Can anyone stop Mitch Starc? One day cup opens with a bang

WA are struggling, the Cricket Australia XI are finding their feet, Mitchell Starc is a juggernaut and Nic Maddinson’s batting is evolving. These are among the major talking points to emerge from the first week of the domestic one day cup.

What’s wrong with the Warriors?
The reigning domestic one-day champions were expected to be extremely strong again this season, particularly after the cancellation of Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh saw them get back four key players.

In regaining the Marsh brothers, opener Cameron Bancroft and veteran batsman Adam Voges they built an intimidating line-up which seemed destined for the final.

Their bowling looked particularly strong thanks to quality left arm quicks Jason Behrendorff and Joel Paris, talented tweaker Ashton Agar and gun all-rounder Mitch Marsh, fresh from a man-of-the-series award in the five ODIs against England.

Yet after the first week of the competition they sit last, below even the CA XI, as the only team yet to win a game. Granted, two matches is a small sample size. But their attack, in particular, has been abominable.

Paris and Marsh have performed well with the ball, but the remainder of the bowlers have floundered. Combined, Behrendorff, Agar, Simon Mackin, Andrew Tye and Ashton Turner have returned the horrific figures of 2-433.

Today the Warriors face the talent-packed Victoria. If they lose that match their hopes of going back-to-back will evaporate.

Nic Maddinson is finding a better balance in his batting
Maddinson is extremely gifted. There is no batsman aged 23 or under in the country who has more natural talent than the flamboyant left hander.

That has perhaps gone to the head of Maddinson early in his career, leading him not to offer enough respect to his opponents. Too often he has looked to dictate terms to the bowlers, attempting to bludgeon them out of the attack.

When it comes off it is spectacular. But history has shown that few batsmen ever have been able to achieve anything close to consistency batting in such a cavalier fashion.

Maddinson is a wonderful prospect in all three forms of the game for Australia. If, that is, he can learn to shackle his ego and more wisely select the times to unleash the full fury of his blade.

While South Australia’s Travis Head and Western Australian youngster Cameron Bancroft have grabbed the headlines so far with their blitzkriegs, Maddinson has more quietly been piling up the runs.

His 194 runs have come at an average of 65 but, more than the raw numbers, it is the mature way in which he has earned them which is notable.

He has shown a willingness to remain quiet during periods when the bowlers have been disciplined, picking off ones and twos instead of trying to manufacture big shots as has been his want in the past.

This is a great sign and if Maddinson can transfer this patience to long form cricket he could be wearing a baggy green within 12 months.

CA XI will benefit massively from first win
It was hard not to feel sorry for the rookie-laced CA XI as they suffered monstrous defeats in their first two games.

The fixture conspired against them too, sending them out for their first match against a NSW team that would beat most international sides.

Mitchell Starc is too good for the majority of international limited overs batsmen to combat. So how were a team of kids ever likely to resist him?

Then in their second match they came up against a strong and fit looking James Pattinson who, despite not being a great white ball bowler, is sending them down at 150kmh-plus at the moment.

The CA XI batsmen looked intimidated, as you would expect, and two of Pattinson’s wickets came when the batsmen were comprehensively beaten for pace.

After those embarrassing losses it was brilliant to see the way the CA XI rebounded with vigour and assuredness to beat Tasmania.

That Tasmania side was very strong, too, containing six players with international experience plus Andrew Fekete, who was in Australia’s Test squad for Bangladesh.

Yet CA XI managed to hold their nerve while defending a modest total of 241.

At 5-179 with 51 balls remaining and the world’s best ODI all-rounder James Faulkner at the crease, Tasmania looked sure things. In closing out the game to win by three runs, the CA XI earned not just respect but a good deal of confidence and momentum.

They now face a WA side in very scratchy form followed by the two weakest of the State teams in Queensland and South Australia.

There is no reason to believe they can’t pinch another win from among those three matches.

Mitchell Starc is the AB De Villiers of white-ball bowling
South African dynamo De Villiers is roundly recognised as the best limited overs batsman on the planet, a player who is almost impossible to counter.

Well, Mitchell Starc is now every bit as dominant a white ball player as De Villiers and, by a big margin, the world’s best limited overs bowler.

We didn’t see the best of Starc in the five ODIs against England, during which he looked sore and restricted after playing in all five Ashes Tests and pushing through an ankle injury.

Starc tore the World Cup to shreds this year and, having enjoyed a little bit of rest after the long Ashes tour, is vaporising all comers in the state competition.

The leading wicket taker for the whole of last season’s competition was Gurinder Sandhu, with 15 wickets from eight matches. After just three games, Starc already has 14 wickets at the freakish average of 5.35.

It was one thing for him to scythe through the raw CA XI. But his real class shone through in taking combined figures of 8-50 against Western Australia and SA, snaring the wickets of quality players Mitch Marsh, Voges, Bancroft, Head and Callum Ferguson.

Starc is on track to be Australia’s best-ever limited overs bowler.