Mitchell Starc pivotal to ‘underdogs’ Australia’s World Cup chances: Michael Kasprowicz

Michael Kasprowicz has backed under-fire Mitchell Starc to lead Australian attack at the ICC World Cup in England later this year. Starc’s drop in form has coincided with Australia’s wretched run of form, especially in limited-overs cricket, that has seen them lose four straight ODI series starting January 2018.

And with the quadrennial world cup just a few months away, the defending champions certainly don’t start as the favourites. Kasprowicz, who played 38 Tests, 43 ODIs and three T20Is for Australia, accepts five-time champions are the “underdogs”.

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“It’s unusual for us to go into a World Cup with the tag of underdog,” Kasprowicz told the New Indian Express. “It’s a new group, a new coach. It’s a new label for the team. But that’ll take the pressure off of us.”

While their batting prowess has certainly taken some beating in the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner, the performances of their bowlers hasn’t been up to the mark either.

“I still see a lot of talent in Australia, with the pace bowlers, allrounders and batsmen. I think this has more to do with finding the right combination. Plus, you’ll have Warner and Smith back [after the ball-tampering bans]. They’re world-class batsmen, and they’ve just had a big break. Ideally, you’d want a lot more cricket before the World Cup begins, but we don’t live in an ideal world. Irrespective, form is just a ball or a wicket away,” he said.

The emergence of young pacers has been a positive for them though and Kasprowicz expects them deliver at the big stage. “… Jhye (Richardson) and (Jason) Behrendorff have also come good. His form apart, Starc will still be the pace spearhead at the World Cup. He’s always an attacking bowler and a wicket-taker, and his skills are even more pronounced with the Kookaburra. One way of stopping teams from reaching huge totals is to keep effecting dismissals. Starc will be pivotal in that context,” he opined.