Australia will be tempted by talk of a rapid Old Trafford surface to play Mitchell Starc in the fourth Ashes Test at Manchester this coming week, after the left-arm express bowler crashed his way to seven wickets in a win over Derbyshire in a little over two days of play.
The calibre of the opposition is, of course, a major caveat, with Australia bowling out the second division strugglers for 172 and 112 either side of a declared total of 338 for five, winning by an innings and 54 runs well before lunch on the third day.
Starc knocked down three lower-order players in a single over in the first innings, and the last two tailenders in consecutive balls to finish the second. In between times he clean bowled opening batsman and captain Billy Godleman and yorked Anuj Dal after a speculative and unsuccessful promotion from the lower order to first drop.
Whether that ragtag bag is worth his first Ashes start for the series is up to the chairman of selectors, Trevor Hohns, who maintained his Sphinx impression when he spoke to ABC radio after play. “Once again, that’s a question we’ll be asking ourselves. He did put forward a good case for inclusion, so that’s going to give us a lot to think about.”
Australia’s adaptable bowling attack has been a feature of this series, changed match by match depending on conditions and context. “We didn’t necessarily pigeonhole certain bowlers to bowl in specific games,” said Hohns.
“It’s more about management these days. We are lucky to have all the bowlers fit and healthy and available for selection, something we haven’t experienced for some time. We’re able to manage them, we’re able to use them and make sure there’s fresh legs available, so that’s a good situation to be in.”
The other question is which batsman will make way, with Steve Smith to return from concussion and his replacement Marnus Labuschagne having made himself indispensable. Of the possible casualties, Usman Khawaja and Marcus Harris made contrasting fifties against Derbyshire, while Matthew Wade batted with the sulking air of one already dropped. Hohns, as ever, remained impassive.
