Image Credit- CA
As he stands on the
verge of an incredible feat, Mitchell Starc can still hear the harsh comments
of former Australia coach Tim Nielsen in his ears.
In the second Test against New Zealand this week at Hagley Oval, he can take
two wickets to move up to fourth place after Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, and
Nathan Lyon in Australia’s all-time most wicket-takers list, surpassing Dennis
Lillee.
Even while it’s
quite an accomplishment, Starc may be more pleased that he will be playing in
his sixth consecutive Test match during a summer in the southern hemisphere. In
his fourteen-year international career, he has never done this before. The
closest he has ever been was in 2017–18, when in the course of four months,
Australia played five Test matches at home against England and three away
against South Africa. He missed one of those matches.
Once delicate, Starc has developed into Australia’s iron man, persevering
through suffering to represent his nation in numerous matches. He vividly
recalls a chat that occurred during one of his first visits in 2010 with
Australia and made him recognise that enduring discomfort was a necessary part
of the work.
“I was still
learning what all those pains were and obviously the reports get around from
physios to coaches and I sort of got told to harden the f*** up a little
bit,” Starc said. “Timmy Nielsen probably made me aware that early
doors. Obviously, there’s plenty of times you need to be honest with the
medical staff but other times you got to know when to push through
things.”
One of those periods
has been the past 12 months. Despite only playing four Tests, Starc was
Australia’s top wicket-taker in the away Ashes last year.
Due to persistent groyne pain, he was unable to participate in the
limited-overs tour of South Africa that was scheduled to take place prior to
the ODI World Cup. Starc has never disclosed the precise nature of the problem
or described the suffering he endured. He doesn’t say anything about either.
“I think a lot of work goes into that a lot of work that people don’t see
or whether it be the rehab or the handling of niggles or there’s certainly sore
mornings for a lot of people,” Starc said. “But I think that comes
down to experiencing and knowing how to deal with certain things and finding
ways through them to still make an impact with a team or perform and carry out
your role.”