Ashes 2023 | Going to stick to my strengths regardless of my expensive economy rate, proclaims Mitchell Starc

The Ashes 2023 has been living up to the lofty expectations since the very beginning as all three completed matches could have been won by either side till the final day of every contest. The tourists Australia took a handsome 2-0 lead by winning the opening two encounters at Edgbaston and Lord’s, but the hosts kept the five-match series alive by pulling one back at Headingley. They will play next in Manchester, and it will get underway on July 19.

After an ordinary outing at the WTC final against India, Australia dropped Mitchell Starc at Edgbaston and formed a three-member pace attack by adding Scott Boland alongside Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood. However, despite winning there, they decided to bring their ace pacer back into the mix. Starc delivered straightaway, taking 13 wickets from the next two matches with a strike rate of 31.61. Only Cummins, who played a game extra, had more wickets (15) than him in the series, albeit at a strike rate of 42.66.

In a conversation with ESPNCricinfo, Starc talked about his performances and his strength, which helped him to get success at regular intervals. In addition, he explained why he doesn’t want to change his tactics, despite acknowledging that his economy rate is not that great.

"There was a big (focus) on economy rates last time which plenty of guys spoke about throughout the tour, and we all bought into that. And that was something that worked really (well) for us to retain the Ashes then. But) it affected my approach certainly going back to Australia and losing some airspeed. It took away from some of my strengths and some of the roles that I play in our attack," Starc told ESPNCricinfo.

"I wasn't going to change that this time, and if that meant I didn't play, so be it. I was going to stick to my strengths and what I bring to the attack rather than trying to be someone like Josh or someone like Pat , because that's not going to complement the group."