Ashes: ‘Going to stick to my strengths rather than trying to be like Cummins and Hazlewood’, says Mitchell Starc

London: Mitchell Starc has expressed his intention to rely on his own strengths throughout the ongoing Ashes 2023 series, rather than attempting to emulate the approach of players like Pat Cummins and altering his own methods.

The 33-year-old took six scalps at Lord’s to lead Australia to a 43-run win. He backed it up with seven wickets in the third Test at Headingley, including a fifer in the second innings.

In Ashes 2019, Starc was mainly overlooked for his high economy rate. He had appeared only at Manchester, where the teams head next in this series, and claimed four wickets in the victory at Old Trafford, but he felt it had a detrimental impact on his game that lingered when he returned home.

“There was a big (focus) on economy rates last time which plenty of guys spoke about throughout the tour, and we all bought into that. And that was something that worked really well for us to retain the Ashes then. But it affected my approach certainly going back to Australia and losing some airspeed. It took away from some of my strengths and some of the role that I play in our attack,” Starc was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“I wasn’t going to change that this time, and if that meant I didn’t play, so be it. I was going to stick to my strengths and what I bring to the attack rather than trying to be someone like Josh Hazlewood or someone like Pat Cummins, because that’s not going to complement the group,” he added.

Starc Australia’s best bowler in their three-wicket loss at Headingley on Sunday, claiming the figures of 5-78. He removed Joe Root, Harry Brook and, crucially, Ben Stokes in the first over of the third day, before producing his trademark inswingers to dismantle Ollie Pope’s stumps in the second.

The 33-year-old also added a wobble seam delivery to his arsenal, which was not part of his armoury in 2019, and credited Cummins and Hazlewood for helping him develop his bowling.

“I’ve finally listened to Pat and Josh, I guess. They’re two fantastic exponents of the wobble seam or whatever you want to call it. Having spoken to them over the last few years and being able to add that string to my bow is something that’s helped develop my bowling, and not just be someone who can only swing it or bowl fast,” said Starc.

“I’ve now got another option to try to beat the bat both ways, or like [Sunday] it can be a wicket-taking ball depending on who I’m bowling to, or where I’m bowling as well. It’s nice to get some rewards with it, and particularly over here where conditions can sometimes [offer] more off the seam than in the air.”

–IANS