Abu Dhabi green-top a mirage: Starc
ABU DHABI: A well-grassed wicket might have been the last thing Mitchell Starc expected to see after landing here but Australia’s pace spearhead was loath to get his hopes up ahead of the second Test against Pakistan.
The left-armer was made to toil on a typically lifeless pitch in the drawn first Test in Dubai, grabbing only a solitary wicket while conceding 108 runs for more than 40 overs’ work in broiling heat.
So it would have been understandable had he hoped some relief was at hand when a greentop was revealed after the covers were pulled off at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. Instead, Starc felt it all just a desert mirage.
“It might be completely different on Tuesday when they cut the grass off. If we were playing on it today, the fast bowlers would be pretty happy with the covering of grass,” Starc said. “A lot of us expect that grass to be gone by tomorrow and probably even less come game day.”
The grass was still plentiful enough for selectors to consider picking a third seamer, captain Tim Paine added. “Looking at it now, if that was in Australia you would be playing three fast bowlers,” he said on Monday, the eve of the second Test. “With the heat around in the next 24 hours, I’m sure it will change pretty quickly.”
There was some talk of resting Starc for the second Test to preserve him for the four-match series against India in the home summer after he bowled a heavy load in the first innings in Dubai. Starc was in no mood to rest up, though.
“Hope not. I don’t know what the team is going to be like but I won’t be putting my hand up for a rest,” he said.
“I’m feeling pretty good, it’s only my first game back for a while as well so I’m feeling pretty fresh and pretty happy with how the ball’s coming out.”
Starc added he had learned to tone down his natural aggression in the United Arab Emirates.