Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc is eyeing to hit the 160kmph on speed gun after adding muscle and modifying his bowling action when he would return to action following the Coronavirus-forced hiatus.
With the fearsome pace and great movement, Starc is considered one of the fiercest fast bowlers in the world cricket, but his career has been marred with injuries, as whenever he’s reached the 160 kph mark, the pacer was forced to go out with injuries.
He has suffered stress fractures on his foot on multiple occasions, and also strained a pectoral muscle last year. Well, the COVID-19 pandemic has come as a blessing in disguise for the speedster, as he is feeling refreshed and stronger following the long break.
At the moment, the left-arm pacer is training with his New South Wales teammates and has now returned to top physical shape ahead of Australia’s upcoming fixtures against England and India.
Notably, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar holds the record for the fastest ball in cricket, bowling at 161.3 kph against England in 2003 – which has been never crossed yet and in fact, Starc came very close when bowled his fastest delivery at a 160.4 kph yorker against New Zealand at the WACA in 2015.
Well, the 30-year-old is now ready to challenge that pace, as he is “push the limits again” while making sure his attempts do not cause another breakdown, as the Australian feels the extra hours in the gym and modified action will help him in generating extra pace and claim the pace record.
Starc said: “It would be nice but at the same time the two occasions I’ve been up around that (160 kph) mark I’ve snapped my foot. Hopefully, that’s not the case but when everything is going well, that rhythm is happening and conditions suit, then I can get that speed gun up. Perhaps that extra time in the gym and extra time off I might be able to push the limits again.”
He further added, “At the start of the (2019-20) summer and after that UK tour, I very much got in that line and length (and) consistency mindset that the whole (fast bowling) group were about through the Ashes. That’s not to say that’s not important, but I think I’ve found a happy medium with this little tweak to still have that better consistency but still have my pace.”
Starc signed off by saying, “I still want to bowl fast and I’m not going to compromise that, but I had to find a way that wasn’t expensive at the same time and I think that little tweak in the action has helped that.”
(With Reuters Inputs)
