Stats Show Australia's Mitchell Starc Has Emerged as World's Finest ODI Bowler

If you've observed Australia captain Michael Clarke speak publicly often, you'll have noticed he regularly makes reference to certain players, both in his own team and from the opposition, "deserving a lot of credit."

Essentially, it's become Clarke's stock statement when addressing the media—in the same way a push through the covers is his stock shot early in an innings. 

But one of the things about Clarke is that he doesn't subscribe to hyperbole; he's never been one to jump to hasty conclusions while dishing out praise. Instead, he recognises, but rarely inflates, a performance. 

As such, it's why you had to take notice when the Australian skipper spoke of Mitchell Starc's display against New Zealand in Auckland at the World Cup on Saturday. 

"That individual performance was as good as you will see in any format of the game," Clarke said of Starc's effort at Eden Park, per cricket.com.au, after the left-armer had claimed blistering figures of six for 28 to almost deliver victory for Australia following their dismal total of 151. 

Indeed, this writer remarked in the immediate aftermath of New Zealand's dramatic, one-wicket victory over Australia in Auckland that Starc's stunning showing "might rank among the finest fast-bowling performances seen in the history of 50-over cricket."

Ross Taylor had his stumps flattened by the 25-year-old. So did Grant Elliott. So did Adam Milne. So did Tim Southee.

And Luke Ronchi was bounced out. 

Vicious. Flat out. Incisive. Devastating.

That was Starc in Auckland. 

Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

In essence, he stared at New Zealand's Trent Boult and raised him. Yes, the Kiwi left-armer had taken five for 27 to dismantle Australia, but Starc went one better. And he did it in a more destructive fashion, too, sending the stumps of four Kiwi batsmen cartwheeling toward wicketkeeper Brad Haddin with 150 kph thunderbolts. 

In doing so, he also completely out-shone team-mate Mitchell Johnson, previously recognised by most as Australia's trump card. 

But here's the thing: we shouldn't really have been surprised. 

"I've done it before, I'll do it again," Starc said of his own performance, per Brydon Coverdale of ESPN Cricinfo. 

He's right. Starc, in one-day cricket, has been operating at something close to this level for more than four years. 

	Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4WI	5WI
Overall	35	69	6/28	19.89	4.94	24.1	5	5
In 2015	7	20	6/28	13.55	4.68	17.3	1	2

In a 50-over career that has spanned just 35 games, Starc has five five-wicket hauls. To put that into perspective, Glenn McGrath claimed seven such hauls, two more than Starc, in 250 games. Shane Warne claimed one in 194 games. 

Among other leading Australians, Brett Lee claimed nine in 221; Craig McDermott one in 138; Jason Gillespie three in 97.

Current team-mate Johnson has three in 147.

And Pakistan's Waqar Younis, the man with the most five-wicket hauls in ODI history at 13, needed 262 matches to reach that figure. 

On current pace, if Starc were to play 262 games, he'd finish with 37—almost three times the current benchmark. 

Player	Mat	Wkts	Ave	SR
Mitchell Starc	35	69	19.89	24.1
Mitchell McClenaghan	34	66	24.83	25.6
Hamid Hassan	27	52	19.40	25.9
Imran Tahir	33	64	19.40	26.5
Ajantha Mendis	83	148	21.17	27.0
Shaun Tait	35	62	23.56	27.2
Mohammed Shami	42	76	25.48	27.3
Ryan ten Doeschate	33	55	24.12	28.7
Shane Bond	82	147	20.88	29.2
Geoff Allott	31	52	23.21	29.3

Ross Setford/Associated Press

Of course, expecting the left-armer to maintain his current rate might be expecting too much. But Starc does possess the most lethal combination in the game: late swing at extreme pace.

"It's something I've worked really hard at for a long time now," Starc said of his ability to move the ball in the air after Saturday's performance.

"Coming off the IPL last year when I dropped my arm a little, it's something I worked hard on with Craig McDermott and Troy Cooley up in Brisbane. It's great to see it working and being consistent and something I'm really confident in is my white-ball bowling."

The progress seen in his control of swing has also coincided with a jump in speed. At the beginning of his career, the towering seamer operated at or near 140 kph. 

Now, he's regularly touching a mark 10 kph greater than that. And in the process, has made Warne's controversial comment earlier in the summer that he was "soft" look wildly inaccurate. 

Against New Zealand, Starc was fearsome. Assertive. In complete control. 

And backing him up are the numbers. And his captain. 

Player	Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR
Imran Tahir	33	64	5/45	19.40	4.38	26.5
Mitchell Starc	35	69	6/28	19.89	4.94	24.1
Saeed Ajmal	79	141	5/24	20.06	4.04	29.7
Dale Steyn	58	96	6/39	22.52	4.48	30.1
Ajantha Mendis	39	70	4/46	23.18	5.02	27.6
Morne Morkel	66	113	5/21	23.61	4.93	28.7
Lonwabo Tsotsobe	52	79	4/22	24.79	4.64	32.0
Clint McKay	47	75	5/28	24.82	4.76	31.2
Mitchell McClenaghan	34	66	5/58	24.83	5.81	25.6
Ryan McLaren	44	69	4/19	25.15	5.28	28.5

Player	Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR
Mitchell Starc	35	69	6/28	19.89	4.94	24.1
Morne Morkel	94	158	5/21	24.58	4.97	29.6
Dale Steyn	99	154	6/39	25.58	4.82	31.8
Mitchell Johnson	147	226	6/31	25.73	4.85	31.8
Lasith Malinga	180	277	6/38	27.20	5.22	31.2
Trent Boult	20	28	5/27	27.60	4.55	36.3
James Anderson	191	266	5/23	29.13	4.92	35.4
Tim Southee	89	129	7/33	29.20	5.19	33.7
Stuart Broad	116	175	5/23	29.36	5.27	33.4

Player	6WI
Waqar Younis	5
Mitchell Starc	2
Shahid Afridi	2
Shane Bond	2
Ajantha Mendis	2
Ashish Nehra	2
Henry Olonga	2
Chris Woakes	2
Chaminda Vaas	2

"Starc is a genius," Clarke remarked during his post-match interview at Eden Park on Saturday. 

It's hard to argue with the Australian captain. Yet, the stats also tell us more. Much more.

While Starc's individual performance in Auckland was indeed "as good as you will see," the numbers also indicate that, as an individual, in this format, the same phrase could be used for Starc in general. 

Indeed, he's the best the 50-over game has to offer right now. And, on current pace, he's on track to become one of the finest there has ever been in one-day internationals. 

Follow @TimDCollins