Starc geared up for the Ashes, hopes to gain pace

Mitchell Starc has been an important bowler for Australia, mostly with the new-ball. He returned to Australia’s Test squad in the month of November for the home series against South Africa. He constantly troubled the Proteas batsmen with his extreme pace and bounce, particularly at WACA, Perth. But he had a pain in his ankle during the Test match at Mohali. He soon returned home for the operation and now he declared that he is fit for the Ashes Series in England. Yet again, Starc will hold the key for Australia in Ashes as the conditions prevailing in England would ideally suit a bowler like Mitchell Starc.

“The spur on the inside didn’t bother me much; that’s why we were talking about getting through hopefully 12 months [without surgery],” Starc told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday. “But we’d found one on the outside that had broken off, that was the one that bothered me most in India, and I didn’t know about that one until I got back to Australia. That Test in Mohali it was pretty painful… so with the timeline that we needed to be right for the Ashes, we needed to come home and get it done.

“I’ve been back in the gym, doing my fitness stuff for three weeks now, so I’m feeling good. I’ve got more movement in my ankle now than I did after the first surgery three or four years ago. It could work in my favour, maybe an extra yard or two of pace if I’m lucky. But the pain’s gone now so that’s the main thing, [I've had] a few months of bowling through pain and a few injections but I’m past that and ready to hit the ground running.”

His partner Clint McKay is expected to be fully fit for the Ashes Series. McKay and Starc have been selected for the Champions Trophy that precedes the Ashes. This provides a perfect platform for Starc and McKay to get used to the conditions in England. But George Bailey has said that the Australians have developed enough depth over summer to ease any concerns.

“I think they’ve both played enough cricket now to know what they can and can’t do,” Bailey said of Starc and McKay. “One of the pleasing things for me coming to the back end of the summer was that it felt like we were starting to have a stronger squad, or a stronger team balance. One of the keys for this sort of tournament is making sure that you’re not necessarily relying on one or two, but that on any given day, any one of your squad can step in and do a really important role for you.”

Australia have won two Champions Trophy on the trot. Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson have played in the tournament before. The rest of the team is certainly talented. But Bailey believes that the selected team can defend the title. “It is a big tournament,” Bailey said. “We’ve won it twice. It’s a big goal for us and a point to prove, that we’re back on track with our one-day cricket and see if we can win it for the third time. I think we’ve had enough wake-up calls over the last 12 to 15 months to know that we’re not a powerhouse in one-day cricket any more.

“I still think we can be the best side in the world at one-day cricket but certainly not by the margin it was two, three or four years ago. I don’t think there’s any pressure about being defending champions. The longer-term goal for us is to make sure we play more consistent cricket.”