Coach Andrew McDonald says the wicket-taking capacity of Starc is crucial for the Ashes pace attack
Australia coach Andrew McDonald said that the wicket-taking ability of Mitchell Starc is critical to the balance of Australia's pace attack in the upcoming Ashes series against England.
Starc took four wickets but averaged 5.34 runs per over, the most expensive performance in his 78-Test career, at The Oval in London, where Australia won by 209 runs, with Scott Boland impressing most of the Australian seamers.
While Pat Cummins remains captain, a fit-again Josh Hazlewood would compete with Starc and Boland for the remaining two spots in Australia's pace attack for the first Ashes Test later this week. McDonald said that Starc was not the only bowler who went for runs against India and that the 33-year-old helped their pace attack by providing balance.
Before Australia moved to Edgbaston, McDonald said: "Most of our bowlers went above what they'd usually go, and we've just got to get our heads around the fact that the tempo will be slightly different. Mitch went at it a bit more than he generally does, but they complement each other really, really well. His wicket-taking ability is second-to-none. We've got to weigh all that up when we make decisions."