'Last year was particularly tough on and off the field', says Mitchell Starc

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc won the Allan Border medal for the first time in his career, and the announcement was made at the Cricket Australia awards on Saturday, January 29. The Australian speedster tasted a double delight as he also won the award for men's ODI player of the year.

Starc was widely criticized for his bowling tactics after his poor outing against India in the 2020-2021 Test series at home, and the Australian pacer walked through the lean patch of his career. The 31-year-old also lost his father to cancer during the toughest phase of his cricket career. Starc had a disappointing time in the T20 World Cup 2021 final despite Australia winning the tournament. The Australian speedster leaked 60 runs off his four overs, without scalping a wicket.

However, Starc clinched  43 wickets across all formats in the 12 months and 19 of those scalps were taken in the Ashes 2021-22 against England. Starc ended the Ashes 2021-2022 on a high note as he played a crucial role in Australia 4-0 series victory against England. 

Meanwhile, Starc stated that the last year was particularly tough on and off the field for him. The Australian pacer further revealed that there was a stage when he did not want to play cricket at all.

"Obviously last year was particularly tough on and off the field. I probably didn't play the cricket I wanted to and, at certain stages, I probably didn't want to play cricket at all," Starc was quoted as saying by foxsports.com.au. 

Starc reckoned that he does not pay too much attention to the criticisms on him, and that has helped him to concentrate on the game. The Australian pacer further added that what matters to him is the opinion of his family and friends. Starc's wife, Alyssa Healy won the award for women's ODI player of the year.

"I made it a key point of mine to not pay too much attention to, I guess, opinions outside of my circle of trust if you like, which I did a few years ago. And I think that's kept me in a pretty level space through the last few years with either not playing the cricket I wanted to, or certainly challenges off the field.

"I've got a wife who plays at the highest level and a couple of my closest mates who play international cricket, so I've got a pretty good sounding board in that regard," Starc said.