Mitchell Starc in action. (FILE)
In one of the remarkable results of the recently concluded 2024 T20 World Cup co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies Afghanistan thrashed Australia by 21 runs in the Super 8 stage of the tournament. In addition to the result, the other thing that raised eyebrows for the game was the absence of Mitchell Starc in the playing XI for Australia.
The left-armer was not in the best of forms in the tournament however, he has shown time and again in his career that he can deliver the goods during clutch games. In addition to dropping him in a crucial game in the 2024 World Cup Australia also dropped him in a must-win game against the same opposition in the 2022 World Cup in Adelaide.
When asked about getting dropped for the game in 2024 Starc clarified, “No – two World Cups in a row,” on the Willow Talk podcast, as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald. He also confirmed that the decision to bring in left-arm spinner Ashton Agar in place of him was tactical. “Just the match-up, they (team management) saw previous games on that ground in St. Vincent with spin playing a part and Ash (Ashton) and the left-arm enticing them to make a change.”
“I think Ash (Ashton Agar) bowled pretty well in the powerplay. They (Afghanistan) probably played spin quite well and batting first probably assessed the conditions a little bit better than we did, and had a couple of stumbles that in the end cost us the game. It was probably the fielding that cost us again that game,” Starc added.
The loss against Afghanistan meant that Australia had to win the game against India in their final Super 8 game. “That meant we had to win against India and we fell short there as well,” Starc said. Eventual champions India beat Australia by 24 runs. Despite the loss Australia still had a chance if Afghanistan lost to Bangladesh in their final Super game which did not happen either.
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