"Harden the f*** up" - Mitchell Starc credits message from former coaches to shape his career

Australian speedster Mitchell Starc has revealed that some stern words from his coaches made him toughen up and push through some injuries. The left-arm pacer credited Tim Nielsen for making him aware of the 'early doors'.

Part of the famed pace trio also comprising Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Starc has grown to become one of the leading fast bowlers of this era. The 34-year-old has taken over 500 international wickets across formats and played an instrumental role in Australia's two ODI World Cup wins and one World Test Championship triumph.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Starc acknowledged that one must know when to inform the medical staff about any niggle and when to push through things.

He was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo:

"I was still learning what all those pains were and obviously the reports get around from physios to coaches and I sort of got told to harden the f*** up a little bit. Timmy Nielsen probably made me aware that early doors. Obviously, there's plenty of times you need to be honest with the medical staff but other times you got to know when to push through things."

The New South Wales cricketer is in sight of taking over Dennis Lillee for most Test wickets for Australia. With Starc having 354 scalps, he needs only two more to overtake Lillee.

"To play 100 Test matches as a fast bowler is a huge achievement" - Mitchell Starc

With New Zealand captain Tim Southee set to play his 100th Test in Christchurch, Starc said it will be a massive achievement for the Kiwi pacer.

"To play 100 Test matches as a fast bowler is a huge achievement for [Southee]. If I can get that far, that'd be nice as a bowler and again that's probably showing a bit of age and experience but a bit of longevity as well and then the work to become resilient and to push through a few things. So if I can get that far it'd be a nice touch but at this stage, it's one week at a time," Starc said.

Along with Southee, Kane Williamson will also be featuring in his 100th Test as the Blackcaps will hope to level the two-match series.