Rejuvenated Starc keen on intimidating batsmen with pace

Starc was the leading wicket taker at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 with 27 scalps to his name, but failed to hold onto his spot in the Test XI amidst tough competition from his fellow teammates. Ahead of a two-month long home season which includes three T20Is each against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, followed by five Tests combined against Pakistan and trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, Starc looks forward to follow the best suited approach for himself and the conditions.

"I'll be trying to get back into the mindset of run in and bowl fast and intimidate with pace, and hopefully get a bit of swing," Starc told cricket.com.au. "The Kookaburra ball doesn't do as much as the Dukes ball and the wickets are generally flatter in Australia (and) it probably won't seam around as much. So that's a little bit of a point of difference I can generate, those high speeds and get those batsmen jumping around."

"I was pretty happy with how that side of my game developed over there (in England) and that's something that at times perhaps I can bring into my game in Australia. But it's different conditions, and hopefully faster and bouncier wickets where you can run in and try and bowl fast."

Australia had a six-prong bowling unit during the Ashes, with Pat Cummins, the top-ranked bowler MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings, leading the attack in each of the five Tests with Josh Hazelwood, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Starc being drafted in accordingly with respect to the conditions. Starc, whose lone appearance came in the fourth Test in Manchester, is pleased with the rich availability of resources around.

"The fact that we had six guys who could have come in to play at any stage was fantastic, and something Australia hasn't had for a long time," Starc said. "You normally have three or, if you're lucky, four who've got Test experience who could be in the side at any one time with injuries and all that sort of thing.

"Along with the fact we've all grown up together, played a lot with and against each other, that played a massive part in that understanding we were there to win the Ashes, we weren't there just to be a part of the XI and play as many games as we could."

The 29-year-old believes that best results come when players root for a common goal of winning the game, rather than being worried about the team selection. "You want to play every game, but having that mindset knowing they were going to pick on conditions and how they thought the make-up of the game would be best to win games of cricket, it makes it an easier pill to swallow.

"Players and teams perform at their best when you're trying to win games of cricket and let selection and the rest of it take care of itself. If you're contributing to wins, that's going to be taken into consideration."