Mitchell Starc is at risk of becoming the quick under pressure to keep his spot for the Ashes after losing the new ball to Scott Boland in the World Test Championship final.
With Boland pushing to force his way into a full-strength Australian attack for the first time, the Victorian opened alongside Pat Cummins against India on Saturday.
That left Starc to be used as a first-change bowler for only the second time since 2015.
The Dukes ball is known to swing more once some of the lacquer rubs off, with Starc a proponent of the moving ball and having also bowled first-change with it once in 2019.
But when handed the ball after six overs on Saturday at The Oval, Starc was Australia’s most expensive with 0-45 from seven overs as India attempted to chase down 444 in the fourth innings.
Australia face a fast-bowling selection squeeze for Friday’s first Ashes Test, with Josh Hazlewood expected to overcome a side injury and be available for selection.
Hazlewood has been limited to four Tests in the past two-and-a-half years, and was put on ice for the World Test Championship final to be fit for the Ashes.
It is obvious four quicks into three spots will not fit, and selectors are likely to rotate between the pacemen based on conditions.
A similar approach was adopted during the 2019 Ashes with James Pattinson and Peter Siddle also on tour, leaving Starc to only play the one Test.
A similar fate would be a cruel result for Starc, who has been a mainstay of Australia’s attack for the past four years and taken 93 wickets at 26.46 since that Ashes series.
The 34-year-old is well aware he is likely to be targeted by England’s aggressive batting style, but is happy to go for runs if it means he takes wickets.
His point of difference was also laid bare in his first-innings figures of 2-71, when he again leaked the most runs at 5.19 an over but got Virat Kohli with a near unplayable rising delivery.
Starc said on Friday he was happy to be that aggressive bowler for Australia in the Ashes.
“They probably will go after me,” Starc said.
“It’s been plenty of times in the past I’ve gone for more runs than the other guys.
“The role that I play is more of an aggressive role to bring in those stumps and bowl those fuller lengths and create those chances.”
Starc’s cause could also be helped by his batting, given Nathan Lyon, Boland and Hazlewood would make for a long tail from No.9 down.
Starc’s batting average of 28 in England is impressive to the point that it is higher than both David Warner’s and Usman Khawaja’s.
Wikipetia
Roar Rookie
Getting wickets with pretty junk as well. Good luck to him!
matth
Roar Guru
Well it looks like you don’t need to worry about Starc. Hazlewood preferred
Wikipetia
Roar Rookie
Well of course but more that he is coming in rusty. He will be great .I don’t think we are fighting . But Cummins rusty Haze rusty and Starc Starc is a bit of a query for me That’s all it is
matth
Roar Guru
He wasn't great in India because his mother was dying. Jesus! surely he gets a free pass for that.
Wikipetia
Roar Rookie
no i didn't say that. but he wasn't great in India. and was only good last week. he himself says he is underdone and expects to improve through the series. that's all it is. i love him. i guarantee i loved him before you did i am just over the "our attack is unbelievable" line that is prevalent. it's a paper attack, lucky they have Lyon, Boland Green to bed it down (of course Green has to get bowled and Boland has to get picked.) --- and while I backed him am short term skipper and certainly side with him over Clangerists, I wouldn't have him skipper now. that's an area where england probably make up some ground on us.
matth
Roar Guru
"Only just Cummins" is still in our greatest four fast bowlers of all time (with McGrath, Lillee and Lindwall). His own standards have set a mark that is simply impossible to match 100% of the time, but that seems to be the unrealistic expectation. Bowl some no balls in a match after a 3 month lay off? He's rubbish.
Wikipetia
Roar Rookie
sorry i liked my post instead of yours! rookie error!
jameswm
Roar Guru
We just don't know if Hazlewood is 1-00% fit till the end of the test. Fit now, sure, no pain, passing all the protocols, but a higher risk to aggravate it during a 5-day test.
jameswm
Roar Guru
OK
Wikipetia
Roar Rookie
i did see a suggestion that Starc play and open the batting. i.e. pick 4 quicks and Green and Lyon. amazeball@
Wikipetia
Roar Rookie
no. i was calling it rubbish. because i picked the same attack and was attacked with a "rubbish" assault. just didn't want you to miss out.
Wikipetia
Roar Rookie
to be fit. match fit. captaincy aware. bowling with rhythm. not losing wickets repeatedly to no balls. to be Cummins. he is only just Cummins at the moment, comprende?
boes
Roar Pro
I can't pick Hazelwood, its not a question of quality but match fitness. If he breaks down in the first he's gone for the series. Let him build his workload in the nets over the next week, if he keeps pulling up ok then 2nd or 3rd test.
Pop
Roar Rookie
Hazlewood declared fit. News tonight. If he’s picked Starc misses out
Stuart
Roar Rookie
Scomo could fill all four fast bowling spots and we could have three more batsmen/ allrounders…
matth
Roar Guru
Because he’s only JUST the best pace bowler we’ve had since McGrath and is leading our most successful team since 2006 who just won the world test championship by over 200 runs. So what exactly is a pass mark for you?
Steele
Roar Rookie
I like it, but I would be pleasantly shocked if Hoff and Starc both missed out. That’s not enough New Sth Welshman! There’s a quota system.
Opeo
Roar Rookie
Leave out Starc, not just because of this test. We have pretty good sample size for Boland now. I think we can be pretty sure Boland is a better bowler.
Baggygreen2.1
Roar Rookie
Haze unlikely to be fit. So Neser in for ashes1 We need bowlers that are always economical
jameswm
Roar Guru
You’re welcome to express yourself. If you’d drop Cummins good luck with that.