MELBOURNE: Australian pace-bowler Mitchell Starc expressed shock over the lack of pace from Pakistan’s pace bowlers during the first Test in Perth, which Australia won by a mammoth 360-run margin.
While speaking to the media at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Starc stated that Pakistan’s bowlers are known for hitting speeds around 150 kph, however, they struggled to hit those speeds, which was surprising.
“I think everyone was slightly surprised at the lower pace of the Pakistan bowlers, when you’re generally used to some guys getting in the 150s [kph],” said Starc. “I don’t think that pace is the be all and end all but it certainly plays a part and can help.”
Starc further stated that extra pace might not be crucial in the second Test at MCG, however, bowlers can trouble batters with their accuracy.
“Case in point, you look at Scotty Boland who can bowl good wheels, but he’s not at your top end of pace bowlers. But he generates a lot of sideways movement here in Melbourne, obviously being his home ground,” added the left-arm pacer.
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“He’s done it for a long time and we saw that obviously against England, where every ball he bowled could have been a wicket.”
“So I don’t think that pace is the be all and end all. Certainly, for our attack we all complement each other really well by doing things very differently,” Starc concluded.
Notably, the Pakistan cricket team struggled during the first Test as their pace bowlers hardly managed to hit speeds around 140 kph, whereas the Australian pace trio of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc regularly hit the mid-140s.
Pakistan’s batting lineup unfolded at a mere 89 in the fourth innings while chasing a mammoth total of 450, thus losing by a margin of 360 runs.
The second Test between both teams will kick off on 26 December at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
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