Starc fit and ready for Test summer

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has delivered the good news every Australian cricket fan, and selector, wanted to hear - he’s back bowling and available for selection.

Starc lacerated his leg in a fielding mishap at Sydney's Hurstville Oval five weeks ago. In that time the 26-year-old has undergone surgery, worn a restrictive leg brace and spent plenty of time on the couch while his national teammates were whitewashed 5-0 in South Africa and his state comrades advanced to the preliminary final of the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup.

Quick Single: Starc reveals details of horror leg injury

But in the past two weeks the left-armer has been back up and bowling and says he is available for the NSW Blues first Sheffield Shield match of the season against the my FootDr Queensland Bulls, starting next Tuesday.

"I’m available for (state) selection,” Starc said on Thursday.

"I’ll hopefully be on that plane on Monday to Brisbane and get some good bowling in and be back playing and ready to go for that first Test.

"The first session I had about a week and a half, nearly two weeks ago, was a bit tight trying to stretch that skin a little.

"Since then it’s been fine. I’ve been bowling off the long run at a net session with the Blues boys (on Tuesday) and will bowl at them again today and probably have another session before going over to Brisbane on Monday.

"Hopefully I can hurry up a few more batsmen next week in Brisbane.

"I’ll be bowling to a few guys in the (Sri Lanka tour) Test squad in Joey Burns and Usman Khawaja so I’ll be looking to make them jump around.

"Hopefully knock Joe over with the new ball."

Starc was due to rest while the Australia one-day international team travelled to South Africa, but the leg injury waylaid the quick and has set him "two weeks behind schedule".

Australia’s selectors will be hoping Starc rediscovers his stunning form from Sri Lanka where, in a 3-0 losing outfit, he was brilliant in capturing 24 wickets at 15.16.

The record-breaking series vaulted Starc into the official top 10 rankings of the world’s best Test bowlers, and the lissom fast bowler says consistent time on the park and his bond with a former teammate have been the reasons for his rapid improvement.

"I’ve worked hard at my consistency but I think ... through continuous cricket and getting that consistency of games it’s helped a lot,” Starc said.

"Working closely with the bowling coaches and Mitchell Johnson was big for me.

"Not only bowling-wise but off the field training was really good for me.

"It’s all contributed there and the results are starting to show.

"The ball was coming out quite nicely in Sri Lanka. Hopefully I can get back to that sort of form quite quickly, hopefully in Brisbane next week then onto Perth and for the rest of the summer."

Starc hopes he can reach out to Perth-native Johnson when the Test squad assembles on October 29 in the Western Australia capital.

"We were in contact over in Sri Lanka and then have been over the past few weeks as well,” said Starc.

"Hopefully I can catch up with him in Perth with a couple of the other bowlers.

"We can get Mitch Marsh, bring him up to the Fast Bowlers Group.

"He’s been keeping that seat warm and Josh (Hazlewood) and I are very keen to take that back. Josh just said before he can be chairman of the medium pacers."