Australia v Sri Lanka: Mitchell Starc savages Cricket Australia training plan
New Cricket Australia high performance boss Drew Ginn wants the country’s fast bowlers to train like rowers – but leading quick Mitchell Starc isn’t having any of it, insisting ‘I’m not one for bowling slowly’.
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Mitchell Starc doesn’t want to be told how fast to bowl in the nets as Cricket Australia looks to adopt rowing theories to manage its fast bowlers.
New high performance boss Drew Ginn – a three-time Olympic gold medallist and member of the ‘Oarsome Foursome’ – wants to put the brakes on by training bowlers at lower intensities.
But Starc, who is yet to meet Ginn, said he should be entrusted to handle his own preparation.
“I’m not really one for bowling slowly,” Starc, 29, told the Herald Sun.
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“I still think there’s an element where you need to remind the body what bowling fast is like.
“You’ve still got to hit those top speeds, whether it be for an over or two at training or whether it’s six or seven.”
Ginn said that in rowing they trained anywhere from 20-100 per cent intensity, whereas cricket’s recent trend has been to bowl at 80-100 per cent with restrictions placed on workloads.
“That (80-100 per cent) is going to cause injury if you’re limiting what they do. But if we trained a bowler like a rower, what might be possible?” Ginn said.
“We know low-intensity exercise is what builds bone density and ligament tensile strength. Muscle loading and high intensity is really important too, but if you don’t build the base you can’t go to the peak.
“My thing is to build the load back up again and have this great sports science network that helps us manage that better.”
Starc said he had seen sports science bend a number of different ways throughout his professional career.
“I’d like to think I’ve played enough cricket and been around enough to have a very big say in how I approach my preparation,” he said.
“I think I personally get a lot out of playing consistent cricket and I’ve found from experience when I have stop-start cricket it tends to affect my rhythm.
“Yes, selectors and medicos are going to determine workload issues, but for me I’d like to think I know my body enough to know I can handle running in and bowling fast at training and can back up and play back-to-back games.”
Starc was unsure who Australia would appoint as its new bowling coach.
Ryan Harris is onboard for the current T20 series while Adam Griffith (World Cup) and Troy Cooley (Ashes) held the post in the UK this year.
Starc remains close with NSW bowling coach Andre Adams, and said he had helped propel T20 teammate Sean Abbott into “exceptional” form.
“Andre’s been great for me personally and for NSW as well,” Starc said.
“He’s been a fantastic addition in terms of having a young bowling group and how they’ve progressed.”
The left-arm star hit back with 2/18 against Sri Lanka on Sunday after bagging 10 wickets against Tasmania in last week’s Sheffield Shield match.
Starc said Adams helped clear his mind for that domestic clash after he took just one wicket with a “clouded” mindset at the Gabba the week before, following on from a frustrating Ashes campaign.