First Test: Australia started their Ashes 2023 campaign on a high note, defeating England by two wickets in the first game at Edgbaston. Before the game, skipper Pat Cummins made the difficult decision to replace their top seamer Mitchell Starc with Josh Hazlewood, who had returned from an injury. Hazlewood was replaced by Scott Boland, who was Australia’s greatest bowler during the game, in the World Test Championship 2023 final against India at the Oval.
As a result, the team’s management had to make the difficult decision to rest their star seamer for the first Test. In response to his omission in the first game, Starc stated that he is accustomed to it now that he is playing in England and that it is nothing new to him.
“I’m used to that now that I’m in England. It’s a squad mindset, just as last time. I’ve been around long enough, and I’ve been dropped enough. Probably the most dropped in this team. It’s nothing new to me, and it won’t be the last time. “It’s never fun because everyone wants to play,” Starc was cited by ESPNCricinfo as saying.
During the 2019 Ashes series in England, Starc was unable to fit into the team’s lineup and was only able to play one game at Old Trafford. However, Starc may be able to play in the second Test, which begins on Wednesday, June 28, at Lord’s, because seamer Scott Boland did not perform well in the first game.
However, a decent layer of grass on the surface on Day 1 may tip the scales in Boland’s advantage. Another chance for Starc to make the roster is if team management decides to rest Hazlewood, who has recently returned from an injury.
During the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Starc took nine wickets in two matches at Lord’s.
Notably, Starc was a member of Australia’s squad for the WTC final 2023, which was placed at the Oval prior to the Ashes. During the Test, the seamer appeared to be out of rhythm and picked up four wickets while leaking runs at a rate of more than five runs per over. Starc reflected on the game, saying that he came in feeling good but lost his rhythm during the game.
“I felt pretty good coming into that game, but my rhythm wasn’t quite there. It’s taken a few weeks to get back into that groove. After that Test final at The Oval, we were all better for the run, and I certainly feel less clunky than I did throughout the game,” Starc continued.
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