Mitchell Starc’s Highest Score: The Day the Bowler Nearly Became a Centurion

 

Let’s be honest — when you think of Mitchell Starc, you don’t really picture him swinging the bat around like a top-order batter. The guy is built to bowl thunderbolts. But funnily enough, there’s this one day in cricket history when Starc did something that made everyone sit up and say, “Wait, what just happened?” Yep, I’m talking about that 99-run knock score. Just one shy of a century — and believe me, it wasn’t some lucky slog-fest.

 

It was March 2013, in Mohali, India. Hot day. Spinners all over the place. Australia was in a bit of a mess. And in walks Mitchell Starc – batting at number 9. At that point, no one expected much. Maybe a couple of lusty blows, and then bowled or caught within ten balls. That’s what tailenders do, right?

 

But Starc had other plans.

 

He didn’t just survive — he batted like he belonged. Blocked the good ones, punished the bad ones, and slowly built something that started to feel… serious. The runs ticked up. 20, 30, 40… still there. At one point, you could see the Indian bowlers looking slightly confused, like, “Isn’t this the fast bowler? Why is he still here?”

 

There was nothing fluky about it. He played proper cricket shots — straight drives, flicks, cuts — the kind you see from real batters. He was calm, composed, and honestly, looked better than a few of Australia’s top order batters that day. The commentators were losing their minds. And the best part? The crowd actually started cheering him on once he crossed 50. That’s rare on Indian soil when an Aussie’s batting.

 

But then, heartbreak.

 

He was on 99. Just one run away from a century. And boom — out. Caught behind. You could almost hear the collective “Noooo!” from every cricket fan watching. It didn’t matter if you supported India or Australia — everyone wanted to see a tailender get a hundred. Especially someone like Starc who had earned it the hard way.

 

After the match, that 99 became a bit of a legend. Not just because it was a high score for a bowler, but because it showed that Starc wasn’t just about bowling rockets. He had guts. He had fight. And honestly, that knock told a story most stat sheets can’t.

 

It also gave him respect From teammates opponents and fans alike. He was not just some guy who came in to swing and get out People started noticing his contributions with the bat more seriously after that.

 

And here is the thing that was not his only decent outing with the bat Sure he is no Steve Smith but he is had quite a few handy little cameos in both Tests and ODIs. Those 20s and 30s down the order? They matter. Especially when a game is close Starc is the kind of guy who does not back away from a scrap whether he is bowling or batting.

 

That 99 though that is his highest score in any format of international cricket. And it still stings a bit, if you’re a fan. Just one more run and he’d have joined the rare group of bowlers who’ve scored Test hundreds. But maybe that’s what makes the story better. The fact that it was almost a century. It feels more real. More human.

 

Ask any Aussie fan, and they’ll tell you — that innings in Mohali wasn’t just runs on a scoreboard. It was heart. It was grit. It was Mitchell Starc showing the world that even tailenders have their day.

 

So yeah, next time someone says Starc can’t bat, just say two words:

 

“Mohali. Ninety-nine.”

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