Starc’s pink ball blues

MITCHELL Starc is Australia’s pink-ball magician but his unplayable tricks are being performed through gritted teeth.

Starc swung the Kookaburra to great effect in NSW’s Sheffield Shield opener, snaring career-best innings figures of 8-73 at Adelaide Oval.

The Test spearhead will return to the same venue for the inaugural day-night Ashes contest, aiming to reproduce the same devastating reverseswing against England’s inexperienced batsmen.

Starc’s late-swinging deliveries will feature prominently in Cricket Australia’s promotion of the historic occasion but his words will not; the leftarmer remains one of the concept’s most ardent critics.

Starc made it clear ahead of the maiden day-night Test in 2015 he wasn’t a fan. The express paceman has since uttered a few pleasantries and pointed out some improvements, but reaffirmed his view yesterday.

“No,” Starc quipped at Sydney airport, when asked if he’s changed his mind on the pink ball.

Starc’s list of initial complaints in 2015 included how quickly the ball went soft, how it was tricky to see while fielding in the deep and harder to attain reverse-swing.

“It still goes soft and it does make it a bit more hard work for the bowlers once it does go soft,” Starc said yesterday.

“We still found that leather came away from the quarter seam which probably caused it to reverse a bit.

“We found a way to get 20 wickets.”

Starc almost single-handedly crushed South Australia at the weekend, setting the bar high in his first outing in the whites since breaking down in India seven months ago.

He is expected to spearhead what will be the Test attack in NSW’s Shield match against Western Australia that starts at Sydney’s Hurstville Oval on Saturday, with Josh Hazlewood set to return from injury.

Starc, who will then be rested from the final Shield round before the five-Test series starts on November 23, isn’t happy that his final Ashes tune-up will be played at the postage-stamp venue.

“They’re 45-metre boundaries. It’d be nice to play at a good ground,” Starc fumed.

“But we’ll take Hurstville Oval, unfortunately. I’m sure it will be an exciting contest ... there’s still guys hunting for a few Ashes spots, some good bowling attacks.”

The SCG is unavailable as it is being returfed, much to Starc’s frustration.