Mitchell Starc on the pink ball, what he expects in second Ashes Test against England

Mitchell Starc has taken 81 wickets in 14 pink-ball Tests. The Aussie quick has one of those balls on his mantelpiece and concedes it’s likely to be a collector’s item. Here’s why.

Mitchell Starc believes the pink ball which created mayhem in his last day-night Test will never be seen again – but that’s the only good news for besieged England at the Gabba.

Starc again looms as the man who will make the pink ball create red faces when he confronts England in the second Test from Thursday

With 10 wickets in the first Test in Perth, a week of rain creating the expectation of a green Gabba deck and Starc’s extraordinary record of 81 wickets at 17 in the day-night contests, the pink ball prince could swoop on England like vulture from Vulture St.

The only moderately comforting factor for England will be that the pink Kookaburra ball will not do as much as the soap-sud imitating Dukes ball used in the last Test against the West Indies in Jamaica recently.

The home side was bowled out for 27 in their second innings and Starc took a mind-blowing 6-9.

The fast men were nigh unplayable and as much as he relished being so dominant Starc sensed the imbalance between and bat would be addressed higher up the chain.

“I don’t think we will ever see a pink Dukes ball again,’’ Starc told this masthead.

“I don’t think that will ever see the light of day.

“It was doing plenty during the day and then we had to bowl at night. I think the (Dukes) pink ball I have on the mantelpiece at home might be the last one you will see.

“It did a lot. It was certainly skewed in the bowlers favour.’’

Starc offered the words with a telling grin of a man who finds it hard to shed a tear when batsmen are suffering.

Lord knows they get enough their own way with flat decks, small boundaries and bats so heavy they could pass for fence posts. Surely one random little pink firecracker tossed the bowlers way was no crime?

The English batsmen will be on red alert for Starc’s pink ball weapons, including his wicked late inswinger.

The Bazball style of high backlifts and relentless crunch and punch will be under fierce scrutiny at the Gabba.

Australia has won 13 of 14 pink ball Tests because it has managed to subtly ride the rhythms of the format as conditions change at nightfall and beyond.

Whether cavalier England can bring the same nuances to their play is very much in doubt. There are nights when a hooping pink ball can look nigh unplayable.

Starc has an unusual relationship with pink ball cricket.

He has played more pink ball Tests (14) than anyone and has almost double the amount of wickets as the next best bowlers but in its early days he was not a great fan of the concept.

“My stance has probably softened a bit on it. I still love the red-ball cricket. I did think the Adelaide pink-ball Test was a great event with everything that went with it.

“It will change slightly with the pink ball in Brisbane.’’

Starc at age 35 is bowling as well as he ever has, as evidenced by his 39 wickets at 15 in eight Tests this year.

He is unsure of how long he will play Test cricket, saying he does not want to put a date on it, “but I don’t want to play to the point where I am some 125km/h bowler because it is not the role that I play … it is not what I have offered the group. I have always prioritised Test cricket.’’

Beware Mitch Starc with the pink ball

The greatest tribute to Starc’s career is that he is about to pass Wasim Akram, the greatest left arm bowler of all time, on the wicket-takers list.

Starc has 412 wickets at 26 from 101 Tests while Akram has 414 at 23 from 104, flatteringly similar figures.

Akram had the greater challenge of having to bowl in tough home conditions on the unforgiving decks of Pakistan and had a better average but the figures are close enough to put Starc in blue chip company.

Of the bowlers ahead of him on the Test wicket-takers list, only Dale Steyn has a better strike rate that Starc.

Starc was in and out of the side in his early years to the point where he he played just 14 Tests in his first four years when Australia was not sure what to make of his talent.

Originally published as Mitchell Starc on the pink ball, what he expects in second Ashes Test against England