Tests on the Verge of Records

One Tiger, Two Kangaroos Eye Test Milestones

Three veterans, all aged over 35, remain central figures in their respective Test teams. The upcoming two-match series will test their endurance, but for Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim and Australia’s Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith, it will also be a race against history.

Mushfiqur needs just 194 runs to become the first Bangladeshi to score 7,000 Test runs, while Starc is six wickets away from matching South African great Dale Steyn’s tally. Smith, meanwhile, is closing in on another major batting milestone.

Mushfiqur has scored 6,806 runs at an average of 39.11 in 103 Tests and is already the only Bangladeshi batter to cross the 6,000-run mark. His record against Australia, however, is modest, with 158 runs at 39.50 from four innings.

His recent form offers plenty of encouragement. The 39-year-old has accumulated 526 runs at an average of 65.75 in eight innings across four Tests in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. If he maintains that form, the 7,000-run landmark could come during the series.

At the other end of the milestone race is Australia’s pace spearhead Starc. The left-armer has claimed 433 wickets in 105 Tests, placing him fifth among the leading wicket-takers in Test history.

Starc needs just one wicket to equal India legend Kapil Dev’s 434 and six more to reach 439, drawing level with Steyn. The 36-year-old’s recent record makes the prospect particularly threatening for Bangladesh. He took 55 wickets in 11 Tests in 2025 and now has two more matches to add another chapter to his remarkable career.

Smith is chasing a landmark of his own. The Australian batting great has amassed 10,763 Test runs and needs 237 more to join the elite 11,000-run club.

Only Ricky Ponting, with 13,378 runs, and Allan Border, with 11,174, have reached the mark for Australia. Smith also requires just 165 runs to surpass another Australian legend, Steve Waugh.

The 37-year-old is especially formidable at home, where he has scored 5,301 Test runs at an imposing average of 59.56.

With Mushfiqur chasing 7,000 runs, Starc closing in on 439 wickets and Smith targeting 11,000 runs, the Bangladesh-Australia series promises to be about far more than bat versus ball.

For three modern Test greats, the red ball could also deliver another piece of cricketing history.