Mitchell Starc says Cameron Green’s absence will “change the dynamic” of the Australian men’s Test XI, hinting pace reserves may be needed to get through the summer.
Green’s season-ending back surgery has left Australia’s selectors with several questions ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, beyond just who opens the batting with Usman Khawaja.
The absence of Green has the potential to have a flow-on effect for Australia’s aging pace attack, with an increased workload likely in the five Tests against India.
Captain Pat Cummins had stated before the start of the summer Australia was likely to rely heavily on Green and fellow all-rounder Mitch Marsh, particularly if India bat for long periods of time.
Starc, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will almost certainly start the summer as the three preferred quicks, but Scott Boland, Michael Neser and Sean Abbott all now loom on the fringes.
“It will always change the dynamic when you take a genuine all-rounder like a Cameron Green out,” Starc said.
“When you have that genuine all-rounder who has been part of a group for a while … you get into a bit of a routine of having that extra bowling option.
“I don’t know what the dynamic of that line-up is going to be, there is a lot of talk around that opening spot and Mitch (Marsh) bowling as well.
“It’s not completely foreign. We’ve had series in the past where we haven’t had an all-rounder at all.
“We’ve had to take some of that workload, and Gaz (Nathan Lyon) has probably had to bowl a bit extra as well.”
Starc will begin his red-ball summer for NSW against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield on Sunday, with Steve Smith and Lyon also playing for the Blues.
Hazlewood will then play in the Blues’ following match against Queensland, with Starc to be rested.
The Tests against India will take place inside a seven-week period, with the longest gap being a 10-day break between the series opener in Perth and second match in Adelaide.
Starc said Australia’s bowlers had always taken an extended-squad approach, with several factors coming into whether the first-choice group’s workload was managed.
“That’s been the mindset for a number of years now, with overseas tour or a home series and the mentality of how gruelling a summer or series can be,” Starc said.
“It’s been spoken about: if you have four or five Tests that go four days, the extra day between games [can be important].
“There is obviously a big gap between the first and second Test and the third and fourth Test. That may play a part as well.
“We don’t know what wickets we’ll get, we don’t know how successful or unsuccessful we will be.”
AAP
