The Australian selectors made a bold call in omitting Mitchell Starc from four of the five Ashes Tests this year due to a horses-for-courses strategy.
Now he’s back in the XI and in ominous form just in time for the blockbuster three-Test series against a highly talented New Zealand side starting next week.
On a flat Adelaide pitch, Starc has been clearly the most potent bowler from either side during the second Test against Pakistan, with match figures of 7-76 to date. By comparison, the other seven front-line bowlers involved in this match have taken 9-724.
It is for precisely this reason – Starc’s rare ability to remain penetrative on dead pitches – that the Australian selectors recalled him immediately after the Ashes.
Starc has now taken 30 wickets at 12 in his past four first-class matches, including two Tests and two Sheffield Shield fixtures.
This purple patch has come on the back of a remodelled bowling action. Starc previously used to lift his bowling arm up above his head just before whipping down his front arm. Now he keeps his bowling arm much lower, close to his left shoulder, creating a more compact action.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
This change, made at the start of this summer, has impressed former Australian skipper Mark Taylor, who told Wide World of Sports he believed Starc’s new action had made him more accurate.
“He looks a better bowler to me and he looks tighter,” Taylor said.
“The guys talked a lot today about his bowling action, his arms are closer to his body. He looks a more controlled bowler.
“He’s still got the pace, but he’s got a bit of a swing and he’s got that lovely tall left-arm action. It looks to me with that slightly tighter action that he’s going to bowl less boundary balls and that’s a good thing.”
We only have a small sample size to work with, given Starc has played only two Tests since altering his action. But he has looked sharp across both matches, while taking 14 wickets at 14.
Granted, Starc has been aided by some very shoddy shot selection by the Pakistan batsmen. Regardless, the lanky left-armer appears to be primed for a big summer.
At his best, Starc adds enormously to the Australian attack due not just to his natural wicket-taking ability but also to his intimidation factor and left-arm angle.
His form surge is a boon for Tim Paine’s men as they head into what should be a hotly-contested series against New Zealand.
The number two ranked Test team, the Kiwis have a very solid and settled top seven, featuring six batsmen who average 40-plus in Tests.
The England attack has struggled badly for penetration against New Zealand’s batting line-up over their ongoing two-Test series. England right now would kill to have a bowler like Starc in their line-up.
Starc’s purple patch, coupled with the continued good form of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, has Australia’s attack in nice shape.
Now they just need a lift from their most experienced bowler in Nathan Lyon. In his last six Tests, the off-spinner has snared only 13 wickets at 53. Pakistan’s batsmen have played him with ease so far in this series as he’s taken 2-179.
Even their tail-enders looked confident against Lyon yesterday as they frustrated the Aussies. After being 6-89, Pakistan managed to recover to make 302.
That rebound was thanks to a typically classy 97 from Babar Azam and an incredible 113 from Yasir Shah, whose previous highest score across 36 Tests was just 42.
Australia looked flat during this period. Their bowling was lacklustre and their fielding was atrocious.
This is the kind of sloppy, uninspired cricket they would do well to get out of their system before encountering New Zealand, who would make them pay for such lapses.
To their credit, Australia bounced back nicely in the night session, reducing the tourists to 3-39 and putting themselves in a dominant position with two days to play in Adelaide.
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
Go Fish
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Yawn! General Gunner! Coulda! Woulda! Shoulda!
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
Calling me a liar now !!!!!. I will give you the records if you propagate such bs again. It might out my identity but for a so and so like you it would be worth it.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
And I am the Queen of England ...
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
I will repeat again. I played A grade cricket at 15, played for under 17 Tas rep team, and captained and coached cricket teams for thirty years. Thanks for your comment that I have never played the game.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Yes. It seems obvious that you have never played the game and spent all of your childhood watching games on TV!
terrykidd
Roar Pro
Exactly why Starc should always be picked if fitness allows .... I have never understood the calls for Pattison's inclusion at the expense of Starc
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
I was watching the excellent commentators on tv, who all basically said the same thing when Masood was hooking the ball, and then Paine was giving a single to Rizwan so our bowlers could get at Yasir, Afridi, Abbas and Musa, who were out for 13, 1, 1 & 4 respectively. You do understand cricket tactics, or did you fall asleep while watching.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
You were attending a different match to the one I went to!
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
You know this? Did you talk to Smith? We won the test you do realize by an innings. The times he had the players out was for two reasons, to get the batsmen out hooking (which came close a few times), and to get the lesser batter on strike. At that time the it was daylight and the pitch was like a road. Did you see the 3 slips and two gullies when conditions changed. Even my limited brain can work that out. you hate Paine really that much. Why don't you go fishing and relax.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Ian Chappell was a great captain with an opinion (and a quite repetitive opinion at that) and all Smith (the rightful and obvious captain) was doing was unsuccessfully attempting to adjust the ridiculous field placements made by Paine. Smith did not put 2 on the boundary for the hook plus one on the boundary for the cut shot when Australia was leading by 400+! That was all Paine.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Just smart ones.
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
I see Bancroft has been dropped from the test squad, and we will only take 13 players to Perth.
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
Oh and a report on Fox cricket "former test captain Ian Chappell has accused Smith of 'white anting" his skipper on day four of the test. "Chappell took exception to Smith's involvements in field placements, something which occurred during the ashes, and believed he is undermining Paine". Read the article. You will now dismiss Chappell, saying he does not have any idea re captaincy etc. I will wait with anticipation.
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
At least ten years.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Yawn. I have a lot of disdain for people who can not think beyond what the Cricket Australia and their media lackys are telling them. Hop onto that bandwagon! PS: what physical parameter do you have for the term "some time yet"? 5 more years? 10 years? 1 year?
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Yep - they were the conditions this test was played under (and everyone knew beforehand). well done curator?
Pierro
Roar Rookie
General Lyon got those much needed wickets as expected his record is exemplary at Adelaide and good with DNs. His record at perth is good or ok . Only one test there so far to go on but Id definitely play him at perth. Note MCG and SCG his records are so so and poor respectively via his averages which arent so good. Just noting he hasn't gone as well at those two grounds in recent years
Pierro
Roar Rookie
I think the 9 day gap definitely helps. I lean towards an unchanged side overnight. Head still has much to prove as does burns away from gabba so they need matches actually . Starcs form is best in these pink DN test matches of late too. Definitely pattinson in at mcg for me. Im still slightly considering head vs an all rounder/neser. We have not needed head at all so far in the first two tests and the extra bowler would rest up the bowlers work loads and provide some variation. Its actually not even heads form im thinking of as know he needs another match for sure but neser/stoinos are both capable of 30 to 50 runs with bat they arent batting bunnies at all and could easily make the 20 to 25 runs heads been making of late, I suspect more. Of course im not sure the selectors would go for it and nz are better than pakistan but they may be weakened substantially with bowling on the bouncy perth pitch if boult/ferguson don’t play the first test.
HR
Roar Rookie
A massive green seamer and a hugely swinging ball in combination with the night session would make for a lively (read: two-day-long) test.