When England take on Australia in a bilateral ODI series starting Friday in Manchester, all eyes will be on the battle between England’s hitting power against Australia’s renowned bowlers. The likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins will have to be at their best against a fit and unbridled English lineup.
This will also be the first time that England will host Australia at home as champions of the 50+ format, a favor they would have liked to return to Australians who have won the title five times. But Australians are a handful on a cricket ground, whether they are champions or not.
Aaron Finch and his team haven’t had a great streak in the format since the 2019 ICC World Cup, where they lost to England in the semi-final. One reason for that could be the nonchalant manner of his pacing spearhead, Mitchell Starc.
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Starc has been a prolific bowler in ODIs, and his record at the ICC World Cup is outstanding to say the least. But 2020 is proving to be a difficult year for the left-handed pacemaker. In six games so far, Starc has represented only 6 wickets and his average is well above 50. This is the worst performance of the pacemaker in ODI in a calendar year since he made his debut in 2010, when he had only played 2 games and picked up 4 windows. The following chart will further clarify what we are trying to talk about.
Indeed, 2020 has been a year of struggle for the paceman, as his average and economy have been the worst in a calendar year.
What is concerning is the fact that Starc’s partial record in ODIs against England in England has also been mediocre at best. He has collected 12 plots in 8 matches with an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of 36.8. However, their overall record in England is fabulous, but that’s due to their performances against other teams.
Therefore, the pacemaker must reinvent himself this summer in England and must go off full blast to amend both his 2020 numbers and his numbers against the hosts.
His new ball partnership with Cummins will be crucial if Australia wants to surprise the world champion in their backyard. For the record, the last two-way series between the two teams in England resulted in a 5-0 shutout for the hosts, but that was the Australian team in a transition phase after the controversial ‘Sandpapergate’.
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