Mitchell Starc's spell to Tendulkar had him earmarked for greatness: 'Ball got up under Sachin's armpit, he just...'

Ricky Ponting recalled Mitchell Starc's spell to Sachin Tendulkar and how it had him earmarked for greatness.

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc is the toast of the town after his six-wicket haul in the second innings of the pink-ball Test against the West Indies in Jamaica. The left-arm seamer's fiery spell led to the visitors bundling out the Windies for the second-lowest Test total (27) in the history of the sport. Starc claimed a fifer in just 15 balls, finishing with his career-best figures of 6/9.

Ricky Ponting lauds Mitchell Starc's long-standing commitment to Australian cricket (Action Images via Reuters)

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes Starc was always destined for greatness. He said that ever since the pacer first entered international cricket, he seemed like a player who would go on to play 100 Tests for the country.

Starc made his first-class debut for New South Wales in 2009 at just 19. Within two years, he was able to make an entry into the Australian Test XI.

“He's really now stacking up an amazing career – over 400 Test match wickets. I think everyone who laid eyes on him as a youngster understood that there was every possibility that he could be a 100-Test match, 400 or 500-wicket fast bowler for Australia," Ponting said on ICC Review.

“He's got to be 6’5”. He's always had pace on his side. He's always been sort of that high 140s and sometimes pushing that sort of 150 barrier. He's had the ability to swing the new ball back into the right-handers," he added.

‘Starc's fiery spell to Sachin Tendulkar’

Ponting then also recalled one of Mitchell Starc's spells to Sachin Tendulkar, which had the Master Blaster in all sorts of trouble. The former Australia captain said that this particular spell had him believing that Starc was headed for greatness.

“I remember, he was bowling a spell to Sachin Tendulkar and was able to sort of bowl a short one, get up under Sachin's armpit and Sachin just sort of knocked one into short leg on the leg side,” Ponting recalled.

“And when you could see that sort of pace and bounce and have someone like Sachin not be able to cope with it, I think that was the reassurance for all of us that there was probably something extra special there for Mitchell Starc," he added.

Mitchell Starc is just the second Australian pacer after Glenn McGrath to play 100 Tests for Australia. He has picked up 402 wickets in the longest format at an average of 27.02.

He has also played 127 ODIs and 65 T20Is for Australia, scalping 323 wickets across both formats of the game.