“I hope the groundsmen stick to their guns and prepare the wickets they want,” says Starc. MELBOURNE: As England’s aggressive “Bazball” strategy approaches, Australian paceman Mitchell Starc has advised curators to create bowler-friendly pitches for the Ashes, cautioning against flattening grounds to maximize five-day revenue. In the most recent home summer, Australia overcame India 3-1 on pitches that encouraged both bowlers and batters. Starc expressed his hope that this would continue in the five-test series against England. “I hope the groundsmen stick to their guns and prepare the wickets they want,” Starc said in an interview with Australian media. “If we are worried about five days of revenue then there’s bigger problems at hand.”
In the Sheffield Shield encounter against Victoria on Monday, left-armer Starc claimed four wickets for New South Wales on a soggy Sydney Cricket Ground track. Despite being pleased with his bowling performance in his first first-class game since July, Starc claimed that the wicket would have given the England batsmen the upper hand. “Yes, without a doubt. “Especially if they’re fairly docile wickets like this,” he remarked. “We are aware of how they are attempting to play cricket. Next week, we’ll address that.” After a protracted absence from red-ball cricket, Starc, who recently gave up T20I cricket to prolong his career in tests, claimed that his bowling rhythm had returned and that he was getting ready for the Ashes series opening in Perth on November 21.
“I think the break was a good thing, but I just tend to be someone who continuous bowling keeps in rhythm,” stated the 35-year-old. “I’ve just been speaking to (head coach) Ronnie (Andrew McDonald) then, I think I’ve sorted it out and now it’s just getting the engine going again.”
