Mitchell Starc Announces Retirement Amidst World Cup 2023
Australian pacer, Mitchell Starc is not viewing the knockout stages of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as the end of his ODI career. However, the left-arm pacer has reiterated that it will be the white-ball format that will make way first in order to play test cricket for as long as possible.
Mitchell Starc, who has taken 230 wickets in ODIs at an average of 23.17, is quite certain that he won’t be around for the next ODI World Cup in 2027 as he will be 37. However, he won’t be ignoring the format immediately. Australia’s next ODIs are against West Indies in February but they don’t have any more of them scheduled until a tour of England in next September. There is an ICC Champions Trophy which will be played in Pakistan in 2025.
“I’ll look to keep playing after this, but I don’t doubt that I won’t be making the next World Cup. I’ve no vision for that. Four years is a long,” he told reporters in Kolkata. “I’ve always maintained that Test cricket is the top of the tree for me and I’ll drop off the rest before I let go of Test cricket. For me [the semi-final] is just another one-day game for Australia, it’s not the end of the road in one-day cricket as yet for me.”
Mitchell Starc will prove to be a key asset in helping Australia get past South Africa during Thursday’s semi-final encounter at Eden Gardens to earn a spot in what could be their eighth ODI World Cup final on November 19. However, Starc’s 2023 World Cup campaign has been much more of a struggle than his prolific 2015 and 2019 World Cup performances.
He has taken only 10 wickets with an economy rate of 6.55 and he has been below his best in the tournament so far. Starc revealed that he has been suffering from some niggles since the Ashes series without specifically saying if they were related to the shoulder or groin problems he picked up in England, with the latter keeping him out of South Africa in September. He also noted that he was not the only one among quick bowlers who were having a difficult time in this World Cup.
Mitchell Starc Is Not Having An Auspicious World Cup
“I certainly haven’t been at the level I would have liked…or not the same level as the last two World Cups anyway, but now a chance at the pointy end to impact again Certainly bowling first on particular wickets, the new ball with two fielders out I think has been almost the hardest time to bowl. You get a bit of an understanding of the wicket as the game goes on…that’s not a sob story, that’s the nature of one-day cricket,” he said.
Mitchell Starc talked about the struggles of getting two brand-new balls on flat tracks. He focused on the ratio of centuries being hit to five wickets being taken and those ratios steep higher towards a number of centuries.
He stated, “You’ve got two brand new balls on flat wickets, that’s the nature of the World Cup if you look at the runs scored, or certainly centuries scored, as opposed to five wickets taken, the ratios are heavily skewed. Bowlers just have to find a way.”
Mitchell Starc was given a rest for Australia’s final league-stage game against Bangladesh and said that the decision was largely taken out of his hands. Australia defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets and Mitchell Marsh was the hero in that match scoring a stellar 177 off 132 balls.
“The way we started meant we couldn’t rest anyone earlier in the campaign being 0-2. Had the chance to secure the semi-final spot the other night. Glenn [Maxwell] after his knock and his cramping needed a bit of a rest and I didn’t have much of a say in my decision. I’ve carried a few things from the Ashes and it was a chance before the semi-finals,” he concluded.
Australia will play South Africa on Thursday in the second semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The match will be played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata and Australia will have a chance of playing their eighth ODI World Cup final in history.
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Australia National Cricket Team ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 ICC ODI World Cup 2023 ICC World Cup 2023 Mitchell Starc
