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Australia’s Test spearhead Mitchell Starc is on track to face South Africa, declaring himself available for NSW’s Sheffield Shield match next week after recovering from a horror leg injury.
The left-arm paceman needed 30 stitches and underwent surgery after suffering a huge leg gash when he slid into a metal base on a set of stumps during a fielding drill in Sydney.
NSW take on Queensland in the opening Shield round of the season starting next Tuesday at the Gabba.
“I’m hopefully on that plane on Monday to Brisbane and get some good bowling in and get back playing and ready to go for the first Test,” said Starc on Thursday.
Starc hasn’t bowled since the end of Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in September, and the Shield match will be the only tune-up for Starc before the team for the first Test against South Africa in Perth – starting on November 3 – is named next Friday.
Starc said he wasn’t restricted in his bowling and running and plans to meet with his surgeon on Thursday afternoon to get an update on how the wound is healing.
“It’s all going well, it’s still not closed up but that’s not going to stop me playing,” Starc said.
He expected the Australian players to be a little more relaxed at home after the 3-0 Test series loss in Sri Lanka and the 5-0 one-day series defeat in South Africa.
“The boys have been on the road for a very long time, there’s a lot of time away from home,” Starc said.
“I think they’ve had two weeks, maybe three weeks tops between May through to now.
“I think just being back home might relax everyone a little bit.”
Starc was looking forward to resuming his partnership with fellow NSW quick Josh Hazlewood, accepting they were now both playing significant roles in the Australian attack.
He has a high opinion of both the visiting South African and Pakistan pace attacks.
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