"He did his job, I thought" - Stuart Clark backs Mitchell Starc despite difficult series against India
Former Australia pacer Stuart Clark has given his backing to Mitchell Starc despite his troubles in the ongoing Test series against India. Clark believes that Starc's job in the team is to bowl fast, and feels that he has done that to good effect over the course of the series.
Mitchell Starc has been limited to just 11 wickets in seven innings so far, and has earned a fair bit of criticism over the course of the series. But Stuart Clark feels that his compatriot took two crucial wickets for Australia on day three of the final Test against India. And has done his job.
"People can be really critical of Mitchell Starc but his job in this team is to provide variety and bowl fast. He did that, I thought. He picked up the crucial wicket of Rahane and he picked up a crucial wicket late in the day," Clark told ABC Sport.
"Out of all the quicks I thought he was the best" - Stuart Clark praises Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood
Stuart Clark also heaped praise on Josh Hazlewood, who took a five-wicket haul for Australia during the first innings of the fourth Test. Hazelwood's scalps included the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal.
"Out of all the quicks I thought he was the best, he hit nice lengths all day, toiled away, toiled away, toiled away, picked up the just desserts at the end of the day," Clark said. "He's one of those guys that is just pretty simple, not a lot can go wrong with his action, bowls a lot of balls in the right spot."
"The ball he got Pujara with was a beautiful delivery, pitched around off stump, seamed away. We know how difficult Pujara is to dislodge."
The Australia bowling-attack as a whole has struggled in the last three Tests against India. But Stuart Clark feels that they complement each other really well.
"Hazlewood's your guy that runs in all day – and Pat Cummins, arguably the best bowler, did what he does best, ball after ball, broke the 100-run partnership when nothing else was happening. Nathan Lyon didn't get a lot out of the wicket, toiled away all day, but he'll come into his own as the match goes on."
Despite Stuart Clark's praise, Australia still find themselves needing to do a lot of work on the final two days if they are to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.