Steve Smith relishing the return of his pace spearhead as Australia prepare to fly to the Caribbean
Fit Starc ready to 'scare' batsmen: Smith
When Australia arrive in the Caribbean for their ODI tri-series next week, it will be the first time in six months that captain Steve Smith will have star left-armer Mitchell Starc at his disposal.
And the skipper can't wait to watch his strike bowler put fear into opposition batsmen again.
Starc hasn't played since suffering a foot injury during the Adelaide Test last November and was booked in for surgery that ruled him out for the rest of the home summer, their tour of New Zealand and the World T20 in India.
But if Starc's form in the nets in recent weeks has been any indication, he will hardly be easing back into international cricket when he takes on the Windies and South Africa next month.
Quick single: Marsh determined to repay the faith
The left-armer followed up an extensive spell at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane on Sunday with another shorter session on Monday, bowling at full pace off his long run-up in Australia's final practice before they head to the Caribbean this week.
And if the Windies and Proteas were in any doubt about the speed with which Starc is bowling, they only have to ask wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade, who was struck a nasty blow in the stomach from Starc in the nets on Monday.
Wade was unhurt in the incident and Starc has left enough of an impression this weekend to have Smith excited about his return.
"It's nice to have Mitchell Starc back bowling the way he is," Smith said. "He's looking fresh and bowling at good pace.
"Hopefully some of the South African and West Indies batsmen are a little bit scared at the moment.
"It's exciting to have him back and hopefully he can have some success straight away, or pick up where he left off.
"The set of skills he brings to the game, he knows what he's doing 100 per cent of the time. He's that banker ... it's nice to have him back."
While the Australians will welcome back a familiar face in Starc for the series in the Windies, Smith is also excited about the return of a veteran of Australian touring parties, Test great Justin Langer.
Langer, the former Test opener and current coach of Western Australia, will stand in as head coach in place of Darren Lehmann, who has been given an extended break from touring.
Quick single: Aussies set to look to seam for SL success
Langer hasn't worked with the Australian side since his stint as batting coach between 2009 and 2012 under the watch of former head coaches Tim Nielsen and Mickey Arthur.
Smith, who has overcome a wrist injury that brought a premature end to his Indian Premier League campaign, is no stranger to Langer's methods and says the stand-in coach will bring a new dimension to the world's No.1 ranked ODI team.
"It's going to be a little bit different not having Boof around, but Alf's done a terrific job with Western Australia over the last couple of years.
"It's been a while since I've worked with him. He was the batting coach when I first came into the Australian side and he was a fantastic batting coach and all reports are he's been doing terrific things at WA.
"So I'm looking forward to having a different voice around, something a little different for the guys and I think it's an exciting time for Australian cricket to have someone of Justin's calibre around the group."
Australia's campaign in the West Indies begins against the home team in Guyana on June 5.