The Ashes 2017/18: If I Faced That Mitchell Starc Delivery Another 20 Or 30 Times, It Would Get Me Out Every Time: James Vince
After two consecutive failures and three overall in the ongoing series, James Vince had started the proceedings in the second innings of the third Ashes Test on a strong note, hitting a flurry of boundaries to not only calm down the nerves in the England dressing room but also did his confidence a world of good.
Out of the 55 runs he scored, 48 came off boundaries which pretty much proves the touch he was in before Mitchell Starc ended his promising knock with the best delivery of the series so far. Charging in from around the wicket, Australia’s left-arm quick bowled one on a wide crack in line with middle stump. The ball then went on to defy common assumption as after landing on the middle stump and looking primed to miss the leg stump, it swung in the opposite direction and uprooted the off stump, leaving Vince shell-shocked.
Speaking after the day’s play, the right-handed batsman said that it was frustrating to get out but admitted that he would suffer a similar fate while facing the venomous delivery.
“It’s still frustrating to get out but they’re a little easier to take than the ones where you feel you’re at fault yourselves,” Vince told reporters after play on Sunday (December 17). “If I faced that another 20 or 30 times, I think that would get me out every time. Give him some credit there and sweep it under the carpet and move on.
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“We said at tea that the ones that had hit the cracks had done too much and weren’t in danger of the stumps. His angle, coming wide of the crease, the ball looked as if it looked like it was going down leg. For the right armers that perhaps start straighter, if it deviates it probably misses the stumps. It’s something we will have to look at tomorrow. I think his [Starc’s] plan is pretty clear. He’s going to come wide of the crease from round the wicket and try and hit that crack,” added Vince who attempted to play the ball at the on side.
Vince went on to admit that the batsmen cannot do much if the ball lands on the cracks which keep on getting wider as the game progresses at the iconic WACA.
“You’ve just got try and put it out of your mind,” he said. “If it does hit a crack, there’s not a huge amount you can do really. It’s making sure the ones that don’t hit the crack, you’re in a good position to play. Most of it’s mental, though. If it does move, you’ve got to accept it and move onto the next one.”
England, meanwhile, finished the penultimate day of the game on a precarious 132 for 4, still needing 127 runs to make Australia bat again. But while the visitors have their back against the wall, Vince said the team is pinning its hopes on first innings centurions – Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan.
“We’ve got two guys at the crease who spent a lot of time there in the first innings,” Vince said. “It’s slightly different conditions but we have got to have belief that we can get over the line tomorrow. It’s going to be tough. I’m sure there are going to be some good balls but these two showed that they can occupy the crease for a long time.”
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