The Analyst
Mitchell Starc can do deadly damage with the old ball, especially against England’s tail. This is how…
Mitchell Starc
Simon Hughes
There are elements other than his Christian name that Mitchell Starc shares with Mitchell Johnson, England’s tormentor the last time they were down under. There is his left-arm angle, of course, his lower trajectory, his preference for an older ball and, whisper it quietly, his fragile confidence. These last three aspects are closely linked.
Trajectories like Starc’s, coming from an 11 o’clock release point rather than the higher arms of bowlers like Jimmy Anderson or Josh Hazlewood, are more prone to misdirection. The exact timing of the actual release is more critical to the line of the delivery. If such a bowler is fractionally out of sync the results can be horrible, as both Johnson and Starc have experienced in the past. It plays havoc with your confidence, especially with a new cherry. Wrist position and the biomechanics of the bowling action have to be much more precise to control the swing and direction of a_new ball.