Mitchell Starc is one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket and arguably the best. Starc played well in his comeback match and made a strong statement before the oldest rivalry of cricket, The Ashes. Starc did not make much impact in the first innings of the Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in the first innings. The left-arm fast bowler took 2 wickets in the first innings and that too of tailenders as they were bundled out for 92 by New South Wales. It was the second innings in which Starc bowled his trademark deliveries with sheer pace and made batsmen run for cover.
The first wicket, opener Johnathan Dalton was the first victim of Starc in second innings. Dalton had scored 64 runs and shared a crucial partnership with Jake Weatherald. Starc came round the wicket to him and pitched the ball up. Dalton went for a cover drive but all he could manage was an edge to the wicketkeeper Peter Nevill.
The second wicket, Travis Head got out for a golden duck as Starc bowled a fierce inswinger. There was a huge gap between Head’s bat and pads as the ball went through and hit the wickets.
Third wicket, Jake Lehmann, the son of Australian coach Darren Lehmann. Starc once again bowled an inswinger, this time he pushed back the length by a bit. The ball went through Lehmann Junior’s defence and hit the stumps.
The fourth wicket, Joe Mennie was sent higher up the order. It did not make much difference though. Mennie edged the ball to the second slip but it bounced off his palm. The fielder in gully, Kurtis Patterson went for it and took an amazing catch on the rebound in the slips.
Here’s the video of Starc’s ferocious display of World-Class fast bowling :
Mitchell Starc ripped through the Redbacks to claim career-best figures of 8-73 in the #SheffieldShield opener: https://t.co/I7peBUcfTq pic.twitter.com/LgScO6GE1Y
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) October 29, 2017
The fifth wicket, Starc bowled a yorker to Tom Cooper who tried to defend it with a straight bat but ended up edging it to skipper Steven Smith at second slip.
Sixth wicket, Another toe-crushing yorker from Starc. This time to Alex Carry who could not even get bat on the ball as it hit his boots. Carry was trapped in front of the stumps as he became the sixth victim to Starc’s fiery spell.
Seventh wicket, Australian teammate Adam Zampa was bamboozled by a low full toss by Starc coming round the wicket. The ball went through his defence and Starc dismantled the stumps once again.
The eighth wicket, Starc finished South Australia’s second innings by bowling a lightning fast yorker. Daniel Worrall was far from getting his bat down in time. Worrall became the eighth victim of Starc’s raw pace.
As a result, South Australia bundled out for 206 in the first innings and gave a target of 57 to New South Wales who chased it down and won the match by 6 wickets. The 27-year-old has been out of the Australian side owing to his injury. He missed the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017, ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and the recent ODI and Test series. His form is crucial as Australia gear up for Ashes 2017-18.
