Ashes Scout: Neser's career-best stunner, tactical shift that turbocharged Starc, Pom wants more 'nonsense'

Michael Neser has sent national selectors a reminder of his Ashes worth, hitting a career-best unbeaten 176 for Glamorgan during a week away from Australia’s Test camp.

Sent back to county cricket between the third and fourth Ashes Tests to have a bowl, Neser’s hopes of getting the ball in his hand have been denied by rain over the first three days.

But he instead showed his worth with the bat against Leicestershire.

After Glamorgan slumped to 7-93 on day three batting first, Neser helped the Wales-based outfit to recover to 9(dec)-403 late on Wednesday.

The Queenslander hit 25 boundaries and two sixes in his knock, bringing up his fourth first-class century when he hit spinner Colin Ackerman over mid-wicket for four.

“It means a lot. To put that together is quite special,” Neser told BBC at the end of play.

“We just tried to say let’s be positive and put the pressure back on them. We had a few fortunate moments and thankfully it paid off.

“It started to flatten out there a lot. It was quite tricky early on, and once you got through that new ball and it softened up, it was a nice wicket to bat on.”

Queensland teammate Mitchell Swepson also hit 69 as part of a 123-run ninth wicket partnership with Neser.

The century is Neser’s second in a row, after he also hit 123 against Sussex in his last match before entering Australia’s Ashes camp in May.

Neser is yet to play a Test in this year’s Ashes series, stuck behind Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland in Australia’s attack.

The 33-year-old will return to Australia’s Test camp in Manchester this weekend, with a full squad training session on Sunday.

His most likely chance of a Test would likely come at The Oval in the series finale, if Hazlewood returned at Old Trafford next week and selectors did not want to play him in back-to-back Tests.

That would then likely set up a scenario where selectors would have to choose between Boland and Neser for the final Test.

Also in the runs was allrounder Glenn Maxwell, who made 81 in 67 balls this week on his debut for Warwickshire, helping to set up Wednesday’s innings and 46-run victory over Kent.   

Starc’s bat swap with wife Alyssa

Mitchell Starc may be the first player in history to walk out for a men’s Test using his wife’s cricket bat.

But that has now been the case for the past seven months for Starc, who prefers the lighter pick up on Alyssa Healy’s bat to the one he was using previously.

“It’s a little bit lighter,” Starc said. 

“(South Africa’s) Anrich Nortje was bowling pretty fast through the summer, so I used a lighter bat. She didn’t know it was gone, so it was fine.”

“I was cleaning out a few cricket bags at home, she was away on a tour. I said, ‘you know there’s three bats in this bag’ and she didn’t know.

“I said, ‘there’s two now, the other’s in my bag!’.”

Starc’s switch has to some extent paid off.

He hit his highest Test score in almost four years against India in the second innings of the World Test Championship final with 41, and then faced 72 balls at Lord’s earlier this month to help build up a fourth-innings target for England.

With both sponsored by Kookaburra, it’s not the first time he and Healy have traded bats.

Healy used one of Starc’s for parts of the 2016-17 WBBL, hitting 55 off 38 balls against the Sydney Thunder using it, and 46 from 31 in another clash with Perth.

“It’s one-all because she took one of mine a few years ago,” Starc quipped.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc appeals successfully for the wicket of England’s Ben Stokes. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)

“She cut the end of the handle off, so it was no good to me after that.”

Starc said such work was not required on Healy’s bat, after only adding an extra grip to allow him to handle it better.

The 33-year-old has been able to spend time with Healy this week, after heading to Bristol to watch the wicketkeeper captain Australia in the first ODI in the multi-format Ashes.

He previously attended the first two days of the Test match at Trent Bridge, while Healy was able to get to parts of the first three Tests of the men’s tour.

Other Australian men’s players have travelled across Europe in a mandated four-day rest period for the team, with holidays spanning from Spain, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Paris.

Steve Smith was also due to take in tennis at Wimbledon, before an optional session for players in Manchester on Friday and full-squad training on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Australia’s decision to let Starc prioritise wickets over economy rates has paid dividends, with the left-armer believing it’s the reason behind his career-best Ashes series.

Tied down by Australia’s bid to restrict England’s scoring in the 2019 series, Starc played only one Test while constantly being overlooked throughout the series.

After again missing out on selection in the first Test of this year’s series, Starc has returned as Australia’s most threatening bowler at Lord’s and Headingley.

The 33-year-old’s 5-78 in the fourth-innings kept Australia in the match at Headingley on Sunday and took his record for the series to 13 wickets at 23.38. 

Starc is now a lock for Australia’s attack at Old Trafford next week as they try and bounce back from the three-wicket loss at Leeds to wrap up the Ashes in Manchester.

“I said early doors that I wasn’t going to change the way I approach my cricket to fit in. I was going to stick to my strengths and I’ve done that this tour,” Starc said.

“There was a big (focus) on economy rates last time. We all bought into that and that was something that worked really for us to retain the Ashes then. 

“It affected my approach certainly going back to Australia and losing some air speed. It took away from some of my strengths and some of the roles that I play in our attack. 

“I wasn’t going to change that this time and if that meant I didn’t play, so be it. I was going to stick to my strengths and what I bring to the attack.”

At one point it was thought England’s BazBall approach might again cruel Starc on this tour given his reputation as Australia’s most expensive bowler.

It has been the opposite.

Widely regarded as one of the world’s best white-ball quicks, Starc has thrived on bowling against batters wanting to go after him.

He produced two of the best balls of the series at Lord’s to dismiss Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, and then backed it up with his big haul at Leeds.

“The way I go about my bowling doesn’t change too much, red ball, white ball, pink ball, I’m still going to try to attack and take wickets,” Starc said.

“They’re coming a bit harder, there are going to be some funky fields based on the way they’re playing their cricket.

“Naturally I’m slightly fuller than others, I hit the stumps a little bit more. There’s no surprises there, I’ve spoken about it before.

“But those naturally more attacking lengths particularly on these big squares can go for more runs. But if my strike-rate is down, I’m doing my job.”

Starc has also added a wobble-seam ball to his artillery, allowing him to nip the ball back either way off the English wickets in the same fashion Australia’s other quicks do.

“That’s helped develop my bowling I guess and not just be someone who can only swing it or bowl fast,” he said.

‘Plenty of time for nonsense stories’

Former England opener Mark Butcher has urged the UK media to keep running “nonsense” to rattle the Australians.

Butcher, speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, was reflecting on the false story during the thirdt Test claiming Alex Carey had done a runner on a barber in Leeds without paying.

The rumour was aired by England legend Alastair Cook, who later issued an apology.

Carey, already public enemy number one for his role in the second Test stumping of Jonny Bairstow, copped pelters over the story at Headingley.

“It was very silly. It wasn’t even true. I think that does actually get under the skin of the opponents eventually, or at least the individuals involved,” said Butcher.

“Particularly when you stand there and you can look yourself in the mirror and go “you know what I really really don’t think I did anything wrong here and yet I’m getting panned for it and I’m going to continue to get paid for it”. It chips away. His batting was less than optimal, shall we say? During that Test match. Keeping was still good.

Chris Woakes celebrates dismissing Alex Carey. (Photo by Stu Forster – ECB/ECB via Getty Images)

“There’s plenty of time for lots and lots of nonsense stories about the Australians. Get writing, get composing,” he told host Yas Rana.

Meanwhile Butcher said Australia faltered in the third Test by getting their innings pace wrong – and he pointed the finger of blame at Usman Khawaja.

He said Australia “weren’t entirely sure how to go about building the total that they needed on the last day – they weren’t entirely sure how many that needed to be. And the other side of it being they probably thought to themselves: “Woody looked out on his feet in the first innings, they’re a bowler down, if we grind away here, then eventually the floodgates will open and we’ll end up out of sight”.

“Of course, what ended up happening was that the running between the wickets was really bad. And I don’t know whether this is an Usman Khawaja thing, or whether it’s just something that seems to have crept into the Aussie team.

“But even if their intention was to get the England bowlers into second, third, fourth spells or and bat long in that third innings, they forgot that you still have to keep scoring one way or the other. They were missing long singles, they were turning long twos into ones, and, in doing so, just allowed the pressure to build on them.

“And then of course, Mark Wood bowls a very, very quick spell early on in that third innings whilst Mo is bowling at the other end. The hideousness of facing Wood in full flight at one end coupled with Mo bowling uncharacteristically tight, I don’t think he bowled a four-ball in that entire sixteen over spell whereas Mo’s spells are generally littered with one of those and over, Marnus and Steve Smith both succumbed.

“The Marnus dismissal was astonishing really, when you consider that he just got away with one down the leg side. Jonny clanging one again down leg side, and then almost the very next ball he faces against Mo, he dongs one up in the air which was astonishing. And then for Steve Smith to come out and do that as well.

“Kumar Sangakkara almost said a very bad word on commentary when the Marnus dismissal happened. Those are huge, huge moments in the game. Mo has justified his selection, out of retirement, perhaps in just those two dismissals if nothing else, that goes for him for the rest of the series.”

With AAP