At the 2015 World Cup Mitchell Starc was outstanding, and after the final he was announced as the player of the tournament, a fitting reward at the conclusion of six weeks of superb fast bowling. He was a player right at the top of his game.
His 2-47 against England in the first match wasn’t spectacular, but everything after it was. In the second match he almost took Australia to victory with 6-28 against New Zealand while defending a small total. Starc consistently made inroads into opposition batting orders and not once failed to at least take a brace of wickets in whatever match he played.
His 2-28 off 8.5 overs against India in the semi-final was economical and effective, and a few people still argue that his wicket of Brendon McCullum off the third ball in the final was when the final ended.
Australia had a superb left-arm fast bowler who could bowl at good pace and with the occasional accurate yorker to dismiss any batsman not completely on top of their game.
(AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Australia had the best one-day bowlers in the world bowling for them.
Now we fast forward to the weeks before the 2019 World Cup, which gives us the opportunity to reflect on what’s happened over the last four years since the previous instalment of cricket’s biggest competition.
Instead of focusing on all four years, we can hone in on the last two, since the Champions Trophy was played during the English summer of 2017. Since that tournament, Mitchell Starc has only played seven one-day matches for Australia. These have been his returns:
- 2-71 (10) against England in January 2018
- 4-59 (10) against England in January 2018
- 0-63 (10) against England in January 2018
- 1-63 (9) against England in January 2018
- 0-47 (10) against South Africa in November 2018
- 2-51 (10) against South Africa in November 2018
- 2-57 (10) against South Africa in November 2018
The last two years Starc’s 11 wickets at 37.36, all on home soil, haven’t been at the standard he would expect from himself. It’s been a long way off what he was producing at his peak in one-day cricket.
It’s hard to pinpoint reasons Mitchell Starc hasn’t been firing on all cylinders. Peaking for a World Cup, which can certainly be argued carries more weight than a bilateral series, could be one. The amount of management that goes into looking after fast bowlers in the modern day could be another. Playing only seven matches in two years suggests he is being looked after at a great extent by the coaching staff.
So, coming back to the present, we’re left with a question for the future: can the player who was outstanding for Australia when they won the previous tournament find his feet again and be a force in this World Cup?
Can a player who has statistically been down on form for a few years now be the spearhead his country would love him to be for the nine and potentially 11 matches in June and July in England?
A look at Starc’s record in England isn’t overly flattering. If you take out the 4-29 against Bangladesh at the Champions Trophy tournament two years ago, he has seven wickets at 56 in his other seven matches – not the types of returns that will instil Justin Langer and Aaron Finch with too much confidence.
Can Mitchell Starc combine with his other pacemen to deliver the goods once again in a big tournament for Australia?
We’re about to find out.
Ranjitha Nayak
Guest
Reading this right after he broke Glenn McGrath's record at 2019 world cup. What an incredible comeback!
Censored Often
Roar Rookie
Only time will tell if the ridiculous player rotation policy will produce great bowlers like Lillee, McGrath, Lee, Lawson, Alderman etc etc. Or a bunch of mediocre, injury riddled hipsters....
Neel
Roar Guru
Starc has struggled in Tests a lot. ODIs he has been patchy since the last World Cup. If he can get that Yorker going, gee, won’t he be more than a handful.
Cricket Buffet
Roar Guru
Certainly struggled in the test arena after that Adz.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
That's adding insult to injury
Adzy
Roar Rookie
Hasn't been the same bowler since sandpaper gate! Maybe a long bow but hasn't had swing and reverse swing the same since.
AREH
Roar Guru
Hasn’t bowled with the same pace and consistency for an extended period since the last Ashes series, that I can recall. May not get back to the heights of a few years ago – bearing in mind his age, too, but will wait until the WC & Ashes have passed to realise where he is at.
Linphoma
Guest
He went to the San Francisco Giants! Check this guy out, Steve Duggar. The photo doesn't quite do justice but he looks a dead ringer in the field or at the plate. And he's a lefty. https://www.mlb.com/player/steven-duggar-621453
Paul
Roar Guru
I'm sure there's an element of that for sure, but how big that is, I've no idea, Mashrur. I hate to use the phrase, but we perhaps need to be mindful of the "bigger picture". Australian cricket has been heavily dependent on a few bowlers for at least the past 2 years; Starc, Lyon, Cummins & Hazlewood. IMO these guys are all Test bowlers who we are forcing into roles that may not suit them. This is more because we've had a lot of guys who were showing great potential, then either dropped away of were injured; Pattinson, Stanlake, NCN, J Richardson, even Zampa's only come good in recent times and these are not all the bowlers tried. I'm not sure how Starc and others could be managed differently, unless we get more quality depth in our bowling across all three formats
Mashrur
Roar Rookie
Agreed Paul. But again it’s the same thing right? Its about how CA is managing it’s fast bowlers.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Starc seems to have 3 modes. 1] Injured 2] Easing back in after injury 3] Bowling up a storm but working on the next injury. That's it. That's his pattern and there doesn't seem to be anything anyone can do about it. He's currently in phase 2 and I'm just hoping he can slip into 3rd gear sometime early in the WC. If he doesn't, well, that makes our job a whole ship load harder but there's no use complaining because it's simply the nature of the beast.
Paul
Roar Guru
I don't think you're on your own with concerns about his lack of bowling in this format, CB. In an ideal world, Starc should have played some or all of the recent Pakistan series ( the India series was probably too soon after injury). He's no doubt put in a lot of effort in the nets but as we both know, there's a huge difference between being match fit and bowling to his mates with no pressure on. I suspect we'll know exactly where Starc's at after his first game. Can't wait, this tournament should be a beauty.
Cricket Buffet
Roar Guru
Im just a little concerned with the quantity he has played in the last 2 years. Not saying he cant or wont bowl well at the World Cup, just feel 7 matches in one format over two years is down on what would be considered ideal.
Cricket Buffet
Roar Guru
Thanks for your contribution Paul. No doubt Australia need him back to bowling at or close to his best at the WC.
Paul
Roar Guru
The figures quoted in this article probably don't support your comments Mashrur. The games against England came after Starc had helped bowl Australia to an Ashes victory, where he bowled more than 160 overs at great pace on absolute roads. He then had to back up and play one dayers when he was both physically and mentally tired. Remember too, the performances of the other guys, especially Smith, were nothing to write home about either. The SA series was at the start of last summer before a 4 Test series against India. He was clearly being eased back into the new season, knowing he had 6 Tests to get through and was clearly not 100% fit. You're right, the resting policy doesn't help guys like Starc but in this instance, he was off his game for other reasons.
Paul
Roar Guru
Your basic point is quite correct, CB. Mitchell Starc really needs to find rhythm, pace and above all that yorker if we're going to be competitive on this Cup. We already have an issue with our 5th bowling options and can ill afford to have one of our top 4 down on form.
Mashrur
Roar Rookie
U see that’s the problem. What’s the problem? The way CA has been managing Mitchell Starc for the last two years. Starc’s “not so impressive” performance is the result of the “resting bowlers” policy. Fast bowling is all about rhythm. Whenever Starc was about to make a comeback , CA would just rest him thus destroying his rhythm. Starc has been anyway hampered with injuries the last 2 years despite of the resting policy, so was this policy of any good? Absolutely not. As Shane Warne says, Starc is a “rhythm” bowler so just let him play matches as much as possible. Hopefully, everything is gonna change for good this WC.