Aussies banking on Starc

Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc

Published Oct 25, 2016

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AS with David Beckham’s foot injury ahead of the 2002 Fifa World Cup, when from England’s Prime Minister to the bar maid at the pub were caught up with praying for ‘Golden Balls’ to recover in time, so too has Mitchell Starc’s cut leg assumed national importance down in Australia.

With locals having to contend with the shock of watching their world champion team slump to a first-ever 5-0 One-Day International whitewash to the Proteas having not yet fully recovered from a 3-0 Test drubbing in Sri Lanka too, all hope is now being placed on the left-arm pace spearhead in the looming three-Test series against South Africa.

Starc missed the mauling in Africa after a training ground injury that ultimately required 30 stitches. His much-anticipated return is being treated as the second coming.

However, the 26-year-old remains a long way from full fitness and will only have a first competitive bowl today in a Sheffield Shield match for his state side New South Wales under the watchful eye of his Test captain Steve Smith.

Although the southpaw will only be able to bowl a maximum of 15 overs and is unable to slide in the field as yet due to the injury still being ‘raw’, Smith, in particular, is confident that his main attacking weapon will be ready to line-up at the Waca in Perth next Thursday.

“I’ll take care of him and make sure he’s OK for that first Test match. It’s exciting to see him back on the park,” Smith said yesterday. “He hasn’t done as much bowling as we would have liked to get into his body so he’s going to be on some restrictions this week. He’s bowled the last couple of weeks. He feels like the ball is coming out really well.”

Starc’s presence in the Australian line-up is crucial because Smith’s ODI attack lacked genuine pace and all-round penetration. He is the only active home team bowler capable of exciting the speed gun with his 150km/h deliveries. He also possesses a potent in-swinging yorker to the right-hander and venomous bouncer in addition to his outright speed.

Having such heavy artillery within your arsenal is enough to trouble the world’s best batsmen, including Hashim Amla, especially due to South Africa’s former Test captain enduring a long-standing battle with Starc’s predecessor Mitchell Johnson.

Johnson - a fellow left-arm gun slinger - would often push Amla far back into his crease with a couple of stinging balls into the rib cage before following it up with a full delivery that would slide across the right-hander from over the wicket. Due to Amla’s feet being rooted firmly behind the crease, he was often unable able to transfer his weight forward quickly enough to play the intended cover drive and would instead edge behind to the wicket-keeper or slip cordon.

Everything suggests that Starc will pilfer this game plan from the Johnson copybook.

He would be well-advised though to get his accuracy spot on, for Amla has been equally destructive against the Aussie pacemen when their radars have not been in full operation. The ‘Mighty#’ enjoys the extra pace and bounce of the Australian pitches which allows him to play freely through the line of the ball both through the covers and square of the wicket.

Amla gorged himself on the previous tour back in 2012 when he totalled 377 runs across the three Tests at an average of 62.83. This was even superior to his first visit in 2008-09 when he scored 259 at an average of 51.80. He is particularly fond of Perth’s Waca where he averages an imposing 76.75.

It was there, on the western side four years ago, where Amla and Starc’s paths crossed for the only time in their Test careers. They both landed heavy blows for their respective teams with Starc recording figures of 6/154 in South Africa’s second innings, but the knockout punch belonged to Amla’s 196 though.

Cape Times

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