With the win against England, Australia now have an unbeaten record in day-night Tests, winning nine out of nine. India with two wins are second on the table, and they have played only three matches. The credit of Australia’s success mostly goes to the bowling quartet of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon. All the four bowlers are the top most wicket-takers in day-night Tests. Starc become the first bowler to take 50 wickets with the pink ball and has three fifers to go with it. In this piece, we look at his stats in all the pink ball matches and analyze his consistency.
In the last six innings with the pink ball, Starc has four or more wickets four times. The one innings where he was unable to pick up any wicket was when India were bowled out for 36 runs in Adelaide last year. In 17 innings with the pink ball, Starc has gone wicketless only twice. Apart from having three fifers, he has also managed to pick up five four-wicket hauls. It can be easily said that Starc with a pink ball in hand is a serial wicket-taker.
Starc’s scalps in this second Ashes Test to an extent can be linked to England’s batting issues, especially their tactics against the pink ball. Earlier this year, when they faced the pink ball against India,14 of their 20 batters got out either bowled or LBW. In the last Test, all the six wickets claimed by Starc were caught out. England have been chasing the ball or are not solid with their defense. On a technical front, England have been lacking, which shows in the stats.
Against different opposition
Australia have played a pink-ball Test match with almost all the top cricketing nations. Starc has a fifer against England, New Zealand & Pakistan. Overall, with the pink ball, he has an average of 18. Against New Zealand, it’s even better (10) with 12 wickets to his name. Against Pakistan and England, he has the most number of wickets (14 each). Starc has been able to pick up wickets against different batting oppositions, though all in Australian conditions. Starc has been lethal in the second innings of a Test with 21 wickets in five innings and has only struggled in the third innings, where he has managed only five wickets in four innings.
Facing the pink ball
There is an assumption in the cricketing world that the pink ball offers more swing and seam, and it does for a longer duration of time. Facing a new pink ball in the twilight conditions and under the artificial lights has been understood to be a big challenge to the batters.
In normal circumstances, the first 10 runs or so is the time when the batter is most vulnerable. More than half of Starc’s wickets with the pink ball have been before the batter crosses the 10-run mark, including seven ducks. It also matches his overall stats in Test cricket, where more than 50% of his wickets are before the batter crosses the 10-run mark.
The other pacers who have picked up wickets with the pink ball have dismissed more batters before they have crossed the 10-run mark when compared to their normal Test match records. Only James Anderson’s number have seen a decline. It can be inferred that the pink ball does help the pacers and is an issue for the batters starting their innings, and Starc, who has been exceptional to new batters on the crease even with the red Test ball, just continues to do so with consistency with the pink ball.
Conclusion
Australia have done well in terms of promoting the Day-Night Test match format by playing nine of them. But their real test cricketing wise would come when they play one on an away tour. Australia might struggle as England did in India against a pink ball on a spinning deck that rushes the batters. Starc with his pace and his aggressive bowling intent might still be able to create trouble for any batter on any pitch given the favorable conditions of the pink ball.