Ricky Ponting tells Mitchell Starc he must start swinging the ball to guarantee a berth for South Africa tour
Ricky Ponting has said that Mitchell Starc must rediscover his ability to swing the ball if he wants to retain his place in the Australia team for the upcoming tour of South Africa.
Mitchell Starc struggled to swing the ball in the Test series against India, which made his bowling rather ineffective. Ricky Ponting has advised Starc to sort his technique out in the nets before next month's crunch series against the Proteas.
While the of South Africa is yet to be finalised, it is looking increasingly likely that the Australian team will be making the trip next month. With the series set to play a crucial role in Australia's hopes of qualifying for the ICC World Test Championship, they will need Mitchell Starc to step up after a disappointing display against India.
"It all depends on what he does between now and then in the nets, it's as simple as that," Ponting said. "We've been talking about how he just didn't swing the ball. He swung the ball beautifully in the first two Tests but didn't swing it after that."
We also know that there might be someone better to play: Ricky Ponting warns Mitchell Starc about Test spot
Ricky Ponting warned Mitchell Starc that Australia may be forced to look elsewhere if he fails to find his swing between now and the start of the South Africa tour.
"He can do something to prove to the coaches around the squad that he's swinging that new ball. In South Africa, the ball does move and we know how dangerous he is when the ball does swing," said Ponting.
"But we also know that there might be someone better to play if he's not swinging the ball. It's up to him; if he can get some remedial work done to sort his technique out and he starts swinging the ball in the nets, I'd play him for sure," added Ponting.
Australia used the same four bowlers in all four Tests against India. However, with Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith making a case for being selected, the team management could be tempted to make a change for the series against South Africa.