Mitchell Starc has shown a lot of promise over the years taking a lot of wickets and bowling well, but is he fit for Test cricket?
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Starc had a decent Ashes series in England. He was the leading wicket taker for the Aussies but didn’t look like he was the best bowler out there. He has a fantastic in-swinging yorker but was unable to produce that with the new ball.
Obviously, Starc is a very good bowler. He won us the World Cup with his awesome bowling throughout the whole competition, and he was the one who got the crucial wicket of Brendon McCullum in the final in Melbourne.
We all know Starc can be hard to play when he is on, but is he a Test player? Starc has taken lots of wickets in one-day internationals and in Twenty20s. He has pretty good stats in Test matches but when it comes to bowling in a Test, he just doesn’t look dangerous.
He is not the same bowler when playing the five-day game, with batsmen looking more equipped to see him off or block him out.
Don’t get me wrong, Starc has been really reliable for Australia when he is playing in Test matches but with bowlers like Peter Siddle bowling well during the last Test of The Ashes, Starc’s spot may be in jeopardy for the summer.
Starc is also a fantastic batsman when he comes in. He can hit them big if they need him to and he can also stay in for prolonged periods. He has showed that he can make runs on a consistent basis and that might be a reason why he will be kept in the team. He made a lot of runs in the Ashes and I think he is only going to get better.
What do you think, Roarers? Do you think Starc should play with the red ball or stick with the white one?
Frontrow
Guest
Take note that in Australia's two Victories Starc's bowling had very little to do with it - two wickets in the first win at a pretty ordinary average and in second win worse - none. So ineffective and wayward was he that Clerk was reluctant to use him an Mark Taylor regularly said he bowls too much rubbish wide an down leg
Baggy_Green
Roar Pro
Just feel he will get better and more consistent once MJ is done and he becomes the leader of the pack..
Keith
Guest
To me he can only bowl one type of delivery well and thats the swinging yorker which is an excellent ball. When he tries for variety in test matches eg. a regular pitched ball, a bouncer etc he becomes wayward. I find it hard to see how the selectors dont see this.
Bert
Roar Rookie
He'll never have the control of a Mcgrath or Harris but if he can just manage to get more deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty he'll be a force to be reckoned with in Test cricket .Plenty to be excited about with his combination of pace,swing and height.
bert
Guest
If Starc can get a bigger percentage of deliveries in the "corridor of uncertainty" he will destroy a lot of batting line ups. Has all the tools to be a great Test cricketer just needs to work on his control. Not saying that he will ever have the control of McGrath or Harris just needs to build that pressure a little better
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
He's 25 so there's time for him to get better and he will be persisted with regardless of partnership bowling. We may have to put up with his and Haze's consistency issues for a while as they learn to bowl in different conditions and at international level batsmen.
Andrew
Guest
Starc can be one of or best test bowlers
Zim Zam
Roar Rookie
I still don't reckon Starc has quite got the hang of Test cricket yet - when he's on, he's on, but in between times he's a bit of a menace. He can take wickets himself when he hits a good spell, but he doesn't have enough control to built pressure and help the team take wickets - he can't bowl in partnerships. Must be a mental or an endurance thing, I suppose. We all know he can land the ball exactly where he wants every time in ODI cricket, and his excuse so far as to why he hasn't been able to nail that in the long form has been that he's never got an extended run. He's now had that, he's played 7 tests in a row - if he can't sort himself out after a few more they may really have to think about whether they persist with him. That said, he did a better job of that in Sydney last summer, so hopefully he's not far off it clicking for good.
Jameswm
Guest
He does - every now and then.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
It would help if he a total to bowl to every now and then
Matt Gates
Roar Pro
I think so too, he just needs to get his mindset right!
144
Roar Guru
I'd say he is a great test bowler, considering his form in the ashes test in England. Considering also the World cup nd our tests against India. If batsman are easy enough to be able to block him out in Test matches, but not in twenty20's then maybe Starc has to change his mindset on Test cricket and treat it like twenty20 cricket as well. To answer your question, i think he should stick with the red ball Matt!
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
He is a young Mitchell Johnson. Leaks too many runs and prone to letting batsmen get to him and then starts spraying it all over the shop.
Really
Guest
Mitch stark is a very good test bowler. His main problem is that both him and Mitch Johnson are both slightly irratic strike bowlers, Mitch marsh would be a 3rd and there is only really room for 1 of those guys in a test attack at any given time. Not that there has been anything too wrong with Australia's bowling for the past few years. Apart from maybe the reluctance to play a 2nd spinner on turning surfaces.