No risks with sore Starc

FAST bowler Mitchell Starc pulled up a sore in the middle of the first practice match, compounding concerns about the demands of five Ashes Tests in a quick succession on the back of a World Cup campaign.

The left-arm quick did not take the field for the last innings of the intra-squad practice match, leaving Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to open the bowling. But the team is confident he will be not miss any cricket and will bowl on day three.

Australia looks set to name a squad of 17 tonight with selectors conducting a final phone hook-up this morning. They know they will need a pool of fast bowlers to get through the series.

Starc, who was a standout in the World Cup, is a critical part of the Ashes plans. He began to feel for his leg late on the first day’s play, but batted in the afternoon yesterday.

The 29-year-old spent a lot of time in the medical room with the doctor after play but was moving freely when he emerged an hour later. He suffered similar soreness during a match in the World Cup but was able to push through the tournament.

The team is understood to be leaning towards a bowling line-up that saw him possibly alternate with James Pattinson according to the conditions. Starc bowled 92 overs in 10 matches in the World Cup and was the tournament’s leading bowler with 27 wickets.

He played all five Tests in the 2015 Ashes taking 18 wickets at 30.

Pattinson bowled brilliantly in the two innings in Southampton taking 4-35 from 23 overs in conditions that favoured the bowlers. Cummins is also in great form knocking over Joe Burns first delivery in the second innings after taking 5-24 in the first.

Josh Hazlewood will be a lock for the Tests and Peter Siddle and Tasmanian Jackson Bird have made a bold bid for inclusion with their performances in Southampton.