Starc contrast
Former Black Cap Andre Adams is behind the resurgence of Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc, whose next opponent is the Black Caps. Andrew Wu reports.
‘‘Iwant to keep improving.’’ It is one of the most common phrases used by sports stars. For a sports writer, enticing copy it does not make but it does provide an insight into the mindset of the elite athlete.
Australia’s fast bowling coach, Troy Cooley, can see it in Mitchell Starc. So too former great Jason Gillespie. In fact, he can probably detect it better than most.
One of the finest pacemen the country has produced, Gillespie was 30 when he became a casualty of Australia’s Ashes defeat in 2005.
Though recalled the year after in Bangladesh, where he made his famous double century, the last time he wore the baggy green was the day after his 31st birthday, which seemed too early for a player of his ability.
Having overcome injury and had success doing things his way for so long, Gillespie became stubborn and wasn’t open to feedback, he says.
‘‘I was pretty set [in] this is how I will do things and prepare myself,’’ Gillespie says. ‘‘I didn’t continue to evolve, and it caught up with me.
‘‘You have to have that growth mindset, look to improve, and that’s what I like about Starcy.’’
Statistically, 2018 was not bad for Starc, but by the end of the year he was a shadow of the bowler who had once dominated the world game. His late swing had gone and his radar, which had not been his strength, was off as well.
The man who had formerly been one of the first names picked in the test side was limited to just a solitary appearance in the Ashes.
On the evidence so far this season, this is shaping as the summer that marks Starc’s second coming as an international force.
Pakistan felt his wrath. The series was hopelessly one-sided, but to hold that against Starc would be unfair when his 14 wickets at an average of 17 were a big part of the reason it was a no contest.
To track his rebirth, you’d have to go back to January when he teamed up with NSW’s bowling coach Andre Adams.
Adams, a former New Zealand international who enjoyed great success in England’s county scene, has a reputation for keeping things simple. Insiders say one of his strengths as a coach is his ability to help bowlers clear their minds, rather than focusing on technique.
This might be selling Adams short, as there is more to Starc’s resurgence than just mindset.
When Cooley saw Starc in the Ashes, he felt the left-armer had already made the changes that would enable him to exert more control in his bowling in keeping with Australia’s dry approach in England.
‘‘He was coming with ways to get his shoulder in the right position so he could feel like he can be explosive and become even better at putting the ball in the right spots,’’ Cooley says.
‘‘He’d already started that process.
I was lucky when I got over there to reinforce what Andre was doing and what Mitch had already planned. He was becoming more and more aware of what he needed to do to play all three formats but also keep continuing to get better.’’
Cooley could sense Starc’s exclusion from the side was hurting. He recalls a conversation early in the series when it became apparent he was not in Australia’s initial plans.
‘‘It annoyed him, but we looked at each other and went, ‘We can get bitter or get better’,’’ Cooley says. ‘‘He’s a great bloke, has a great winning mentality and he said, ‘I wanted to get better’.’’ R ecalled for the fourth test, Starc was dropped for the finale, somewhat controversially, despite his performance at Old Trafford helping Australia retain the urn for the first time in England in 18 years.
The focus on control had come at the cost of one of Starc’s primary weapons – his express pace. It explains the unmistakable message written on a band of tape around his wrist: ‘‘F--- it, bowl fast’’.
After an underwhelming start to the Sheffield Shield season, he and Adams went to work again.
‘‘I felt like things were going slowly,’’ Starc said during the Adelaide test, in which he claimed seven wickets. ‘‘I was probably more focused on trying to be more consistent rather than still running in and bowling at a good pace.
‘‘Finding a happy medium was what resulted in the little technical change to get myself in positions where I’m more compact and less can go wrong in terms of the lines and lengths I want to bowl, which was what we spoke about in the UK tour.
‘‘Coming back to Australia in that first game felt like I had perhaps dropped a bit of pace being too heavily focused on that.’’
The changes were subtle; the effects pronounced. As Gillespie explains, Starc is keeping his wrist and hand closer to his chest, which enables him to get his wrist and fingers behind the ball for more consistent swing. Starc has also worked to keep his front shoulder moving straight down the line instead of turning too early, which can lead to him spraying the ball.
‘‘It’s a slight technical change and a very good one,’’ Gillespie says. ‘‘We’ve seen it the first two tests. It’s worked. That’s credit to Mitch to find ways to get better. He would’ve been disappointed not to play a bigger role in the Ashes. It’s good to see him thinking about his game.’’
World No 2 New Zealand should provide a sterner examination of the changes to Starc’s game. They not only boast one of the best batsmen in the world, Kane Williamson, but also one of the most accomplished openers, Tom Latham.
But Cooley believes Starc is ready. ‘‘He showed us the other day he can bowl fast and get a high percentage of balls in the right areas,’’ Cooley says. ‘‘He’s starting to hit a bit of a purple patch now.
‘‘He’s getting better. I listen to people – they say, ‘Geez, he’s all over them now’. People are starting to notice he’s improving.
‘‘This is a bloke who is always looking to get better.’’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘‘I was probably more focused on trying to be more consistent rather than still running in and bowling at a good pace.’’ Mitchell Starc