Australia receive major boost, Marsh confirms Starc's availability ahead of England clash
Jun 08, 2024
Barbados [West Indies], June 8 : Australia captain Mitchell Marsh confirmed the availability of star pacer Mitchell Starc, amid an injury scare, for their upcoming clash against their bitter rivals England in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
In their tournament opener against Oman, the left-arm pacer was subbed off by Cameron Green in the 15th over. He just bowled one delivery which was declared as a wide by the umpire.
Right after the delivery, Starc was visibly in pain and physios came out to give him on-field treatment. Despite receiving the treatment, he went off the field. Glenn Maxwell came in to bowl the 15th over.
His fitness was in doubt for the game against England, but Marsh confirmed that Starc suffered from cramps and will be available for their second match.
"Starc is all good. Just a bit of cramp from the other night. So, as I said, there was no unnecessary risk taken and he's fit," Marsh said in the pre-match press conference.
Throughout the tournament, the surface of each venue has been in contrast with the others. Some favour spin while some pitches assist the pacers.
As a result, the playing XI of the teams has varied according to the surface they have to play on.
Optimistic about the quality of their 15-player squad, Marsh feels that Australia can pick the right team according to the situation of the match.
"Yeah, I think with the 15 we've got, we've got a lot of options with our team that we can pick and it will just be conditions-based and we're certainly not set on anything, just we want to pick the right team for winning a certain match and then go from there" he added.
While Australia have the option to put Starc's pace to use, England also boasts a strong bowling unit.
Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Chirs Jordan have the potential to trouble the best batters with their sheer pace.
Marsh was aware of the threat that the English pacers carry and said, "Well, they bowl 150 k's an hour, so that's always a threat. Yeah, they're two quality bowlers and yeah, looking forward to that challenge."
Australia T20 WC squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling Reserves: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short.
