Tall-timber Australian paceman Mitchell Starc should be encouraged to constantly let it rip and ignore the generally accepted line and length theory.
Four or five overs with the new ball, making opposition batsmen duck for cover.
He could be as effective as firebrand Jeff Thomson was in the 70s, putting fear into top order batsmen where the Australians want the early breakthroughs.
At the moment Starc isn’t doing that. It’s a waste of nature.
Starc has the assets. He is 196cm tall, and a left-armer – Thommo was 181cm tall with an inverted right elbow that delivered the ball like a totally legal slingshot.
Thommo made the ball hop off a good length, an incredible delivery, which was dangerous to face. I can attest to that at first hand, having faced Thommo often over the years in Sydney first-grade cricket before he departed to Brisbane.
Starc’s height gives him the bounce advantage as he proved in his last two spells yesterday at Blundstone Arena to eventually beat Sri Lanka with less than a hour to play.
Once Starc started to attack the batsmen he was a far more effective bowler with the figures to prove it.
Peter Siddle has become the foundation stone of the Australian attack, and he too is a far better bowler when he attacks. A very worthy man-of-the-match in Hobart.
Now it gets interesting to see what the national selectors do to replace the injured Ben Hilfenhaus for the Boxing Day Test.
If they are picking on form it has to be Tasmania’s Jackson Bird. In only his second season of Sheffield Shield the 25-year-old has 87 wickets at 19.72, far better figures than any other contenders.
That’s the only bowling change required for the MCG with Shane Watson and Nathan Lyon rounding off the attack.
The batting order won’t be touched unless skipper Michael Clarke’s hamstring problem worsens in a week.
Yesterday he took a first slip catch low down to his right, eventually sitting on his bent right leg.
Anyone who has had a torn hammie knows only too well that can’t be done. But Clarke showed no ill effects so he should be a dead-set starter for Boxing Day.
Weather permitting there should be massive crowds at the MCG, a huge improvement on the pathetic turnouts in Hobart to watch what turned out to be a ripper of a Test.
It would have been over much earlier had Mitchell Starc been in a rip and tear mood from day one.
Brendan Carter
Guest
Starc is a faster bowler than Johnson, bowling within himself, he pushed the 149.8 klick`s, plenty of times, in Hobart, give the 22 year old kid, a break. He still does not realise how to harness his own ability, whereas Johnson, has no balls, and can`t lead our bowling attack. Peter Siddle has dropped his pace, at the bequest of the Australian Selectors, and Captain Michael Clarke, so he can lead our bowling attack. Siddle was bowling at 155 plus klicks, last season, and this is from a man who has had 3 shoulder reconstructions on his bowling shoulder, and twice had back stress-fractures. You have no idea, how fast, `Sid Vicious`, was, until these injuries took there toll, he has resorted to bowling, mid 130`s to mid 140`s, because the Coach, & Captain, know how important he is to the team. He is not only, the leader of the bowling attack, but a leader and mentor within, the Aussie team.
lolly
Guest
3. Watching Mitch is nerve-wracking, horrifying but secretly addictive. Ha, ha, couldn't agree more. He makes everyone else seem so ordinary.
Duncan Gering
Guest
Sorry to disappoint you Sam, his breakdown is below. Apparently he has trouble with number 6 batsmen. 13 of his 24 wickets come in the top order. That's a whopping 54%. If you follow the link (http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/311592.html?class=1;template=results;type=bowling;view=dismissal_summary) you should be able to see some other details. 1st position 3 2nd position 3 4th position 3 5th position 4 7th position 1 8th position 3 9th position 3 10th position 3 11th position 1
Oracle
Guest
And I suppose Cummins is the next Dennis Lillee after one Test??? Talk about going the early crow. How about you give him a chance to be Mitchell Starc before making ridiculous comparisons.
dcnz
Guest
didnt Starc get smacked for 76 runs of 10 overs in one innings vs S Africa....
jameswm
Guest
Another thing on Starc. He has an amazing ability to get reverse swing early. I've seen him in T20s swing it the usual way (into the rightie) for overs 1 and 3, then at overs 15 and 17 go the other way. In fact I've seen him make it go Irish in about the 10th or 12th over with a white ball. He's got great lift and a loose (flexible I mean) action. All the ingredients are there, if he can harness, he'll really be something. Fair bat too.
Duncan Gering
Guest
It's all very well to say he needs to get consistent like Siddle, but my recollection of Siddle playing for the past five years is that he was just as green as Starc (although more economical) and only time has increased his consistency. The figures from Cricinfo (http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/7898.html?class=1;template=results;type=bowling) tend to bear this out. As opposed to Johnson, Starc has time on his side to get his consistency (and he's already a wicket taker with a better strike rate than Siddle), Johnno has proven only that he will never be consistent - so why pick him. Span M W Ave Econ SR 5w/inns 2008 3 9 46.55 3.13 89.2 0 2009 12 45 29.33 3.05 57.6 2 2010 6 19 27.68 2.96 56 2 2011 7 24 30.04 3.10 58.1 0 2012 7 38 23.28 2.85 48.9 2 Overall 35 135 28.67 3.01 57.1 6
Jiggles
Roar Guru
Are you really comparing Lyon v The South Africans on a bat friendly pitch to Starc v the Sri Lankans on a fast bowlers pitch??
Matt
Guest
Or my he will be a Vernon Philander, not exactly express but moves the ball both ways. Hits a really good length and makes the batsman play consistently.... I think that there is room in every team for an express bowler, there is also room for a Bird type if he is good enough. Given Cuttings batting and his figures he should probably be there in front of Johnson who is not a forward prospect. Also I think all of this is mute as the selectors will go for Johnson
Rhys
Guest
I detect a hint of Akram potential in Starc. Only a small hint, but a hint nonetheless. 140+ bowler who can swing it, bowls a devastating yorker, and has the makings of a damaging lower order batsman. Very early days, but Australia could do worse than have a player with half the talent and skill of Wasim Akram.
Rhys
Guest
The ability to multi-task is vital in today's world. Wade to become first player in history to catch a nick behind off his own bowling!
Rhys
Guest
Those bowling stats go some way towards explaining why FC batsman around the country are struggling to average much over 40 in recent seasons. No wonder the pace bowler queue for the Aus team is much longer than the specialist batsman queue.
Justin
Guest
Hey Lordy, Matthew Wade is more likely to have a succesfull test career and make over 10 centuries than Starc to be the next Thommo
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
There have been plenty of good bowlers who struggled to clean up the tail, Nathan Lyon for instance was unable to finish off the Safas at Adelaide. Wickets are wickets, and Mitchell Starc is taking them at test level, with an average of 29. He's doing his job and doing well.
Holmes
Guest
And 15cm taller. And left armed
Allanthus
Guest
It was encouraging to see Watson carry his fair share of the workload yesterday. In fact, setting aside differences in pitch conditions and batting strength between SA and SL, while Siddle was lone ranger in Adelaide, yesterday, despite being a man down, all bowlers contributed, and this time a result was obtained. There are obviously concerns about Lyon's figures but he doesn't seem too far off it to me. Wade and Clarke owe him a couple. Siddle is a gem, you'd have him all day every day. Starc was in the right place at the right time, with the right aggression, and deserved his figures. But it's a VERY long bow to put him in the same ballpark as Thommo. I know the header says "could be" but... Greg Ritchie could be appointed next High Commissioner to India too...
Bobo
Guest
If you're comparing him to previous Australian bowlers, at the moment Starc is closer to Alan bloody Mullaly than Jeff Thompson. Having said that, Mullaly only bagged one 5-for when playing test cricket for England. About the only thing Starc and Thommo share is that they each alternated between bowling genuine wicket-taking deliveries and absolute filth.
Red Kev
Guest
I heard he often does the lunch and tea catering as well.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Thommo ??? I don't know how that comparison was made I don't think they're anything alike. Ditto Bruce Reid. Reid was one of the best bowlers I've ever seen. He certainly didn't go for 5 an over. He took about 110 wickets in 20-odd tests with a average in the low 20s. Every time he came into the aussie side he was dangerous and took loads of wickets. It's such a shame his frame wasn't built for fast bowling. I'm not sure what it was built for but it certainly wasn't fast bowling. While there are certainly doubts about Starc - how many runs he concedes, is only cleaning up the tail at the moment - he's certainly got a lot of potential and should be given an extended run in the team especially considering we have quicks dropping like flies at the moment. If he's dropped, rested, rotated, whatever - he goes back to T20 not shield and while I don't think picking players for tests because they can't play first class cricket is the soundest selection policy it's better for Starc's development in the long run. If he was in the best XI last week then he certainly should be this week.
Matt F
Roar Guru
Probably, though I guess a left arm bowler coming around to a right arm batsman has a good angle to really cramp up the batsman, particularly a tail ender