The last time Mitchell Starc had visited Eden Park, his career-best figures of 6 for 28 had taken Australia agonisingly close to defending a paltry 151 in World Cup 2015. Since then, the left-arm pacer has gone from strength to strength and will be looking to deliver a similar performance when Australia take on New Zealand in the first of the three-match Chappell-Hadlee series on Monday (January 30).
However, one thing that has changed for the bowler is his devastating swing that he showcased in the memorable World Cup encounter. Ever since returning from the long-term injury layoff, the Australian pace spearhead has struggled to find back his swing. And speaking on the eve of the first match, he said that he along with bowling coach David Saker have still not found out the reason behind it.
“It’s interesting. I along with David Saker, the bowling coach, we’ve looked at a lot of footage and my action hasn’t changed at all,” Starc said. “So it’s probably an indication of the cricket balls we’re using this summer, but at the same time, it’s a completely different ball we’re going over to India with, the SG.
Starc would be desperately hoping that he finds back his ability to swing during the New Zealand tour as he is set to embark on the tough tour of India where his team will play four Tests against the World number one team.
“I think reverse swing is going to play a much bigger part than natural swing over there, as we’ve seen in the last few series that we’ve gone to India. So it’s key to try and get that ball swinging as much as we can naturally up front, it doesn’t generally swing for too many overs, then trying to get that ball to go reverse while it’s still relatively hard. They’re things we’re starting to talk about now as a group,” he said.
Starc, whose career has been marred with injuries, also said that he is trying to find the form he was in 12 months ago before suffering the injuries.
“It’s been up and down over the last six months,” he said. “Probably still haven’t been where I hope to be in terms of consistency in my bowling as opposed to where it was 12 months ago before I broke down, but looking back to Sri Lanka [where he took 24 wickets in three Tests], that’s a blueprint I’d like to take into India, the way I approached my bowling there and the sorts of plans we talked about in those conditions.
“So it’s something I can call upon over the next couple of months when we look forward to that challenge. But there’s still a lot I can improve on over the last six months. I think the way I’ve been able to manage my body through the training accident a few months ago, it’s been pleasing to get through six Test matches this summer, it’s nice to do that for the first time,” he added.