Mitchell Starc ready to play Cricket again
May 26, 2016 at 4:37 PM
After being sidelined for six months due to an ankle injury, Australian speedster Mitchell Starc is raring to play cricket. Starc has been included in the 15-man squad selected for the tri-series in West Indies, which also involves South Africa.
“It’s been a long time coming. The feet has been great, there’s no pain in the ankle or the foot,” Starc said in Sydney today.
“I’ve been really happy with it, it’s come along really well. “I’ve had a good three or four months in the gym to get a bit of size back on, and I’m feeling really good; fit, strong and ready to play some cricket.”
Starc was a part of the practice camp at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane last week, where Test teammate Joe Burns declared him a “scary” prospect to face.
“It’s been coming out pretty well up in Brisbane the last couple of weeks so I’m excited to see what comes about. It feels like it’s in a good place,” Starc confirmed.
Starc also said that he is excited to see how his comeback pans out.
“I’m not sure if I’ll be back up to top speed straight away, it might take a couple of games as it normally does for fast bowlers coming back, but I’m excited to see how it comes out on the gun.”
Carrying the injury for a while, Starc said that the injury was a result of over-usage of his body.
“Having that ankle issue through the Ashes from the first Test probably played a big part in why my foot broke,” Starc said. “I had surgery to take the bone out of the back of the ankle, clean it up, take a few spurs out.
“It was more of an over-use issue and rather than a technical issue, so I’m back to bowling what I’ve been doing the past few years and ready to pick up where I left off in November,” he added.
Australia will be having a pretty busy schedule ahead as after the tri-series they are scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka and South Africa, then they host the South Africa and Pakistan for a full-fledged series. The year will end with them playing limited-overs cricket against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
With such a busy schedule ahead, Starc said that he is confident in the team management’s ability to handle the players well. He also expressed his excitement to play his first competitive game in months.
“I’m sure they’ll manage everyone with how the body is going. I just want to get through this first tour and play some cricket again after six months out.
“It’s seven games if we make the final and whether I play all seven or they talk to me about how it’s going, that sort of thing, we’ve got a good squad of cricketers and some good fast bowlers.”
Australia will open the tri-series with a match against the hosts in Guyana on June 5.