100 games and keeping that kind of speed. He\u2019s a warrior, turns up every week and just cracks on. He\u2019s such a low-fuss kind of guy. All things going well, it\u2019ll be a great week for him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Fellow pacer Josh Hazlewood further reflected on the hard yards Starc has put in for maintaining his longevity \u2013 both from a mental and physical perspective.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI can\u2019t fathom playing 100 games and keeping that kind of speed. He\u2019s a warrior, turns up every week and just cracks on. He\u2019s such a low-fuss kind of guy. All things going well, it\u2019ll be a great week for him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBeing in his shoes as well, and being around it for so long, you see everything that goes into it. It\u2019s the late night physio treatment sessions. It\u2019s a pretty amazing achievement to play 100 Tests. It\u2019ll be awesome to be part of it,\" he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n