Mitchell Johnson: Mitchell Starc earns place alongside Dennis Lillee as one of Australia’s greatest quicks

I have always found it difficult to compare players from different generations.

For the moment, Mitchell Starc should just enjoy the incredible milestone of passing the legendary Dennis Lillee’s mark of 355 Test wickets.

Starc has moved into fourth on Australia’s all-time wicket-takers list by moving past the great DK Lillee, a mentor to plenty of us fast bowlers including the man who just overtook him.

It might feel a bit surreal to Starc to have overtaken Lillee in the wickets column, a hero of Australian cricket and a fast bowling great.

Of course, DK was so much more than his wickets. He is remembered for the way he played the game, the character he was and being an icon of his era.

Plenty have had their say on Mitchell Starc. He’s just kept taking wickets.

Starc has done the work on and off the field to be in this position. He opted out of Indian Premier League cricket and the millions of dollars on offer for many years so he could give himself the best chance to play Test cricket, to play it at his best and be as fresh as possible.

Those sacrifices show how much he loves playing Test cricket for Australia.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Starc has been called soft at times and was told to harden up. He has been criticised for being inaccurate and having poor body language - something I’ve noticed and mentioned, speaking from my own personal experience.

Plenty have had their say on Mitchell Starc. He’s just kept taking wickets.

We could dissect stats in so many ways when trying to weigh up Starc (89 Tests, 358 wickets, avg. 27.6) and Lillee (70 Tests, 355 wickets, avg. 23.9). Then there’s opponents, pitches, and Lillee’s 67 wickets taken in World Series Cricket ‘Supertests’.

In the end, it will do your head in. In a respectful way, we can acknowledge what Starc has done in his Test career has been up there with the best. There’s no doubt about that.

I remember playing my last Test match at the WACA Ground and telling the team of my decision to retire. A few of the boys said ‘why don’t you try to break DK’s 355 wickets?’

Having finished on 313 Test wickets, I wasn’t interested in that and I think Brett Lee (310) may have had the same thoughts back when he finished.

Everyone has their own journey and path and as professionals, we are driven to compete, win and play our part for the team. Cricketers have team goals but we have individual goals also, things we want to achieve in our careers.

Starc had a plan for how he wanted his career to unfold and put Test cricket first. I’d say his plan has worked out pretty darn well as he sits behind only Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Nathan Lyon on the list of his country’s greatest wicket-takers.