Many people believed that Mitchell Starc would be right up there when it came to the most successful bowler at this World Cup.
In my pre-tournament prognostications I said he would top the wicket tally – mind you I also chose Kane Williamson as the leading run-scorer!
Heading into today’s semi-final against India at the SCG, Starc (18) sits second behind New Zealand left-arm quick Trent Boult (21) as the leading wicket-taker.
Given Starc’s consistency throughout the tournament, had it not been for the washout at the Gabba against Bangladesh he would likely be a lot closer to Boult.
By any measure Starc has had an outstanding World Cup. He enters the semi-final having taken his 18 wickets at the stunning average of 9.8 – by comparison Boult has averaged 15.8.
In fact, of all the bowlers to have taken six or more wickets in the tournament India’s Mohammad Shami has the nearest average to Starc at 13.3.
The Australian left-armer has struck once every 15.6 deliveries and has an equally impressive economy rate of 3.7 runs per over. That mark puts him at the top of the list in that category as well with the next best, former Black Cap skipper Daniel Vettori, with an economy rate of 4.0.
Starc’s best performance came in the nail-biter at Eden Park where he almost got Australia – defending a paltry 151 – over the line with a fiery 6-28.
In that match he repeatedly breached the batsmen’s defences and thundered into the stumps. Some of his deliveries could have been quite easily filed in the unplayable category.
Starc has shown that when he has everything in order he can be a devastating fast bowler. In every match of this World Cup he has delivered balls in the low 150kmh range, with his quickest and average pace in each game higher than Mitchell Johnson and Pat Cummins.
In his 39 one-dayers heading into today’s semi he has captured 79 wickets at 18.6, with a strike rate of 23 and an economy rate of 4.8.
In the Big Bash, national selector Mark Waugh nominated Starc as having bowled the over of the tournament. When representing the Sydney Sixers he sent down a succession of 150km-plus deliveries to clean bowl two Perth Scorchers’ batsmen.
His white-ball future is assured. But the big question hangs over his Test career.
With white leather in hand he has been a prodigious swinger of the ball. He has moved it at times at Test level, although not always consistently. However, with the exception of Dale Steyn, there are few Test bowlers who can summon consistent swing at will.
Starc has shown that he can be effective with the older ball and reverse swing.
There is no doubt that his pace has picked up throughout the season which shows an increasing mastery of his technique.
Shane Warne verbalised what many had felt during the Gabba Test against India in December, when he questioned Starc’s on-field personality and nature. Warne chose the word “soft”, and while Starc riled at the accusation – and Warne could have perhaps worded his theory differently – what he was alluding to was not Starc’s physical work ethic but more his seemingly undemonstrative way of going about his business.
While most fast bowlers are full of bluff and bluster, with stares and glares at the batsman, Starc was more of a bowl it, turn around and trudge back to your mark man.
Warne’s words spurred Starc on, with his body language different through the back half of the summer. Having been omitted from the middle two Tests against India he returned for the final match at the SCG, where his new-found aggression saw him net match figures of 5-142.
He has carried that persona into the World Cup.
The one area where Starc has been cruelled has been the lack of faith shown in him by the selectors. His omission for the second Test of the summer marked the seventh time he had been dropped from the team.
When you consider he has played only 15 Tests, one can only imagine how tough it must be having to cope with such a yo-yo ride.
Starc is an incumbent in the side, having played in Sydney, although he did so as a replacement for Johnson, to combine with Ryan Harris and Josh Hazlewood. In that match Starc’s 5-142 off 41 overs outshone Hazlewood’s 3-95 from 46.
Johnson is a lock for the opening Test in the West Indies mid-year, while Harris will be rested ahead of the Ashes as he stays home for the birth of his child.
That opens the door for Starc to hold his position.
He turned 25 in late January, and as such is a young man in cricket terms. His main rivals in the future as Australia prepares for life post-Johnson, Harris and Siddle are the likes of Hazlewood (24), James Pattinson (24), Pat Cummins (21) and Jackson Bird (28).
To date Starc has collected 50 Test wickets at 35.4 through his first 15 matches. Those figures are not by any means startling but you get the impression that over the past few months Starc has become a different bowler.
If I was a selector I would definitely be giving Starc another run in the two-Test series in the Caribbean. The result could prove well worth it.
deccas
Guest
Mate I reckon Starc is gonna be the best of a stable of fast bowlers that is constantly compared to the great windies sides.
deccas
Guest
Hopefully Starc can transition the form and confidence into the west indies and then ashes tours. I think confidence, not just in himself, but the confidence of the selectors, his team mates and the public. For the Windies I would take pattinson because he is injured, Harris is on ice, so I'd be taking Starc Johnson Hazlewood as the three starting quicks.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
I've no doubt Starc can become an excellent Test bowler. But he is a confidence player and he has to be allowed to grow into the role. So far he's been given just one Test and then immediately dropped/rested/rotated a good dozen times across his brief Test career. He needs to be backed in by the selectors at some point and given at least 4-5 Tests on the trot to see what he can do given an extended run. This is the opportunity typically afforded to young batsmen so why not for a young bowler, especially one who has demonstrated such match-winning ability in ODIs. I reckon his time may come in 12-18 months when Harris is gone and Johnson possibly too.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Yeah Pattinson's body just keeps letting him down. Has played very little FC cricket since last Ashes tour nearly 2 years ago so would be a big risk to rush him back into Test team.
Ruminate
Roar Guru
It seems to me that when he's asked to go go and bowl flat out for 4-5 overs as in the one day game, then it all comes together. When he's asked to focus on control first as it the Test arena, he drops 5-10 k's and the control seems to fall away. A strange paradox! He seems to me to bowl far better when he focuses on bowling as fast as he possibly can. I suppose that there is also the matter that a 150k+ loose delivery asks a bit more of the batsman than one at 140k's... Also dropping in a few 150k short deliveries would make a few batsmen a bit more hesitant to get on the front foot too. On top of that you have to consider the impact on his confidence of being dropped every second game I think he needs to be told he's in for the series , open the bowling and unleash him, have some confidence in him and tell him to bowl flat out...he made the transition in ODI's and I think it's jaut a matter of time in tests.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Starc is one of those bowlers where you can read how he's going on the speed gun. If he's got good rhythm he'll be clocking 145+ consistently and regularly hitting 150+. When he's in that mode he's also at his most accurate and often it means everything is working at it's best and he gets more swing too. When he's a bit off in his rhythm, his pace drops off and so does his accuracy. Starc has shown he can bowl devastating spells in test cricket, and for those talking about him lacking consistency, I don't know how you are meant to find consistency when you are never in the team for more than one test at a time. (And often Starc has been picked for the matches on more spinner friendly surfaces with less in them for the pace bowlers simply because he's been seen as a master of reverse swing, and then when they are back on pitches with better bowling conditions someone else gets a go instead). People often talk about him being a bit all over the place, but one of the reasons he's been such a devastating bowler in this World Cup has been his accuracy. Especially with the yorker. You so often see bowlers try yorkers only to end up with a half-volley or low full-toss which then gets dispatched. Starc has been incredibly accurate, especially with that yorker. If he can build on that and be that unerringly accurate at pace with swing, in the test arena, the anyone Australia faces had better look out.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
That might be a reasonable statement if it wasn't for the fact that most of his wickets have been bowled of LBW to batsmen just trying to keep him out, not trying to smash him to the boundary. There are many bowlers in the history of ODI cricket who have relied on bowling tight lines and being hard to get away, and getting wickets when batsmen try to go after them. I don't think you could put Starc into that category.
Nathan
Guest
Glen Mitchell Your headline is brilliant, good timing for a journo! To be fully aware of what I just conveyed, that is Australian sarcasm for you! Something more important and influential to the Australian World Cup hopes is going on today, don't you agree?
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
Ever since Warne said those comments, Starc has gone nuts. I'd play him in WI and see how far it gets him.
blanco
Guest
Starc isn't even the second best left arm seam option in Australia- for fc/ test cricket. Maybe one day he'll get there but for now he is a damn good odi bowler.
Bearfax
Guest
Many forget that Starc is only just turned 25 years old and at the beginning of his career in top class cricket. The one issue that many criticised him for was spilling runs and that was a problem. But he seems to have been working hard to address this is issue and is now seemingly a miser in ODIs. Add to that that he bowls at significant pace, height, aggression and the improving swing and in my mind he is potentially one of the top four fast bowlers we have at present, the others being Johnson, Pattinson and Hazlewood (I've left out Harris because I doubt his body has long to cope with top line cricket now). But Starc still has in my mind much to work on in the red ball game. His averages are not yet significant but he's getting better. The talent is there and he has years to develop but with Cummins on the rise and Behrendorff close to test standard, he's got serious competition to overcome before he reaches what I suspect his potential suggests. He could be in a year or two, Australia's answer to Steyn, Whatever the result, its all to Australia's benefit with probably the best stable of fast bowlers we've had in decades and potentially comparable to the greats of the West Indies era. ....now if we can only get the batting right..
TheCunningLinguistic
Guest
Don't forget about Behrendorff, Coulter-Nile and Paris, waiting in the wings... You'll never guess which state I support, hey? :-)
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Glenn, at this stage all I'm focusing on is for Starcy to help us beat India today ! He is in the mix for the longer format if selectors show some faith in him. There is plenty of competition.
Tanami Singh
Guest
What he's shown very clearly this world cup is Mitchell Stark is a strike bowler. Give him 10 over and he'll look dangerous. Sometimes he'll go for runs but he does enough with the ball at pace to never be far away from getting anyone out. It's a huge step up for him to become a test bowler though. One day lines, lengths and fields don't get you anywhere in a test match and at this point he's not shown he can bowl the consistent lines and lengths a test bowler has to, sometime all day. He goes pretty good in Shield cricket but the opportunities he's been given at test level show he has a way to go before becoming a regular.
Jo M
Guest
I agree with him on Johnson, Harris and Hazlewood though. They will be the first 3 picked.
JohnB
Guest
Correct, re Pattinson, plus Harris is out for the WI as the article says. Hard to be sure from the pitches they played on, but Hazlewood looked more like a reliable keep it tight type bowler at test level, rather than a strike bowler, and fantastic as Johnson was in the Ashes and against SA, you never quite know whether some tiny thing might push him from his excellent best back to the ordinary - plus time is ticking for him. That pecking order isn't so long at all, and the opportunity should be there for Starc - he has to translate white ball form into sustained red ball form, which he hasn't managed to do to date. Let's hope he can (and that Cummins can get on the field in FC cricket).
Chinmusick
Roar Rookie
I am quietly confident that next time we see him don the whites that he is going to be the boss. He will decimate all upon his arrival in the Carribean (Starting with the complimentary rum).
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
The difference is, in ODIs batsmen are trying to score runs and may play a dumb shot and get out. In tests, they just wait for the bad delivery. Starc could do well if he can adjust the way he bowls for tests. But then, some just aren't made for tests...while others (ahem Watson ahem) just get a free ride no matter what they do while better players just sit back and wait for the next retirement. :-P
Jameswm
Guest
The problem is it's hard to play both Mitchells. Both are very attacking bowlers who can go for runs. B
Dan
Guest
He bowls too many pressure releasing deliveries in tests. His wickets dry up because batsmen have so much more time to wait for his bad ball, rather then needing to score in the shorter formats. Has been outstanding this tournament though, that Yorker is a serious weapon. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.