Starc seeks advice ahead of Sri Lanka tour

Australia spearhead Mitchell Starc says he will lean on the advice of Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle ahead of a Test series in Sri Lanka.

Australian bowler Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc is seeking advice from past and present paceman ahead of his first tour of Sri Lanka. (AAP)

Mitchell Starc will pick the brains of past and present Australian pacemen ahead of his first Test tour of Sri Lanka.

Starc has featured in 25 Tests, making him comfortably the most experienced fast bowler in the Australian squad that starts a three-Test series in Kandy on July 26.

The left-armer has played two Tests in India but has no experience in Sri Lanka outside the World Twenty20 in 2012.

The spearhead has already started doing some research with the help of offspinner Nathan Lyon, who made his Test debut in 2011 in Galle.

"Nathan Lyon has played a series over there so we've already starting talking to him," Starc said in Barbados, where he has returned from injury in the ODI tri-series.

"Guys like Peter Siddle and Mitch Johnson we can call on to pick their brains about subcontinent bowling as well.

"I'm sure the conditions will be pretty similar to something like India... with how they rely on their spinners.

"It's obviously a different ball to (India), reverse-swing is going to be a huge thing."

Starc will head to Sri Lanka as the leader of a pace battery that also includes Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird and potential debutant Nathan Coulter-Nile.

The 26-year-old spoke on the eve of the ongoing tri-series about how Johnson and Ryan Harris remain a sounding board for the current quicks.

"We still definitely keep in contact with those boys and we will for a long time, because we're pretty close mates," Starc said.

"I was talking to Mitch just the other day, we've got Ryan Harris who worked with us a bit in Brisbane before we departed."

Starc admitted the subcontinent can be a testing place for a paceman.

"I'm always going to try and reverse that ball after it stops swinging," he said.

"It's something I pride myself on, working hard and making the most out of that old ball.

"If we can apply enough pressure and make them play some shots against our good balls, we'll take wickets."

Steve Smith's side claimed top spot on the International Cricket Council's Test rankings in February, when they defeated New Zealand 2-0.

Skipper Smith has long spoken of his desire for a dynasty and Starc is very much on the same page.

"Once you're at the top, you have a lot of guys chasing you," Starc said.

"Leading up to the tour of Sri Lanka, we've got a lot of work to do to make sure we're still No.1 after that three-Test series."


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Published 21 June 2016 12:28pm
Source: AAP

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