‘I’m not someone like James Anderson who played until he was 40-odd’ – Mitchell Starc on attempting to prolong his international career across formats

Mitchell Starc WACA Test 2015. (Photo Source: Gettyimages)

Mitchell Starc explained why he won’t be able to continue playing international cricket in his 40s like James Anderson, who recently retired at the age of 41. The Australian pacer has always prioritized playing for his country and only occasionally appeared in franchise leagues.

Starc has won almost everything in his international cricket but is still hungry for more success. He has his sights set on marquee events such as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Champions Trophy, and the Ashes. The left-arm bowler asserted that playing Test cricket remains his first preference and revealed that he has no specific plans to retire from any format at the moment. However, the 34-year-old expressed his concerns regarding the busy schedule in modern-day cricket, saying that it was taking a toll on his body.

“I’ve been very lucky to play three formats for a very long time. How long that will continue, I’m not sure. The scheduling of three formats is getting harder and harder and finding blocks of time to spend time on my body is going to take away from others,” Starc told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Tests are still definitely the pinnacle for me and I think my body will play a part in that decision whenever it gets to it. I’m not someone like Jimmy who played until he was 40-odd and had incredible skills to swing it both ways. I’ve never been that bowler and there’s plenty of better bowlers around the country to fill that job. I’m really looking forward to this summer and I haven’t put any expiry date on anything just yet,” he added.

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‘The level of competitiveness between both trophies is on par’ – Mitchell Starc compares Ashes to Border-Gavaskar Trophy

The most iconic rivalry in Test cricket is undoubtedly between Australia and England. Australia have kept a stranglehold of the coveted Ashes urn since 2017-2018. However, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where the Aussies compete against India, has also become a marquee fixture in world cricket, especially after the Asian side’s dominance in recent years.

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Starc opined that the competitiveness level between the Ashes and the BGT is on par. India is set to tour Australia later this year to defend the BGT. The Sydney-born believes that the five-match series will be a hard-fought affair.

“It’s thrown it right on par with an Ashes series being [expanded to] five Tests. The Border-Gavaskar doesn’t have that length of history [as the Ashes] but I think the level of competitiveness between both trophies is on par. We’re currently one and two in the Test table so there will be a bit of spice to it,” Starc concluded.