Cricket World Cup: England fan’s sledge to forget, firing up Mitch Starc

The barb led to Mitch Starc delivering the ball of the tournament in Australia’s huge win.

An English businessman fired up Mitchell Starc at breakfast before the left-armer tore through England’s batting line-up as Australia qualified for its eighth World Cup semi-final.

Starc, 29, unleashed the ball of the tournament as a wicked inswinging yorker smashed the base of Ben Stokes’ off stump on his way to 4-43 in a famous win against England.

WHAT A BALL!

Starc produces an absolute beauty to get rid of Stokes after he played an incredible innings.

Watch: @9Gem
Live stream: https://t.co/FTqTtl6YFv #9WWOS #ENGvAUS #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/TgLHwRfNaV

— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) June 25, 2019

Just hours earlier an elderly man dressed in a suit sledged Starc over his bowling and elbow strapping while he was devouring three poached eggs at his London hotel breakfast.

“I was just hungry. He just had a bit of a clip at me, it was all good fun,” Starc said.

“I was still half-asleep I think. I still had two hours before we were starting warm-ups.”

Wife Alyssa Healy spilled the beans, tweeting: “High fives to the English bloke who fired up Mitch with some banter at breaky (sic) … onya legend!!”

High fives 👋🏻 to the English bloke who fired up Mitch with some banter at breaky..... onya legend!!

— Alyssa Healy (@ahealy77) June 25, 2019

Starc bowls a world record 50 per cent of his deliveries full and delivery attacking the stumps trapped Joe Root so plumb that he did not even consider reviewing the lbw dismissal.

But if New Zealand’s Trent Boult faces Pakistan on Thursday then Starc would’ve played the fewest World Cup games out of the tournament’s top 35 wicket-takers in history.

Starc’s 4/43 (8.1 overs) pushed him three wickets clear of England’s Jofra Archer, leading the 2019 World Cup with 19 scalps.

The Stokes dismissal left the England all-rounder so frustrated he dropped his bat and kicked it along the ground as it ended the home team’s mini-fightback.

That beautiful delivery reprised memories of Starc’s famous dismissal of New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum in the 2015 final.

Starc said current captain Kane Williamson was their “linchpin” ahead of Saturday night’s clash against the Kiwis back at Lord’s.

“Execution is a part of this whole bowling group but for me personally, I’ve got a pretty simple ODI plan,” Starc said.

“To execute that ball exactly how I wanted to was pleasing for me.”