Coach Andrew Macdonald and captain Pat Cummins both admitted Starc was carrying a problem and bowling through pain, but believed he should be fit to play in Sydney.
However, Starc’s problems, and his workload along with Cummins throughout the series, highlighted the lack of contribution from Australia’s fifth bowler at Marsh. He bowled just 33 overs across the seven innings of the series (barring a brief second innings in Brisbane), and has 1 for 127 in his last 28 overs since claiming 2 for 12 in the first innings of the series.
Travis Head delivered a crucial match-winning breakthrough for Australia in the fourth innings at the MCG as Marsh did not bowl at all in the last two sessions despite Australia needing a quick rest. But McDonald insists he has no worries about Marsh’s contribution with the ball.
“No, nothing to worry about,” McDonald said after the memorable win at the MCG. “And I think people are probably reading too much into it. He didn’t need the ball as often as we thought. He bowled again today. His pace went up in 120s. [kph]. There are no injury concerns.
“I think that lower angle is a bit unfair. We didn’t need him for whatever reason, so it’s a tactical execution against a body. I think the amount of overs we’ve bowled throughout the series is It is probably going to be beneficial for us.
“Throughout the series, it’s been relatively light, so I expect both attacks to be able to press in decent form. [in the final Test]. So does that mean you need a fifth bowler? I think you still need a fifth bowler. But are you going to have a huge demand for a fifth bowler, probably not.”
But Marsh’s limited contributions have exacerbated his lackluster return with the bat. Allan Border Medalist was Australia’s best Test batsman last season with match-winning fifties in four of Australia’s six series wins against Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand. But in this series he scored just 73 runs at 10.42, 47 of which came in the second innings at Perth when the game was long gone. Nathan McSweeney scored 72 runs at 14.40 before being dropped in the fourth Test.
Despite the poor streak and history of self-doubt, MacDonald believed Marsh was in a good frame of mind.
“Would he like a better performance? No doubt about it,” he said. “Over four Test matches, he hasn’t been able to deliver at the level he likes and we want, but yes he’s ready and about. We’ve only won one Test match. He’s in a pretty good headspace.”
Macdonald was confident his trio could handle the short change in Sydney despite Starc’s aching quickness.
“Whenever you get through the game, it’s always a good indicator that you’ll have a chance in the next game,” MacDonald said. “That didn’t stop him. Obviously, Spelling was a little uncomfortable at the beginning, but once he warmed up, it seemed like he was pretty free. [His] The pace of the ball was good.
“We’ll see how everyone recovers. The last bowling, it was a pretty aggressive game, which we’re not used to in the last few years. Obviously Starcy is carrying something of some description. We’ll assess that. But other than that, it looks like we’re pretty intact. Got it, but [with a] The short turnaround recovery is important, and we’ll assess how the team is in Sydney based on the surface, as we always do.”
Australia left Richardson to play a BBL game for the Perth Scorchers in Adelaide on New Year’s Eve, but he will return to the squad on Wednesday and Macdonald, despite his injury history, is confident he can be called upon if needed.
“Very confident,” he said. “He’s here for a reason. So if we weren’t confident, he wouldn’t be here. He’s had a heavy week with us in the nets. All indications are that he’ll be able to bowl 40-plus overs.
“Sean Abbott is also there. We think, [the] SCG is his home ground, so he will also be serviceable if called upon. It will be about our frontline quickly assessing and then making decisions from there.”
Josh Inglis, who was the reserve batsman throughout the series, was withdrawn from the team after picking up a calf strain while fielding as a substitute on day two at the MCG. It is not yet confirmed if there will be a replacement.
Alex Malcolm is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
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