  The first part of the paper studies star-cycle factors of graphs. It
characterizes star-cycle factors of a graph $G$ and proves upper bounds for the
minimum number of $K_{1,2}$-components in a $\{K_{1,1}, K_{1,2}, C_n\colon n\ge
3\}$-factor of a graph $G$. Furthermore, it shows where these components are
located with respect to the Gallai-Edmonds decomposition of $G$ and it
characterizes the edges which are not contained in any $\{K_{1,1}, K_{1,2},
C_n\colon n\ge 3\}$-factor of $G$. The second part of the paper proves that
every edge-chromatic critical graph $G$ has a $\{K_{1,1}, K_{1,2}, C_n\colon
n\ge 3\}$-factor, and the number of $K_{1,2}$-components is bounded in terms of
its fractional matching number. Furthermore, it shows that for every edge $e$
of $G$, there is a $\{K_{1,1}, K_{1,2}, C_n\colon n\ge 3\}$-factor $F$ with $e
\in E(F)$. Consequences of these results for Vizing's critical graph
conjectures are discussed.
