The experience void in Australia's Test team has widened to epic proportions in the wake of Mitchell Johnson's retirement, but bowling coach Craig McDermott is confident Mitchell Starc is perfectly primed to take over as the nation's spearhead.
Johnson will bring his glittering international career to a close on Tuesday when the second Test against New Zealand wraps up at the WACA Ground.
His departure comes hot on the heels of the recent retirements of Ryan Harris, Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin, stripping the team of a combined 364 Tests worth of experience.
At his best, Johnson was the most lethal bowler in world cricket.
But Starc showed he could follow in those footsteps by unleashing a blistering spell at the WACA Ground on Sunday, with the 25-year-old reaching speeds of 160.4km/h on a flat deck.
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McDermott felt Starc's emergence meant Australia was well placed to cover Johnson's departure.
"We saw the changing of the guard here two days ago, with Mitchell Starc bowling consistently 150-odd kilometres an hour," McDermott said on Tuesday.
"It has taken some time.
"He has brought that control and that speed through the shorter format of the game.
"He has now proven he can do that on a very docile wicket, which is more than heartening for us as a team and certainly probably for Mitchell to give him some really good confidence going forward.
"I look forward to watching him over the next 10 years."
With Johnson no longer in calculations for next week's day-night Test against NZ in Adelaide, workhorse Peter Siddle is in the box seat to earn a recall.
And McDermott says injury-plagued speedster James Pattinson might also come into calculations after making a successful return from his latest back issue.
"Patto's one of the best bowlers in the country," McDermott said.
"If you are going to go the technical side, he has got enough numbers up there to play Test cricket."
The absence of Clarke, Rogers, Watson, and Haddin has been barely felt during the run-fest against NZ.
Joe Burns has formed a strong partnership with David Warner at the top of the order, while 36-year-old late bloomer Adam Voges and Usman Khawaja have scored bulk runs.
But the team is very light on for experience - a factor that could prove crucial when they come up against world cricket's toughest assignments, like away Test series against India, South Africa, and England.
In the short term, Khawaja's hamstring injury will further Test Australia's depth, with either Cameron Bancroft, Shaun Marsh, or Michael Klinger set to earn a call-up for the third Test against NZ.
TEST EXPERIENCE LOST IN RECENT MONTHS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN SIDE
*Michael Clarke: 115 Tests
*Mitchell Johnson: 72 Tests
*Brad Haddin: 66 Tests
*Shane Watson: 59 Tests
*Chris Rogers: 25 Tests
*Ryan Harris: 27 Tests
