Mitchell Starc said he went back to basics in defending 11 runs off the final over in the fourth T20I against West Indies here on Wednesday night. Starc held his nerve against Andre Russell in a narrow four-run win for Australia, their first victory in the five-match series.
The left-arm pacer said that the strategy of nailing the battle against Russell came from the first match, where Russell hit Starc for three sixes.
“Having played a fair amount of white-ball cricket, it (bowling in the last five overs) has been a job of mine for the majority of my white-ball career,” he said after the match.
“I’ve certainly got it wrong against ‘Russ’ (Russell) in the past — game one is a prime example where I was probably bowling to plans that I was in two minds about,” Starc was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au after the end of the match.
It has been a series of two halves for Starc. In the first two matches, Starc went wicketless for 89 runs in eight overs. The third match saw him back in his elements with a spell of 1/15 in four overs. Though Starc didn’t pick a wicket in Wednesday’s match and went for 37 runs, he was instrumental in preventing Russell from hitting eleven in the last over.
Starc further explained, “I probably didn’t back those plans personally. To go back to what a strength of mine is and just to hit that hole — I think that’s ultimately what you need to do in T20 cricket; back your ability, back your decision. If you run in with two thoughts on your mind, you’re behind the game already.
“I don’t think I was bowling to plans I was comfortable for in the first game. I went away from my strengths. I thought those plans weren’t right and we addressed that after game one. Personally, went back to things that were strengths of mine. The last three games I’ve been back on track,” he added.
The final T20I between Australia and West Indies will start on July 17. West Indies lead the series 3-1.
