Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc is one of their two premier cricketers who have suffered respective injuries eight weeks before ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. In addition to batter Steven Smith, who has suffered a wrist injury, Starc will also not travel to South Africa for a white-ball tour beginning later this month.
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Starc, who has been diagnosed with a groin strain, had interestingly faced a similar issue ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 as well. With captain Pat Cummins already injured, it is not an ideal state for the Australian side. As a result, their team management would be hoping for both Smith and Starc to attain optimum fitness as soon as possible.
Mitchell Starc To Miss South Africa Tour Due To Groin Strain
Starc, who was nursing shoulder and finger injuries earlier this year, had faced another shoulder scare while fielding in the fourth Ashes 2023 Test match against England at the Old Trafford last month.
While Starc had managed to play the final match of the iconic series, him missing both the limited-overs series in South Africa is primarily a measure to have him fit for a three-match ODI series and the World Cup in India as per former Australia captain and current chief selector George Bailey.
“With the World Cup the priority of the squad, it was determined on advice that it was best for Steve [Smith] and Mitchell [Starc] to join the group in India by which time we expect them to be fully fit and available for the Indian ODI series, plus the World Cup warm-up fixture,” Bailey was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
Starc has been replaced by pacer Spencer Johnson in the ODI squad. Already part of the T20I squad, Johnson has earned a maiden ODI call-up as well now.
Mitchell Starc Had Suffered Groin Strain 3 Months Before 2015 Cricket World Cup
Starc, who has been through a lot of injury issues in his career, had just recovered from a back injury before returning to the Australian white-ball setup in the second half of 2014.
After playing a Test against Pakistan in the UAE, he had returned back home to represent New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield. However, the return wasn’t fruitful as he injured his groin in the first match itself.
Contrary to what was doubted initially, the injury didn’t cause a lot of damage as he got fit for South Africa ODIs in November. Starc, who picked five wickets in three matches in addition to proving his fitness, was subseqeuntally named in Australia’s 2015 World Cup squad. He was part of a five-member pace-bowling group alongside Cummins, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood and James Faulkner.
Australia, who had won the World Cup for the fourth time that year, had benefited immensely from the left-arm speedster. For the unversed, Starc was the joint-highest wicket-taker of that World Cup on the back of dismissing 22 batters across 10 innings.
If truth be told, Australia wouldn’t mind for the history to repeat itself after a significant co-incidence involving Starc’s groin injury before a world event.
