Mitchell Starc may have leaked runs in the World Test Championship final against India but his wicket-taking ability is crucial to the balance of the Australia pace attack heading into the Ashes series against England, coach Andrew McDonald said on Monday.
The left-arm quick claimed four wickets but went for 5.34 runs an over - the most expensive performance in his 78-Test career - at The Oval in London, where Australia triumphed by 209 runs with Scott Boland impressing the most among the Australian seamers.
While Pat Cummins is safe as the captain of the side, a fit-again Josh Hazlewood would join Starc and Boland in the race for the remaining two spots in Australia’s pace attack for the first Ashes test later this week.
McDonald said Starc was not the only bowler who went for runs against India and that the 33-year-old lent much balance to their pace attack.
“Most of our bowlers went at above what they’d usually go, and we’ve just got to get our heads around that the tempo will be slightly different,” McDonald told reporters before Australia moved to Edgbaston, which hosts the first Test from Friday.
“Mitch went at a bit more than he generally goes at, but they complement each other really, really well.
“His wicket-taking ability is second-to-none. We’ve got to weigh all that up when we make decisions.”
Cummins also threw his weight behind Starc, tipping him to play a key role in the five-Test series in England.
“He did a role for us that we know Starcy can do after 80 Test matches,” Cummins said after Sunday’s win against India.
“He has got a huge tour ahead of him and will play a huge role for us. The English side sets up slightly different as well. There are a few more left-handers. The wicket is going to be a bit different. I’m really happy with where Starcy is.”
Meanwhile Australian media congratulated Cummins’ side yesterday following their World Test Championship final win over India but with an Ashes series against England looming the celebrations remained somewhat muted.
Australia eased to victory at the Oval on Sunday to claim the title for the first time and give them momentum heading into the opening Ashes Test.
Chief cricket writer Ben Horne said in The Australian that the team deserved praise for handing India “an old fashioned thrashing”.
“But deep down they know that the main prize is still to be won, because the brutal truth is this fine accomplishment from Pat Cummins’ men will soon be forgotten if Australia doesn’t win the Ashes.”
The performance of bowler Scott Boland, who claimed three second-innings wickets including that of Virat Kohli, caught the eye of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Dean Bilton.
“The single greatest Australian cricket story of the past two years, and a bowler whose knack of conjuring momentary magic inside spells of sustained excellence is shared with the true bowling greats of the game,” wrote Bilton.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Daniel Brettig hailed the team culture instilled by Cummins and the contrast to the attitude before the infamous 2018 ball-tampering episode in South Africa. “Five years since Newlands, Australia’s supremacy has been achieved with an almost complete absence of rancour or sledging,” he wrote.
“The bluff and bluster of past generations has been replaced by the calm precision of Boland, the batting aggression of (Travis) Head, and the broad smile of a very proud Cummins.”