The Day and Night Test at the Gabba turned out to be an exhilarating game of cricket as the Australians held their nerve to overcome Pakistan in a tense run-chase. It was Pakistan’s unpredictable nature as a Test side that came to the fore with middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq notching up a resilient ton in the fourth innings. After such a thrilling game, one thing is for certain, that the stakes for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne will be quite high.
Ahead of the game, Australia’s pace spearhead Mitchell Starc spoke to the press and opened up about his team’s plans. The fiery New South Wales pacer mentioned that participating in the Boxing Day Test is a great pleasure as the game against Pakistan will be his first ever Boxing Day Test.
“There’s a few of us in the rooms that are yet to play one,” Starc said. “Personally, as a kid growing up watching the Boxing Day Test, it’s always been a dream of mine to play in front of a full house at the MCG on Boxing Day. If I get the chance this week I’ll tick that one off and it’ll be a fantastic experience to walk out and sing that anthem. To play a Boxing Day Test will be pretty special.”
Opening up about the workload and the team combination, Starc said, “Whether we’ve got three quicks and a spinner or three quicks, an allrounder and a spinner, there’s going to be times when we have high workloads and times when we don’t.” “So I guess it comes back to us and making sure we can take ten wickets quicker than 130 overs, and then no one’s asking that question. Whichever way they go this week, we’ll prepare to bowl a lot of overs if we need, and if not, perfect.”
Starc was vocal in backing under-performing youngster Nic Maddinson for a good show at MCG. “I definitely think ‘Maddo’ should get another chance. In the end it’s up to the selectors, but continued cricket at this level can only help him. It would be a great opportunity for him on Boxing Day after we’ve had a couple of wins together as a unit, so it would be nice to stick together,” concluded Starc.