Do we like them?

Do we like Mitchell Starc?

Our score: 8 out of 10. A clean harm record, a decent run of small good deeds and one old on-field fine; the record is thin on bigger causes.

Mitchell Starc is the tall left-arm quick who has been a mainstay of Australian cricket for well over a decade. At 36 he is still chasing goals, telling Dawn in May 2026 that the 2027 World Cup is a long way down the road but he hopes to be there. Cricket's his whole public story, and he has kept it that way.

After Australia's Ashes win, he told SEN he had not thought about retiring from Tests and argued there should be no end date on players who are still contributing. He also gave credit to Scott Boland, Michael Neser and the wider squad. It's a decent sign that a bloke with that many wickets talks about the team first.

The Wisden report on his 2026 IPL stoush is the closest thing to fresh drama. Delhi Capitals' star was criticised in Indian media for a late arrival, and he posted a statement saying those critics claimed to know his body better than he does. He also apologised to the team and fans for missing the early games. A bit sharp, but he owned the apology.

The stain on the record is old. In November 2015 the ICC fined him half his match fee for throwing the ball dangerously near New Zealand's Mark Craig in a Brisbane Test, and he admitted the offence and accepted the penalty without a hearing. That's a heat-of-the-moment lapse, not a pattern we could find in the reporting.

On the harm test, the search came up empty, and we mean empty in the good way. Nothing from him against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the planet, no conspiracy rabbit holes, no dodgy co-stars. To be fair, he's also not a bloke who campaigns on those issues, so this is a pass on harm rather than a standing ovation.

The good stuff is real if modest. In 2020 he slept out on cardboard at the SCG for the Chappell Foundation to draw attention to youth homelessness, saying it was another important cause to raise awareness for. He also went to the courts once, suing his insurers over a missed IPL contract, and the case settled before it was heard.