Mitchell Starc’s horror selection run in England has been laid bare after he was dropped for the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
Starc emerged as the unlucky man of Australia’s attack on Friday, squeezed out by Scott Boland’s undeniable form and a fit-again Josh Hazlewood.
No matter who Australia left out for the first Test would have every right to feel aggrieved, but Starc must be wondering what more he must do to play an Ashes Test in England.
The left-armer has been a key member of Australia’s attack for the past four years, playing every Test he has been available for since the end of the last away Ashes.
Outside of England, Starc has not been dropped for a Test match since the 2014 Boxing Day Test against India.
Otherwise, he has played all 67 he has been fit for.
In England, though, he was picked only once in the five-Test 2019 Ashes and has now been overlooked to start this series.
Captain Pat Cummins admitted it was a hard call for Australia’s selectors to make, and indicated he still expected the quicks to be rotated through the five Tests.
“Tough call, especially on Mitchy,” Cummins said after losing the toss, which saw England opt to bat first.
“I thought he was very impressive last week (in the Test Championship final) but there’s a squad mentality.
‘Good problem to have’
“It’s a good problem to have, having someone like Josh Hazlewood coming in.
“You assess week by week, At least this has a week off between games – the next two blocs are pretty tight together.”
Starc had been Australia’s most expensive bowler against India at The Oval last week, but his rising bouncer to dismiss Virat Kohli in the first innings showed his threat.
Coach Andrew McDonald had defended Starc’s economy rate of 5.34 an over after the match, adamant the left-armer’s aggressive nature brought a crucial balance to Australia’s attack.
It’s hard to know what difference that balance would have made on Friday, given Australia walked away relatively happy with England’s 8(dec)-393.
Scott Boland was expensive with his 1-86 but took the big wicket of Zak Crawley on 61 before lunch, while Josh Hazlewood impressed with 2-61 on return from injury after four Tests in two years.
Hazlewood was also happy with how his body had emerged from his first day back.
“Not having to bowl too many in the first day, 15 overs is probably the perfectly nice hit out,” he said.
“Got some miles in the legs, and it’s exciting to be back.”
-AAP
