Starc | Pakistan

Australia pace bowler Mitchell Starc said Thursday he could not be compared with Wasim Akram after he surpassed the Pakistani great as the leading left-arm pace bowler in Test history. Starc’s six-wicket haul on day one of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane gave him 418 Test wickets, four more than Wasim. “Wasim’s still a far better bowler than I am,” said Starc. “So as far as I’m concerned, he’s still the pinnacle of left-armers and certainly he’s right up there with the best bowlers to ever play the game. “It’s nice to be spoken of up around that, but I’ll just try to keep churning a few out.” Starc led the Australian attack in the day-night match at the Gabba in the absence of his usual strike partners Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, who are injured, and spinner Nathan Lyon, who was dropped. “I don’t think I’ve ever played in an attack without one of the three of them playing,” Starc said. “So it’s a little bit different in that regard.” The 35-year-old, who has taken 16 wickets in the series, was the only ...