Aussies won’t let one good day go to heads
IT was a day that could help them win the Test but Aussie quick Mitch Starc says his teammates won’t let one good day’s work in Adelaide distract them from the hard work ahead.
The Australian team given the task of rebuilding the national reputation assumed ascendancy in the opening clash against India with more than five hours of well executed bowling plans.
The nine-wicket haul on a surface seemingly made for batting, and the poor shot selection of most batsmen other than centurion Cheteshwar Pujara, only added to doubts over the tourists’ abilities away from home.
Starc said if, after losing the toss, the Aussies were told they could have an Indian side which boasts Virat Kohli, the best batsmen in the world, 9-250 at stumps he would “bite your arm off”.
But the big quick pointed to the 45 minutes in the final session as an indication the new-look team was a long way from the finished product.
And he said the match, let alone the series, was a long way from being decided just because the Aussies, after losing the toss, looked to have India on the ropes.
“It’s only day one of a four Test series. There is so much cricket to come. It’s not about one good day, that’s not going to win us a series,” Starc, who finished with 2-63, said. “It’s going to go a long way to helping us win the Test match but it’s not going to win a series and it’s not something where we can sit back and say, “well, we had a good day”.
“There was 45 minutes we didn’t execute well enough and probably let it slip it a little bit.
“But there was a lot of good stuff happened today for our team.
“But we have to bowl them out first. And you can’t really judge a wicket until both teams have had a crack on it.
“You can’t probably take too much out of the events of today.
“Hopefully we can come back take that one wicket and let our batters get to work.”
Those batters present the real test of Australia’s mettle with only three of the top six batsmen having made a Test century.
That trio is Usman Khawaja – who took a stunning catch to dismiss Kohli yesterday – Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb, who has been recalled to the side.
Despite the wicket doing “very little” for the bowlers after the opening hour, Pujara, who was out on the final ball of the day, said it wasn’t easy to bat on.
Aussie openers Marcus Harris, in his first Test, and Aaron Finch, in his third, get first crack to see if that’s the case and will look to build on the bowlers’ good work.
Starc said Harris in particular seemed up for the challenge.
“He’s pretty, not over confident at all, but confident character, and it’s great to see,” Starc said.
“He had a smile on his face for most of the day. I’m not sure he gets nervous.”
THERE IS SO MUCH CRICKET TO COME. IT’S NOT ABOUT ONE GOOD DAY
AUSSIE QUICK MITCHELL STARC