Legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne isn’t too impressed with the bowling performances of Mitchell Starc and has slammed him for the same ahead of the much-awaited Ashes series, beginning at the Gabba on December 8.
The 53-year-old spin wizard might have aimed the most scathing remark at Starc, who has played 61 Tests and taken 255 wickets, stating that Starc was not in the best of his form for the summer series against England.
During an interview with Fox Cricket, on Tuesday, Shane Warne expressed his disappointment over the bowling performances of Mitchell Starc as he opined that Starc needs to find a big of rhythm. He said:
“He had a really poor (T20) World Cup (in the UAE). He’s just not bowling well enough. He needs to find a bit of rhythm and some form. It’s too important at the Gabba (the venue for the opening Ashes Test). So I’m all for Jhye Richardson (to replace him),”
For the unversed, Mitchell Starc has been under the scanner for his performances lately. The cricketer grabbed nine wickets at 27.55 in Australia’s title triumph at the ICC T20 World Cup however failed to take a wicket in the final match against New Zealand. He also conceded 60 runs in his four overs.
Further, Shane Warne also highlighted how Nathan Lyon’s form too had dipped last summer, which eventually turned out to be a problem for Australia and it showed in the results. As per Warne, Lyon and Starc shouldn’t be the automatic choice for the Ashes. He said:
“He had a poor summer last year, so did Mitchell Starc, so that’s where Australia really struggled. Lyon’s form isn’t great,”
He added:
“I hope (Mitchell) Swepson gives an option for the selectors then to say well, you know, Nathan’s not bowling that well or we want to play two spinners, put some pressure on Nathan Lyon.”
