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Mitchell Starc shines brightest among the new generation of stars Mitchell Starc shines brightest among the new generation of stars
(about 11 hours later)
KING OF THE SWINGERSKING OF THE SWINGERS
First, a yorker. Just like Mitchell Starc had planned when he was talking tactics with his bowling coach, Craig McDermott. It came out well, 90mph, pitching in line with off stump, swinging in. Brendon McCullum threw a drive at it, and was beaten on the inside. The ball slid by just wide of the stumps. Moments earlier, while McCullum was marking his guard, Brad Haddin had asked him: “Are you still going to have a crack today?” McCullum turned, told him: “Too right I am.” In that mood, McCullum looks to play what he calls his “money shots”. He wants to get inside the ball, hit it “through and over point and cover”. He says he is “hoping the bowler will make a mistake” so he can “pick up a few cheap runs”. Starc knew that, knew too that if he did err, and McCullum did connect a couple of times, Australia would soon lose control of the early overs, and possibly of the innings too. This contest wouldn’t settle the World Cup final, but it would shape it.First, a yorker. Just like Mitchell Starc had planned when he was talking tactics with his bowling coach, Craig McDermott. It came out well, 90mph, pitching in line with off stump, swinging in. Brendon McCullum threw a drive at it, and was beaten on the inside. The ball slid by just wide of the stumps. Moments earlier, while McCullum was marking his guard, Brad Haddin had asked him: “Are you still going to have a crack today?” McCullum turned, told him: “Too right I am.” In that mood, McCullum looks to play what he calls his “money shots”. He wants to get inside the ball, hit it “through and over point and cover”. He says he is “hoping the bowler will make a mistake” so he can “pick up a few cheap runs”. Starc knew that, knew too that if he did err, and McCullum did connect a couple of times, Australia would soon lose control of the early overs, and possibly of the innings too. This contest wouldn’t settle the World Cup final, but it would shape it.
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A month earlier, Australia played New Zealand in Auckland during the pool stages. That day, New Zealand were chasing 151. McCullum made fifty, and Starc took six for 28, the best figures of his career. But McCullum won their game within the game. He scored 16 off the nine balls Starc bowled at him. And New Zealand won by a single wicket. Another of the runs Starc conceded was a wide, fired down the off-side when McCullum stepped down the pitch to attack his very first delivery of the match. Starc saw him coming, panicked, let the delivery slip as he bowled it.A month earlier, Australia played New Zealand in Auckland during the pool stages. That day, New Zealand were chasing 151. McCullum made fifty, and Starc took six for 28, the best figures of his career. But McCullum won their game within the game. He scored 16 off the nine balls Starc bowled at him. And New Zealand won by a single wicket. Another of the runs Starc conceded was a wide, fired down the off-side when McCullum stepped down the pitch to attack his very first delivery of the match. Starc saw him coming, panicked, let the delivery slip as he bowled it.
Four weeks later, McCullum did it again. He took two quick strides towards Starc’s second delivery. McCullum’s mind is so well-attuned to what his body can do in that tiny little stretch of time between the delivery stride and the release that he plays games with the bowler. For a time he tried coming down the pitch, then stopping to stand and wait, “to put pressure on their lengths”. When the bowlers got wise, he started working on coming late, looking to “use my forward momentum to hit back over the top”. Which is what he did this time. Or tried to do. Again, Starc saw him coming. And he managed to switch the angle of his wrist just enough to ensure that the ball followed McCullum, landed down by his feet, and beat him again.Four weeks later, McCullum did it again. He took two quick strides towards Starc’s second delivery. McCullum’s mind is so well-attuned to what his body can do in that tiny little stretch of time between the delivery stride and the release that he plays games with the bowler. For a time he tried coming down the pitch, then stopping to stand and wait, “to put pressure on their lengths”. When the bowlers got wise, he started working on coming late, looking to “use my forward momentum to hit back over the top”. Which is what he did this time. Or tried to do. Again, Starc saw him coming. And he managed to switch the angle of his wrist just enough to ensure that the ball followed McCullum, landed down by his feet, and beat him again.
Then the third delivery. Another yorker travelling a little straighter, moving a little quicker, landing a little fuller. 93mph. It curved back in towards the stumps. McCullum was playing the wrong line at the wrong time. When the ball reached him he knew he was done for. His bat was sailing through into a follow-through even as the ball was ricocheting away from his off-stump and his off bail was flying into the air. And when he had turned his head to check what he already knew, Starc had his right arm up, and was running off to celebrate. New Zealand were one for one, and as the playwright put it, the end was in the beginning.Then the third delivery. Another yorker travelling a little straighter, moving a little quicker, landing a little fuller. 93mph. It curved back in towards the stumps. McCullum was playing the wrong line at the wrong time. When the ball reached him he knew he was done for. His bat was sailing through into a follow-through even as the ball was ricocheting away from his off-stump and his off bail was flying into the air. And when he had turned his head to check what he already knew, Starc had his right arm up, and was running off to celebrate. New Zealand were one for one, and as the playwright put it, the end was in the beginning.
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Every World Cup is a watershed, each one marks the end for one set of players, and the beginning for another. This time around, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Michael Clarke, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, and Dan Vettori all played their last ODIs. And as is the way, as one generation of great players stepped back, another, younger set stepped up. If there’s no way to know for sure whether they will one day match or surpass the feats of those came before them, they show, at least, that they have the talent and will to do so. And that twinge fans feel at seeing one group go is soothed by the sight of another arriving. Steve Smith, who scored 95, 72, 65, 105, and 56 not out in his five innings after that early defeat to New Zealand, was one. During his 112-run stand with Clarke during the final, it felt like Australia’s past and future had met in the present, that one player was passing his responsibilities on, and the other accepting the load. But good as Smith was, and Trent Boult too, it was Starc who shone brightest among the young bunch, who took the tightest grip on the opportunity in front of him.Every World Cup is a watershed, each one marks the end for one set of players, and the beginning for another. This time around, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Michael Clarke, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, and Dan Vettori all played their last ODIs. And as is the way, as one generation of great players stepped back, another, younger set stepped up. If there’s no way to know for sure whether they will one day match or surpass the feats of those came before them, they show, at least, that they have the talent and will to do so. And that twinge fans feel at seeing one group go is soothed by the sight of another arriving. Steve Smith, who scored 95, 72, 65, 105, and 56 not out in his five innings after that early defeat to New Zealand, was one. During his 112-run stand with Clarke during the final, it felt like Australia’s past and future had met in the present, that one player was passing his responsibilities on, and the other accepting the load. But good as Smith was, and Trent Boult too, it was Starc who shone brightest among the young bunch, who took the tightest grip on the opportunity in front of him.
Starc finished the World Cup as the No1 ranked bowler in ODI cricket, and the player of the tournament, with 22 wickets at an average of 10.18, a strike rate of 17.4, and an economy of 3.5. No bowler has ever had a better World Cup. No bowler, in fact, has come close to matching those figures. Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait, and Muttiah Muralitharan all took more wickets in 2007, but then they played more games too, 11, as opposed to Starc’s eight, and their wickets were both a lot more expensive and a lot less frequent. Likewise Chaminda Vaas in 2003. To find the last time the leading wicket-taker in the tournament finished with such a low average and strike rate, you have to go back to 1975 when Gary Gilmour took 11 wickets at 5.6 each in the two games he played.Starc finished the World Cup as the No1 ranked bowler in ODI cricket, and the player of the tournament, with 22 wickets at an average of 10.18, a strike rate of 17.4, and an economy of 3.5. No bowler has ever had a better World Cup. No bowler, in fact, has come close to matching those figures. Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait, and Muttiah Muralitharan all took more wickets in 2007, but then they played more games too, 11, as opposed to Starc’s eight, and their wickets were both a lot more expensive and a lot less frequent. Likewise Chaminda Vaas in 2003. To find the last time the leading wicket-taker in the tournament finished with such a low average and strike rate, you have to go back to 1975 when Gary Gilmour took 11 wickets at 5.6 each in the two games he played.
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All this in a World Cup shaped by the batsmen, where many more runs were scored per over, and many more centuries hit per match, than in any previous edition of the tournament. Odd thing was that with so many sides so well stacked with batting, and the odds weighted by the fielding restrictions, the advantage lay with the teams blessed with the best bowlers. Starc had a telling hand in every game he played, from his six for 28 against New Zealand; his two for 31 on a flat pitch against Sri Lanka, when his overs cost 3.48 each while not one of the 11 other bowlers that day managed to keep their economy rate below 5.33; his four for 14 against Scotland, when he top-and-tailed the innings; his two for 28 against India, when he was, again, by far the cheapest of the bowlers; to the final, where his duel with McCullum in the opening over set the tone for everything that followed.All this in a World Cup shaped by the batsmen, where many more runs were scored per over, and many more centuries hit per match, than in any previous edition of the tournament. Odd thing was that with so many sides so well stacked with batting, and the odds weighted by the fielding restrictions, the advantage lay with the teams blessed with the best bowlers. Starc had a telling hand in every game he played, from his six for 28 against New Zealand; his two for 31 on a flat pitch against Sri Lanka, when his overs cost 3.48 each while not one of the 11 other bowlers that day managed to keep their economy rate below 5.33; his four for 14 against Scotland, when he top-and-tailed the innings; his two for 28 against India, when he was, again, by far the cheapest of the bowlers; to the final, where his duel with McCullum in the opening over set the tone for everything that followed.
The task for Starc now is to carry that form over into Test cricket. Australia have just named their squad for their upcoming tours of the West Indies and England. Of course he is in it, and of course he will play. His performances in the five-day game have been a little patchy so far. But then, as Mitchell Johnson has pointed out, Starc hasn’t been given a steady run in the side since he made his debut in 2011. He’s earned that now. He certainly has the pace, skill and control to succeed. And more importantly, those three balls he bowled to McCullum, in front of one of the largest crowds ever to assemble at a cricket ground, suggest he has the confidence and temperament to do so too. If he clicks, the rest of the world will have to watch out.The task for Starc now is to carry that form over into Test cricket. Australia have just named their squad for their upcoming tours of the West Indies and England. Of course he is in it, and of course he will play. His performances in the five-day game have been a little patchy so far. But then, as Mitchell Johnson has pointed out, Starc hasn’t been given a steady run in the side since he made his debut in 2011. He’s earned that now. He certainly has the pace, skill and control to succeed. And more importantly, those three balls he bowled to McCullum, in front of one of the largest crowds ever to assemble at a cricket ground, suggest he has the confidence and temperament to do so too. If he clicks, the rest of the world will have to watch out.
• This is an extract taken from the Spin, the Guardian’s weekly cricket email. To subscribe, just visit this page, find ‘The Spin’ and follow the instructions.• This is an extract taken from the Spin, the Guardian’s weekly cricket email. To subscribe, just visit this page, find ‘The Spin’ and follow the instructions.