Mitchell Starc has become used to turning up and bowling. Nothing flashy, just the usual left-arm pace, a few grimaces, a touch of sweat, and off he goes again. Next week, though, the 35-year-old will do it as the only member of Australia’s celebrated fast-bowling trio still on the park when the Ashes open in Perth.
Key facts first. Pat Cummins (wrist) and Josh Hazlewood (side) are out of the series opener. Scott Boland, reliable as ever, looks set for the new-ball duties alongside Starc, while Brendan Doggett should debut as third seamer. Cummins will be around the dressing-room but not the bowling crease.
Starc knows the drill. “I think we’re all pretty clear on what our roles are,” he said on Wednesday. “Obviously I’ve got a little bit more experience there. Scotty’s been around for a fair while now, so it’s not like I’m telling him what to do. We’ve got Patty in the sheds with us anyway.”
Translation: Starc will lead, but he won’t over-manage. In any case, the left-armer has form for it. He hasn’t missed a Test through injury since breaking a finger on Boxing Day 2022, racking up 100 caps and 400 wickets in the process – an ironman record for any quick approaching his late thirties.
Perth specifics
Perth Stadium has pace, bounce and a breeze that pushes the new ball across right-handers. Starc has actually bowled first-class overs there; Boland and Doggett have not. Conventional wisdom says that matters. Starc isn’t worried.
“I may take on a little bit of an experienced role, if you like. But we’ve all been around the traps for a while, so it’s just staying together as a group.”
Doggett’s time to step up
Doggett’s state switch from Queensland to South Australia last winter felt routine at the time, yet it has pushed him higher up the pecking order. An early-season Shield purple patch – 17 wickets at 19 – means a baggy green is within reach.
“Brendan was a lot younger and rawer then,” Starc recalled of their 2018 UAE tour. “Since then he’s made the change to South Australia. I think he’s come in red-hot… probably a little bit more comfortable in his own skin and around the group.”
For context, Doggett is 31, bowls brisk right-arm pace (135-plus kph), and hits the seam. He is also a handy lower-order hitter, though nobody in the Australian hierarchy is pretending they have found a genuine all-rounder.
Finch and Ferguson, both on television duty this week, like the idea of extra skid in Perth. “Doggett will be perfect for these conditions,” said Aaron Finch during a cricket.com.au panel. Callum Ferguson echoed the thought, noting the debutant’s ability to “stick to his plan even when the ball stops doing tricks”.
Training snapshots
Grey clouds and a lightning strike delayed Wednesday’s nets, yet once the covers slid back, Starc and Doggett let loose at Steven Smith, Jake Weatherald, Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green. Smith edged a full ball behind early – minor win to the bowlers – before settling. Starc admitted later he “didn’t bowl as well as Patty did on Monday”, which is something given Cummins was working off a half-run-up.
Technical note: net sessions mean little come match day, but Starc finding rhythm after a rusty ODI series against India is not trivial. Boland’s build-up has been low-key; coaches say he is humming along at 135 kph and hitting a handkerchief, as usual.
Australia’s likely XI (in batting order)
Usman Khawaja, Marcus Harris, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Brendan Doggett.
Harris keeps his place with David Warner retired; selectors are yet to confirm.
What may decide the Test?
1. New-ball burst: Without Cummins and Hazlewood, Australia need early scalps. Starc has 15 wickets at 19 in Perth Tests; Boland’s seam movement complements him.
2. England’s counter-attack: Ben Stokes insists his side will “keep throwing punches”, the Bazball mantra. Perth, a big ground with value for true bounce, rewards boldness but punishes rash hooks.
3. Cameron Green’s dual role: the all-rounder returns to his home ground with licence to bat freely at No. 6. If he bowls 10-15 overs of sharp pace, it eases pressure on Boland and Doggett.
Final thought
A veteran leading two comparably fresh faces is hardly a crisis; it is just a new shape. Starc summed it up best: “We as a group know what [Doggett] is capable of… really excited if he gets his opportunity this week to see what he can do on a Test arena.” Australia will need that excitement to turn quickly into wickets.
