It’s obvious that Mitchell Starc will not make a return any time soon, despite the fact that he was brave enough to come out and bat in the inaugural day-night test, but Australia can be thankful that he is not out for any longer than what was initially feared, says Craig McDermott, their bowlers’ mentor. There was revealed in scans that Starc’s foot was not right, fractures only again showing what was evident after the rousing applause he got, after he walked off the field, to not play another part in the Adelaide with the ball.
McDermott said he need not get surgery- maybe only later, but they will see at a later stage- but only rest, clad in clutches for the majority of his recovery, before working his way back into the side after the new year. They are aiming to get him ready for the return series where Australia, and hopefully Starc, will enjoy a trip across the Tasman to New Zealand, after where he will go into the T20i World Cup as one of the biggest threats, even on low and slow subcontinent pitches.
“The good news for us it’s not going to be as long as we thought, he’s in a boot for three weeks and we’ll start working from there,” McDermott told Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Hopefully we can get him up for the New Zealand series and the World T20 where he’s ranked No.1 in the world and be very important for us, in both series really.
“It’s only a rest period at the moment so his heel impingement (surgery) may come at some other later time we’ll have to wait and see.
“That’s a time thing to see how long we can keep it at bay, more than anything else.”
McDermott said Starc had carried the injury with him since his unusually mediocre Ashes, but still lauded the way he has carried his ever-rising fame, and said he will have a big part to play in the future after former attack leader Mitchell Johnsen had retired on the eve of the remarkable day-night test.
The last 12 months he’s done a wonderful job,” he said. “His bowling has improved every game and his stature as bowler is growing in world cricket, now on the Test match side of it which is great to see.”
In the absence of Starc, McDermott added that fellow quick James Pattinson will probably get his chance now, even though he is not a selector, because of the way that he can benefit the attack with his sheer pace. And it seems logical now that Nathan Coulter-Nile is serving a suspension that could keep him out of the start of the West-Indies series, but it has not been known yet whether he will have to pay the price for his mistake.
“He (Pattinson) was pretty close to playing here I would have thought,” said McDermott. “So with him back we’ve got our three quicks and Mitchell Marsh.McDermott does not really want to have to go to guys who does not bowl 140 kph, but Coulter-Nile would be then in the running, if he is not serving the suspension, according to McDermott.
“After that we’ve got Nathan Coulter-Nile, if he can keep his tongue wired shut that would be great, and we’ll be able to get him involved at some stage if he bowls well enough.”
“We wouldn’t want too many more injuries because then we get down past the blokes who are bowling 140 kph plus and that’s the way in which we like to put our bowling attack together for the first three bowlers,” he added.