Mitchell Starc is a man who has never been able to have the comfort and security of his place in the current Australian Test side. Inconsistent performances and a lack of aggression may have cost him at times, but let me ask you, should he be considered the most droppable bowler in the side?
When Starc is on there is simply no stopping him, but when he isn’t it can lead to a leakage of runs and see the run rate increase rapidly. However, even with the odd inconsistent spell he is certainly worth persisting with.
It would never be easy running out onto the field knowing that you are one poor performance away from being dropped, it would play on your mind, right?
Obviously being a selector and coach you never want any of your cricketers feeling 100 per cent secure, but how is anyone supposed to perform at their absolute peak if they are selected and dropped regularly? Being a cricketer myself, it wouldn’t sit well with me at all and the amount of pressure I would put on myself to perform would be ridiculous and unnecessary.
When you have other fast bowling options to pick from such as Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Josh Hazlewood and so on, you may see why he has been the more droppable option, but I honestly don’t see that anymore.
Ever since Shane Warne made those comments back in Australia’s last summer of cricket, we have seen Starc go to another level.
His performances gradually increased as the summer went on which led to him being Australia’s number one bowler in the 2015 World Cup. He bowled with pace and aggression which saw the opposition batsmen shaking in their boots.
His performance on Day 3 of the first Test against the West Indies started off slowly but never write off a man in form. He finished the day with figures of 4-28 of his 18 overs.
It was certainly a tough day for the Australians to pick up the wickets they needed but men such as Starc continued to persist and they finally got their reward.
Starc’s spell at the end saw him clean up the tail with some devastating yorkers which potentially could have been too much for the top order players. They were practically unplayable.
When I was sitting their watching Starc firing in in-swinging yorkers, you could see this man having a real impact come July.
The conditions will suit him down to the ground and he’s one of Australia’s more naturally talented swing bowlers. A fairly fragile English batting line-up may struggle to cope with a fully firing Mitchell Starc. Yes, he may bowl the odd poor spell here and there but he is certainly worth having on the team sheet.
The current English Test side struggled against New Zealand quick Trent Boult at times in the two-Test series that has taken place over the last couple of weeks. Starc is a very similar bowler. Left-handed, swings it and bowls at a strong pace. He can do as much or even more damage than what Boult did come the first Test in the Ashes series.
I don’t really see how anyone can consider him the most droppable bowler in the side. Maybe in the past, yes, but if we are speaking on current form, Starc has been Australia’s best bowler for months now. The bowlers should be picked on who is in form and who isn’t, and at this moment Mitchell Starc has done more than enough to lose the tag of ‘the most droppable bowler’.
He is a fantastic bowler and he will continue to have success in all three formats of cricket for Australia. He has been in fantastic form for a good while now, does he really deserve to be considered more droppable than others?
Matth
Guest
Insane
Jade
Guest
He really wants to prove his worth as a test player. And I can see how much that means to him because he's been working so hard towards it. He's really pushing himself.. I hope he succeeds.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
I thought Johnson outbowled him too, he beat the bat a hell of a lot.
CW
Guest
Starc has not always lacked aggression in his game. In my view, the reason why Shane Warne made such a bit deal out of it at the time of the public bagging he gave the stringbean left armer. The reason Starc had failed to bed down a test spot since his debut in 2011. Is his lack of consistency ..not aggression. All too often the Blues quick has been found wanting when the ball is not swinging. He appears to lose his control in order to compensate for the lack of movement. The jury is out on Mitchell Starc. Until such time as he learns to take regular wickets and build pressure when the ball is not swinging. Having said that. The English Duke ball, which we will use in the Ashes, does swing. So Starc will be very much in the frame for the first ashes test.
Nudge
Guest
I can't see Hazlewood or Harris playing all 5 tests. Reckon in the perfect world they'd see Hazlewood and Harris 4 Johnson 5 and Perhaps Starc 2. Certainly wouldn't rule out Siddle from playing a role either.
terrykidd
Roar Pro
Harris
Adrian Kelly
Guest
Harris to play 1st, 3rd and 5th tests, to let those old knees recover, Starc to play 2nd, 4th tests at the very least. (More if someone injured or loses form - so Starc just has to keep delivering, so he's there when the chance comes.) Harris to retire at either end of England, or NZ series. Starc back in permanently.
Antiwhippy
Guest
For most part of the match johnson has outbowled starc, especially in the first innings, and while starc showed clear signs of improvementl I don't think cleaning up the windie's tail is much to write home about. He is getting better but I still don't think he's in our best bowling squad if harris is still knocking around.
fp11
Guest
Drop Lyon and play four quicks!
deccas
Guest
Its tough for starc. He was the highest wicket taker in the match, but it does look like he will be dropped for the first match of the Ashes unless he puts in a performance in the next match that makes him utterly undroppable. I really hope he does, I think he could be the best aussie left armer ever and I think he is working toward that point really well. All I think he needs is two or 3 series in the team before he tightens everything up and starts blasting out the top and middle order as well as the tail, as well as building pressure and chipping in when he isn't in an unplayable mood. Starc needs a 10-15 wicket match. He is probably the most capable of producing it of anyone in the world at the moment, but he has never done it before and I can't complain if he doesn't do it and then isn't selected when Harris is back. The thing is Hazlewood has made himself undroppable by being the best bowler in every innings of this tour. His style and role in the team is something that no one else can do as well as he can, so he is a lock. Harris IS the best bowler in the country, if he has been working hard in Brisbane and is bowling well, which I believe he has been and is, he is in. Johnson has been missing a certain something, but has been performing well enough that he shouldn't be dropped. And its fair to say that he has it over the english at the moment. He deserves to start the first ashes match barring an absolute stinker in the next west indies test, and that just isn't gonna happen. Johnson looks the player Starc is most likely to replace, but Johnson will play the first two tests at least because of what he did last ashes series.
philhammond
Roar Rookie
I definitely agree it's not good for him to repeatedly worry about being dropped - and it would be a confusing message to send from the selectors to drop him after two solid tests in the West Indies, and not long after being the best bowler at the World Cup - but I think Harris and Hazlewood are (or should be) locks, and although Johnson is in worse current form, the selectors will surely give him a chance to play England after his recent success. So for the first Test at least, he'll have to be patient (though here's hoping the selectors are pragmatic and aren't afraid to drop Johnson if he underperforms, which is possible).
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
Who do you think should be dropped then? Harris or Johnson?