There is some sort of an ethereal connection between Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc and an ICC Cricket World Cup year. Starc, who seems to be longing for ODI world events, has managed to get the ball rolling before the imminent 13th edition of the tournament in a manner which will make batters fear him even in subcontinent conditions.
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Starc, one of the eight cricketers (only the second specialist bowler) to have won a Player of the Series award in a World Cup, might not have come this far had it not been for a couple of interactions with former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram during the initial years of his international career.
For the unversed, Starc is such an admirer of Akram that he used to rely on him for suggestions outside of former teammate Mitchell Johnson. While Starc did play a total of 13 Tests and 26 ODIs with Johnson also in the Australian Playing XI, it wouldn’t be wrong to term him as a bowler who belongs to a completely different generation than Akram.
In spite of a seven-and-a-half-year gap between Starc’s first and Akram’s last international matches, the duo shared comradeship primarily because of a commonality in the form of being left-arm pacers. In return for Starc’s adoration for someone who had set a standard for left-arm fast bowling as per him, Akram had once reciprocated by regarding him as a better bowler than legendary South African and English pacers Dale Steyn and James Anderson respectively.
Wasim Akram Had Regarded Mitchell Starc As Better Than Dale Steyn And James Anderson
Having labeled Starc as “one of his favourite bowlers” in world cricket in January 2017, Akram was quite wax lyrical about someone who had already left an impression at the highest level. Not merely a biased supporter of a fellow left-armer, Akram had also pointed out a chink in Starc’s armour in the form of out-swingers to right-handed batters.
“He [Mitchell Starc] is one of my favourite bowlers in world cricket. There is [Dale] Steyn, there is [James] Anderson and there is Starc. Right now, Starc’s form is a lot better than those two. So, he is [at the] top of the ladder for me,” Akram had told Fairfax Media as quoted by CricTracker.
Even though there’s no denying to the fact that Starc hasn’t picked as many wickets as Steyn or Anderson in Test cricket, his average and strike rate are unequivocally better than the two right-arm bowlers in ODIs. Starc, who is highly unlikely to catch up with Anderson’s number of wickets in the ancestral format, could well surpass Steyn in the format especially if he continues to prioritize the format over T20 leagues.
Wasim Akram And Mitchell Starc Had First Met At The SCG In 2012
It is worth of a mention that Starc had first met Akram during India’s tour of Australia 2011-12. With the latter working for Star Sports Network at the time, he had first offered advisory services to a rookie Starc before the New Year’s Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Starc, who hadn’t played that match, immediately benefited from Akram’s presence on the back of dismissing Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar in the third Test at the Western Australia Cricket Association Ground. Speaking to News.com.au in November 2012, Starc had reminisced his first two fruitful meetings with Akram.
“I had a chance to talk to Wasim during the Champions league and he reminded me to be relaxed with my wrist and that’s how you get whip in your wrist action. He said, ‘I can’t be too rigid and mechanical in the wrist or I won’t get that whip’.
“We first met at the SCG nets during the last cricket summer and he gave me great advice then. He’s a genius at what he did and he still has it, too.”
A stark improvement in Starc’s bowling was even acknowledged by the then Australian captain Michael Clarke. Having made his ODI and Test debuts under Clarke, Starc had played a total of 42 international matches across the two formats under him. Impressed by the speedster during Australia’s tour of UAE 2012 (a couple of months before the aforementioned interview), Clarke had even publicly informed other young Australian cricketers to take inspiration from Starc.
