Starc keen to pitch up at every World Cup game

Having not played a one-day match since November, Starc has returned from a pectoral muscle injury to the same devastating form that earned him the Player of the Tournament award in 2015 and now sees him leading the wickets in England with 13 scalps.

Starc keen to pitch up at every World Cup game

(Reuters)





With Australia top of the standings after their 87-run victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday, selectors may be inclined to ease Starc's workload and play it safe with a bowler who has a long record of stress injuries.

But the pace spearhead said it would be wrong to break up a winning combination.

"If I'm fit, I'd like to (play every game)," said the 29-year-old. "Ultimately it's not up to me, but it's a World Cup.

"I think you've got to play your best XI, depending on conditions and the team we play.

"But I definitely won't be putting up my hand to rest."

After bagging four for 55 against Sri Lanka, Starc drew level with Brett Lee's 35 World Cup victims to be joint second on the list of Australia's most prolific bowlers at the global showpiece.

Glenn McGrath, who featured in four World Cups for Australia, holds the record of all bowlers with 71 wickets.

But Starc's astonishing average of 13.51 is a record for bowlers who have sent down at least 500 deliveries at the tournament.

His resurgence follows a disappointing home summer when he struggled for control and wore much of the blame for the test series defeat to Virat Kohli's India.

He came back strongly in the following test series against Sri Lanka and will be important for Australia's hopes of retaining the Ashes in England following the World Cup.

Starc, whose swinging yorker is virtually unplayable when on song, said he was keeping his white ball bowling simple.

"I don't try to have all these different variations, I'm pretty focused on what I want to do," he said.

"What I've added (from the last World Cup) is being able to play different roles. In different conditions ... I might come back to try and take wickets and I might go for more runs, but I'm there to try and make a breakthrough.

"Test cricket is still the pinnacle for me but the fact I’ve kept it pretty simple in terms of my game-plan for white-ball cricket has held me in good stead through World Cups."

Australia next face Bangladesh at Trent Bridge on Thursday.





(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)


Share
3 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world