Sydney [Australia], November 10 : Australia seamer Mitchell Starc showcased his bowling skills, claiming a four-wicket haul for New South Wales in the ongoing Sheffield Shield match against Victoria in Sydney, as he gears up for the upcoming Ashes series against England.
Starc struck early, dismissing four of Victoria's top six batsmen, while his Australia teammate Nathan Lyon chipped in with 2-65, removing the other two top-order batsmen.
Josh Hazlewood bowled 18 wicketless overs, conceding 54 runs, whereas Sean Abbott picked up a solitary wicket, as Victoria stumbled to 340-7 at stumps on day one.
After the end of the day play, Starc said he's working on getting his rhythm back after a long injury-free layoff and is "reasonably happy" with his performance, feeling like he's getting close to finding his groove.
"[I've been] working on a few things, getting that rhythm back. Probably my longest layoff injury-free for a long time, so I'm trying to find that rhythm through the ODIs [against India]. Just felt like something wasn't quite clicking there, and it felt pretty close today. So, yeah, reasonably happy," Mitchell Starc said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"I tend to be someone for whom continuous bowling keeps me in rhythm. It was a quick return to playing...I wasn't going into the ODI series thinking I was cherry ripe," he added.
Australia will take on England in the opening fixtures of the Ashes on November 21 in Perth. Steve Smith will lead the side as Pat Cummins is not in the team due to injury.
The Ashes series in Australia will be an extremely crucial one for England. For England, this will be their chance to win the first away Ashes series since 2011 and their first overall since 2015.
Australia's First Test squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
England squad for The Ashes series against Australia: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.