Mitchell Starc's four wickets help NSW Blues flatten South Australian Redbacks

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This was published 8 years ago

Mitchell Starc's four wickets help NSW Blues flatten South Australian Redbacks

By Daniel Lane
Updated

Mitchell Starc's four-wicket haul not only spearheaded an incredible fightback for NSW to win their Matador Cup match against South Australia by 110 runs, but it proved – yet again – why he is considered the world's best white-ball bowler.

The Blues' bowling attack had been set what appeared an unenviable task on Thursday, defending 266 runs at North Sydney Oval, a ground notorious for big scores. And they were up against a South Australian team that blasted 354 in their last match.

Express delivery: Mitchell Starc bowls during the Matador Cup match between NSW and South Australia at North Sydney Oval.

Express delivery: Mitchell Starc bowls during the Matador Cup match between NSW and South Australia at North Sydney Oval.Credit: Getty Images

A day after Starc revealed he had put off surgery on painful spurs in his ankle to soldier on this summer, he looked fearsome as he marked out his run-up.

His 4-27 proved the purposefulness was not a show, but South Australian opener Tim Ludeman did not share in the excitement of the NSW squad, who praised their man for generating the zip needed to zap the Redbacks out on a pitch with less life than a doornail.

Captain's knock: Steve Smith plays a stroke during the Blues innings.

Captain's knock: Steve Smith plays a stroke during the Blues innings.Credit: Getty Images

"He bowled full and swung it back in, as he tends to do, so it's nothing we haven't seen before," Ludeman said.

Some of Ludeman's teammates, however, batted as though they had never seen anything quite like the Starc express. He knocked Travis Head – who scored 202 against Western Australia on Monday – for a duck in the opening over.

And he produced a third-over hammer blow when Callum Ferguson, who scored a century on Monday, was caught by Sean Abbott for one run.

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Later in the match skipper Steve Smith unleashed Starc on the tail, and he produced a ball Adam Zampa had no hope of playing before ending the game when he bowled the Redbacks' No.11, Gary Putland.

"We knew if we just put [the ball] in the right area and probably bowl as if we were defending 330 or less, we knew we had the bowling attack to restrict them," said Starc.

"[The 266 NSW scored] was probably a little bit below ... where we thought it might be at the start of the day.

"I think we played really well in the first 10 overs to get through that new ball ... I think the batsman did really well there, but we probably didn't capitalise on that enough through the middle and at the end."

NSW made a winning total thanks to skipper Smith, who was the anchor of the innings after losing the toss and being sent into bat.

As Smith watched his players fall to rash shots and saw Peter Nevill and Sean Abbott run out by Sam Raphael – who has the reflexes of a cobra – Shane Watson came to an inglorious end when he was bowled trying to blast a Zampa full toss into orbit. It was cruel to watch.

It was left to Smith to salvage the innings, and after being dropped by a diving Putland in the deep when he was on 43 and surviving a run-out appeal, he was dismissed for 72. It put the Blues on course for another two bonus points.

NSW have effectively won three games through their four bonus points, which have followed dominant victories over South Australia and the Cricket Australia XI.

While Starc performed brilliantly, he received great support from Gurinder Sandhu, who sent Ludeman packing in the second over.

Abbott's pace and aggression earned him 2-14, while the NSW spin twins, Stephen O'Keefe (2-21) and Nathan Lyon (1-32), added to a collective effort.

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