Australian left-arm speedster Mitchell Starc won the Allan Border medal for the very first time in his career for his stellar performance in the year 2021. Starc picked 17 wickets in five Test matches at an average of 33.23 in 2021 and was the second leading wicket-taker for Australia. Starc took 11 wickets in three ODIs last year at an average of 10.63. Starc was also the part of the Australian team that won the ICC T20 World Cup last year. He also spoke about how the last two years of his life has tested him . The New South Wales cricketer shed light on all the ups and downs he faced.
“The last two years, as life is at the moment, there’s a lot of ups and downs. You find ways to adapt and what not, but it’s a reflection of the support base I have had throughout those two years as well. There’s certainly been times when I haven’t played my best cricket or certainly times over those two years where I didn’t want to play any cricket,” Starc said in an interview with Cricket Australia.
Starc also mentioned how his wife and Australian women’s team wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy and other fellow teammates supported him during this difficult phase in his life.
“I’m very thankful for my support networks and in particular (my wife) Alyssa, to play cricket at the highest level (and) be there to support me as well, I can’t thank her enough for that. I’ve got a wife that plays at the highest level and a couple of my closest mates who play international cricket, so I’ve got a pretty good sounding board in that regard. A lot of respective opinions in our change room as well,” he added.
Starc also thanked the Australian cricket team’s physio David Beakley.
“It goes back to the work you do behind the scenes, and the work you put in with S&Cs and time spent with physios and what not, a huge thanks to the support staff, particularly Australian Men’s physio David Beakley to keep me on the park for five Test matches and keep me on the park for five,” the left-arm pacer further said.
In the recently completed Ashes series against England at home, the seamer picked 19 wickets in five matches at an average of 25.36. He was the only seamer in both the camps to play all five matches of the series.
