Mitchell Starc finds his soulmate in the form of speed
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Mitchell Starc is on course to end the year with a bowling average under 20 and a strike rate south of 40. Should he do it, 2019 would statistically be the best calendar year of his Test career, a thought that seemed implausible during the turn of the year.
If by the end of 2018, there were people doubting Mitchell Starcās place in the Australian team, a month into 2019 - where he registered figures of 52-2-220-3 playing a Test each versus India and Sri Lanka - the Australian general public was certain that Starc had to be dropped from the team. In the second of the two aforementioned Tests, which was against Sri Lanka under lights in Brisbane, Starc registered figures of 26-2-97-2; Not bad by any means, but the only problem was that Sri Lanka had scored a total of 283 runs (144 & 139) in the match, meaning the left-armer himself accounted for 34% of the total runs Australia conceded in the match.Ā
In a desperate attempt to rediscover a trait of his that he cherished and treasured - swing - Starc started losing sight and drifted further away from the one attribute that made him stand out from the rest of the pack: pace. Heād lost his radar, his lines and lengths were more awry than the Mitchell Johnson that turned up at the MCG in the 2010 Ashes and more often than not, he ended up undoing all the good work that was being done by both Cummins and Hazlewood. He was no more the bowler that batsmen feared; he was the bowler that batsmen - even the ones who were low on confidence - wanted to face. Starcās time was running out and he had a choice to make.
And in Canberra in the second Test versus the Lankans, make a choice he did, with his Test career literally hanging by a thread. The path he opted to take was pace. Starc bowled fast like there was no tomorrow, showing complete neglect to everything - that was said, spoken, written and suggested. He literally breathed fire: there was a spell in the second innings of the Lankan innings where he clocked an average speed close to 152. The approach yielded him match figures of 10/100 and that is where he managed to turn his year, and perhaps his career, around.Ā
When Starc took the shining pink cherry on the eve of Day 2 under lights at the spectacular-looking Optus Stadium, it wasnāt his swing that troubled New Zealand nor was it his probing line and length; it was his pace. After keeping Jeet Raval on his toes with his first three deliveries, almost giving away the impression of warming up, and after greeting Latham with one that whizzed past his shoulders, Starc struck gold on just his fifth delivery. He directed an extremely quick one - the quickest of that particular over - towards Lathamās hips, around middle and leg, which, in turn, beat the batsman for pace and took the leading edge.
Starcās aggression from the word go - which was epitomized by his second delivery to Ross Taylor which struck the batsman bang on the shoulder - rattled the Kiwis and instantly put them on the backfoot. Despite the early loss of Hazlewood, he stayed true to his approach, not deviating from it for even a little while, continued to ask questions of the batsmen by peppering them with pace and making them uncomfortable, and reaped rewards for the same. In short, Starc tasted success the Starc way, an aspect of his game that heād completely forgotten not too long ago.Ā
Mitchell Starc in the 5 Tests prior to CanberraĀ Ā© ESPNCricinfo
Ā Mitchell Starc after reverting back to pace (since Canberra)Ā Ā© ESPNCricinfoThe numbers donāt lie, and it is unsurprising that Starc has tasted success, unimaginable success, after the flick of the switch mid-way through the Sri Lanka series, one where he decided to go back to what he knows best - bowl fast. Over the course of the last 18 months, heād well and truly lost the āspearheadā tag to his good mate Pat Cummins but slowly but steadily, Starc is clawing back the title, one youād associate with him due to his sheer ferocity.Ā Ā
In a world where people yearn to ābelongā, Starc, in an attempt to do the same, lost himself trying to emulate others and had to hit rock-bottom to come to the realization that maybe, after all, he isnāt wired to be like the other 99%. āF*** it, bowl fastā is what the wristband he wore versus Pakistan read and maybe thatās all he needs to succeed: timely self-reminders to keep bowling fast.
