Australia sweat over Mitchell Starc’s fitness after latest niggle

Australia could be without Mitchell Starc for the remainder of the Melbourne Test and Sydney Test, with a latest niggle putting him under the scanner on December 28. The left-arm pacer grimaced with pain throughout the last session on day three of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Test.

Starc was seen holding his back, with an upper-body concern for the pacer. But that didn’t stop him from throwing down overs, increasing his pace over the spell to breach the 140 kmph. While the seriousness of the injury is yet to be ascertained, fellow pacer Scott Boland showed confidence in Starc to recover well before day four. 

"He's [Starc] okay. I think he's just had a bit of a niggle in his back or rib, but he came out after the [tea] break and was bowling 140 [kmph] so I think he'll be fine," Boland told reporters.

"Playing a Test match is pretty hard on your body, and he's played all four Tests so far. I think he's just a little bit stiff in his back,” Boland told ABC. 

Starc missing out would mean Australia will have to depend on Mitchell Marsh’s bowling more on day four and five of the MCG Test. But Boland believes Starc will play through pain and continue pushing boundaries on the field. 

"A couple of years ago here at the MCG, he had a broken finger, and we were planning for him not to bowl at all – and then he came out and bowled 140 [kmph] swingers.

"He's someone who can play through a lot of pain.

"You can tell he's played 90 [93] Test matches now. As a fast bowler there's not many Tests you play without any niggle at all. He's someone who can still bowl the same pace even when he is really sore – which is a great trait to have."

If Starc is ruled out of the Sydney Test, Australia must rely on one of Jhye Richardson, Sean Abbott or Beau Webster to fill in the shoes.