Christchurch [New Zealand], March 6 (ANI): As he gears up to surpass legendary Dennis Lillee in the tally of Test wicket-takers for Australia, pacer Mitchell Starc opened up on strong words from his former head coach Tim Nielsen that paved way for his durability and said that it would be humbling to surpass the Aussie icon in wicket-taking charts.

Australia will take on New Zealand in the second Test of the two-match series at Christchurch from Friday. Starc, sitting at 354 wickets in 88 Tests, is just a couple away from overtaking Lillee's tally of 355 in 70 Tests and moving to fourth position in all-time charts just behind Shane Warne (708 wickets), Glenn McGrath (563 wickets) and Nathan Lyon (527 wickets).

Being near such a great accomplishment, Starc is really happy to be playing his second successive Test in the southern hemisphere summer, something he has not been able to do much in his career due to injuries. He came close once back in 2017-18, missing just one out of eight Tests scattered between a five-match series against England at home and a three-match series against South Africa away from home, all played within four months.