Men’s ODI WC: Bowling first on some wickets with the new ball has been the hardest time to bowl, admits Starc

Kolkata : Australia's left-arm fast-bowler Mitchell Starc admitted that bowling first on some wickets with the new ball has been the hardest time to bowl in the ongoing 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Starc was the leading wicket taker in the last two editions of Men’s ODI World Cup. But in the ongoing tournament, he was far from his best, taking only 10 wickets at an average of 43.90 and at an economy rate of 6.55.

"Certainly bowling first on particular wickets, the new ball, with two fielders out, has almost sometimes been the hardest time to bowl. We get a bit of an understanding of the wickets whilst the game goes on and whether they slow up or the ball gets softer."

"That's not a sob story – that's the nature of one-day cricket, and at the minute you've got two brand new balls on flat wickets. I think that's the nature of the World Cup. If you look at the runs scored, or certainly the centuries scored as opposed to five-wicket (hauls) taken, the ratio is heavily skewed."

"But that's the nature of the World Cup, certainly on the nature of the wickets over here. Bowlers just have to find a way and get used to it," Starc was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

Moreover, with no reverse swing, it has also decreased Starc’s ineffectiveness as a death-overs bowler and he’s now wishing to make an impact in the knockouts. "There's a lot of contributing factors. The wickets have certainly been two very different wickets, what gets through the day and through the night."

"Speed is not the be-all and end-all over here in India as well. How you go about that tactically, and whether it's variations or what time you bowl through a game, or whether you win or lose a toss (can affect potency)."

"I certainly haven't been at the level that I would have liked. I certainly take some (responsibility) on myself there that, I'm not to the same level as the last two World Cups anyway. But now there's a chance at the pointy end to make the biggest impact," he added.

Starc also revealed that he’s dealing with niggles happening from this year’s Ashes series in England, and that played a part in him being rested from Australia’s dead-rubber final group match against Bangladesh at Pune on Saturday.

"I didn't have much of a say in the decision. I've carried a few things from the Ashes and it was a chance to give them an extra chance (to recover) before the semi-finals. If I only played when I was 100 per cent, I would have probably played 10 games. All bowlers around the world deal with stuff, we just don’t have to talk about it like batters do."