Mitchell Starc Reviews Day 1 of the 5th Ashes Test

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Australia's pace bowler Mitchell Starc Reviews Day 1 of the 5th and final Ashes Test against England

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00:30 Howdy.

00:47 >> How are we?

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00:52 >> There you go.

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01:03 >> Hello.

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01:16 >> Mitch, just interested to hear how the build up for this test was and

01:20 how's your shoulder and what was that performance?

01:24 How are you feeling after that performance given the physical challenges you've been

01:28 through in recent days?

01:29 >> Great lead up, two rounds of golf and into the test match.

01:33 So yeah, I mean, it's a quick turnaround.

01:37 A couple extra days of rain in Manchester was obviously handy for

01:42 our quicks, no doubt for them as well.

01:46 But yeah, just sort of giving the shoulder a bit of a chance to have a couple of

01:50 quiet days and get stuck in today.

01:52 So yeah, on the whole, I think a pretty good day for us.

01:56 >> And then you spent some time off again today.

01:58 What was the go there?

01:59 >> I just went and got some strapping.

02:01 Yeah, I just probably shouldn't have thrown it the way I did and got some

02:05 strapping, all good.

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02:10 >> I think Andrew McDonald said to us the other day that you did damage your

02:14 AC joint.

02:15 Is that correct?

02:16 Can you actually talk us through what's happened there?

02:19 >> Yeah, that's my understanding of it.

02:22 I'm not interested in getting scanned or anything like that.

02:24 So that's what the doc and physio think is the case.

02:29 We'll worry about that at the end of the week.

02:31 So yeah, just a bit of discomfort there.

02:34 It's something going on in the AC, nothing major and still able to bowl.

02:39 And do what I need to do.

02:42 >> And also, can I ask about Pat Cummins' first spell?

02:44 I know you finished your figures one for 60, but it felt like he bowled

02:47 incredible that first spell.

02:48 He beat the bat a million times and got a wicket, had a few drop catches.

02:51 Just talk us through that, especially after the week he's had, where there's

02:55 been a bit said about him, I guess.

02:56 >> Yeah, that's Pat Cummins.

02:58 He's a class performer and has been for a very long time.

03:02 He could bowl a lot worse than that and pick up more than one wicket.

03:05 So no, he was fantastic today.

03:07 And peeped a fair bit of pressure on at times.

03:10 Like you say, he's quite unlucky not to finish with more wickets.

03:14 So yeah, nice to see him go about his business the way he normally does.

03:19 And yeah, I mean, he's obviously copped a little bit, but it's his class today.

03:24 He's come out and done his job.

03:26 >> Mitch, Pat Cummins said before this test that this is the highest he's seen

03:31 your pain threshold be.

03:32 I mean, the last six months you've bowled with a lot of pain, the finger,

03:35 the shoulder, the hamstring, all of that.

03:37 So just how do you break through that pain threshold and bowl the way you do?

03:42 >> I guess it's something I've sort of built on through the last, you know,

03:49 I've played for over ten years and been through a few niggles and injuries

03:53 over the time.

03:54 So yeah, it's been times where, you know, I've left a team a man down or other

04:00 people have, and we all push through niggles and whatnot.

04:03 So no different this week.

04:05 It's just a little bit of discomfort, and away we go.

04:08 >> And just on the Ben Stokes dismissal, you know, the weather was turning,

04:12 and it came at a crucial time as well.

04:14 Can you just talk us through the delivery itself and just the reaction?

04:20 >> Swung a little bit and hit the top of off.

04:23 Something like that, I think.

04:27 >> Hi, Mitch.

04:28 Can you talk us through, I suppose, the fact that the team's sort of tactics,

04:33 field settings today were a little bit more orthodox.

04:35 Was that simply a case of the conditions allowing more for that, you know,

04:39 and that it was, I suppose what Leeds was probably the most lively pitch you've

04:42 seen before this one?

04:44 >> Yeah, Leeds certainly had a fair bit more pace and probably carry, I think,

04:49 compared to the first two wickets.

04:51 And then Old Trafford was pretty flat.

04:54 I think they're still playing a county game on it and still scoring heaps of runs.

04:57 So that speaks for that.

04:59 But, yeah, certainly we felt today with obviously the overheads a little bit in

05:04 the wicket.

05:05 Winning the toss helps as well.

05:07 All probably contributed to, you know, slightly different plans at times.

05:11 We still pretty much stuck to our guns and our process as we have for the first

05:16 four test matches.

05:17 But, yeah, a little bit more in the wicket, bowling first, a little bit overhead.

05:21 Probably saw at times a little more traditional fields, I guess.

05:26 >> And just with the -- obviously there were a few chances that went down today

05:30 and they were here, you know, four years ago, same, you know, first day of the

05:34 game.

05:35 But just talk, I suppose, about the resolve to kind of see it through and keep

05:38 creating those chances and not sort of let the, I suppose, heads go down if the

05:42 ball went down.

05:44 >> Yeah, that's the nature of the group at the minute.

05:46 You know, stay calm and keep creating chances.

05:50 Yeah, it's, you know, no one means to drop chances.

05:54 The fact we kept creating them speaks to the, I guess, the application and the

05:59 quality of the group and then to continue to take them throughout the -- to take

06:04 the extra chances throughout the day.

06:06 So, yeah, no stage where anyone flapping or anything like that.

06:11 It was -- the group was pretty calm out there.

06:13 At times the scoring rate was a bit higher, as we've seen throughout the whole

06:16 series.

06:17 But I think as we sit here, you know, one for 50 after bowling him out, I think,

06:22 you know, it's a pretty good day for us.

06:25 >> Mish, could I just ask about Todd Murphy?

06:28 Could you talk a bit about the role he did today, obviously coming back into the

06:31 team after missing Old Trafford and then taking a couple of pretty important

06:34 wickets in the context of the game?

06:36 >> Yeah, he did.

06:37 You know, he's -- since he started in his test career, he's been really good for

06:43 us, obviously, through India.

06:45 He played a heap of a role at Headingley.

06:49 He's pretty sparingly there.

06:51 But he's come back and played a job today.

06:53 He's just -- he's going to learn from those experiences, his first Ashes tour and

06:58 on the back of his first Indian tour.

07:00 So he's going to be a quality spinner for us for a long time.

07:04 Obviously coming in and trying to fill Nathan's boots is a, you know, a big deal

07:09 as it is.

07:10 And Nathan's obviously bowled quite well here in the past, did in the test final.

07:14 So Todd's run off the back of that and bowled some really good overs today.

07:18 Obviously, you said there's a couple of crucial wickets.

07:21 So, yeah, look to him to play another part in the second innings.

07:25 >> We're seeing him off the back.

07:27 Sorry.

07:28 >> Starkey, I know you're a humble guy and you're keen not to pump up your own

07:32 tyres, but you looked like you were in a fair bit of pain when you did go off.

07:35 And your performance when you came back was incredible.

07:37 Can you just speak about the motivation and where it comes from to dig deep like

07:41 that?

07:43 >> Like I said before, you don't want to leave a group man down at any time.

07:48 It's not at that stage anyway, but, yeah, it's just a case of throw a bit of tape

07:53 on it and get back into it.

07:55 So, yeah, it's fine.

07:58 It's not the most comfortable thing, but I don't think any bowler at international

08:03 cricket is going to say it's something that's comfortable for the body.

08:07 So, yeah, just push on.

08:09 We've got a big week ahead of us to try and win this Ashes series and then a few

08:15 weeks off.

08:16 So there's no reason not to get up for this week.

08:19 >> We'll just finish up with the ones already put their hands up.

08:22 >> Mitch, you mentioned a couple of times in the lead-in to this game that most of

08:25 this squad were here four years ago, so kind of knew what to expect in terms of a

08:29 last test of a draining tour.

08:31 I was wondering whether that has been a benefit, that experience, and whether you

08:34 can sort of articulate how fatigued people are after six test matches in basically

08:39 eight weeks.

08:42 >> It was a pretty cruisey tour for me last time.

08:47 Yeah, look, it's been pretty compressed, this series, with obviously both teams

08:51 playing a test match before the Ashes started.

08:54 So, yeah, it's been a pretty compressed schedule.

08:57 As I said before, those couple of extra rain days in Manchester probably gave both

09:01 attacks a chance to freshen up for this game.

09:05 You know, guys have been finding ways to switch off, whether it be on the golf

09:08 course.

09:09 You know, some of the families are still here.

09:11 We're back in London and it was sunny, so I think a few people got out and about

09:14 over the last couple of days to try and switch off where they could.

09:19 But you're playing international cricket in an Ashes series in England, so there's

09:22 no reason not to get up for this week.

09:25 >> Well, Bob, Mitch, in the spectrum of pitches, in terms of pace and carry and

09:31 movement, where does the Ovals pitch today fit in looking at the series as a whole?

09:39 >> Well, I think we mentioned it just before.

09:41 It's probably, you know, Leeds had a bit more pace and bounce in it.

09:47 You go back to Old Trafford was as flat as the series had.

09:52 It was a bit tight Birmingham, but it looked, you know, at times good for batting.

09:58 At times it was, if you got the ball in the right areas, enough there.

10:01 So, yeah, they've all been slightly different throughout the series.

10:05 It was overcast all day today as well, so we know that plays a bit of a part in

10:09 England at times with the jukeball.

10:11 So, yeah, they've all been slightly different throughout the contests.

10:16 And it was again today where we finally won a toss and got the chance to bowl

10:19 in it first.

10:21 >> Mitch, I just want to press you a little bit more about the ball to Stokes.

10:23 Is that kind of the perfect ball you want to bowl to a left-hander?

10:28 >> Yeah, I guess I swung a little bit late and managed to hit the stumps.

10:32 >> Okay.

10:34 Can you talk a little bit about bowling to Ben Stokes?

10:36 Like, he's got the better of Australia on a few occasions.

10:39 You've gotten the better of him a few times, that ball to him in the 2019 World

10:44 Cup where he kind of kicked his bat.

10:46 What's it kind of like to bowl to him and how's he maybe different to other top

10:50 five batters around the world?

10:52 >> You probably wouldn't put him alike many others.

10:57 We've seen that throughout this series and the way he played.

11:00 You know, at Lords was next level.

11:02 The way he's played throughout the series with the tail, I think we're pretty

11:06 happy to get the tail out there with the tail today.

11:09 So, yeah, look, he's just able to find different places in the field to hit the

11:13 ball.

11:14 There's been times where our fields have been all on the boundary and he's just

11:17 cleared the rope.

11:18 So, you know, he's a class act and he can do a fairly good job with the tail

11:22 when he knows where he wants to hit the ball and can manage that the way he does.

11:26 So, yeah, for us it's trying to get him in there early while the ball's doing a

11:30 bit.

11:31 Obviously the wicket today, I know overhead's helped that case.

11:34 But, yeah, he's time and time again, he's a class performer.

11:38 So, it's nice to get him out as early as we can.

11:44 >> I'll mention two quick ones.

11:46 Who's on top?

11:47 2-8-3 all out is not a mammoth total but it's not trivial.

11:51 And what's it like bowling to this fellow here because he hasn't got 100 in this

11:56 series yet but he's hurt you a few times, hasn't he?

11:59 >> It's a big ball, yeah.

12:02 No, look, you could say it's an even day.

12:06 I think, you know, we won the toss for a change and at times the scoreboard

12:11 probably leaked a fair bit.

12:13 But to bowl him out with an hour and a half left in the day, to go to stump

12:19 Sonny one down is a nice result overnight.

12:23 But there's enough in the wicket if you put the ball in the right area.

12:26 Likewise, if you're patient enough and absorb enough pressure, you can

12:30 obviously value for your shots here with the big square and obviously a fast

12:34 outfield.

12:35 So, yeah, you could argue that it's a pretty even day.

12:39 But, yeah, for us I think it was nice to get first use of the wicket with the

12:42 ball and then obviously play out the day as it was.

12:45 So, and then to answer your question, he's obviously going to play a fair bit

12:48 of cricket for England over a long time.

12:50 And, yeah, it's nice it's the last test.

12:56 >> Mitch, I think there's one area that we can all agree Pat has failed as a

13:01 captain and that's in calling the right side of the coin.

13:05 You've only mentioned it three times so far in this press conference.

13:08 >> I'm not the only one to mention it, though.

13:10 >> Well, what did you all say?

13:11 I'm interested in what the bowler said when he finally got one right today.

13:14 >> Well, actually, Marnus was the only one that was pushing for him to start

13:17 calling heads.

13:19 Everyone else was, you've got to stick to your guns.

13:21 And if you go 0 and 6 for the series on tosses, it's not your fault, is it?

13:25 So, everyone's pretty pleased he finally got one.

13:31 Cheers.

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