Sizzling Starc primed for full summer schedule

As Australia prepare for the likelihood of playing without Josh Hazlewood for the rest of the Domain Test series, Mitch Starc says his own track record gives him the confidence he can get through the Test summer unscathed.

Hazlewood said the tight schedule will make it tough for him to get back for the final Test against New Zealand in the New Year after suffering a hamstring injury that has ruled him out for the remainder of the first Test in Perth.

The loss of the 51-Test veteran is a blow for the Australians but in his absence Starc completed his 13th five-wicket haul to play the leading hand in bowling New Zealand out for 166 and put the hosts in the box seat after three intriguing days.

Australia is fortunate to have the likes of James Pattinson and Michael Neser waiting in the wings but skipper Tim Paine will not want to lose any more of his strike bowlers this campaign.

It has already been a long summer for Starc, who has played in three Tests, three Marsh Sheffield Shield matches, six T20 internationals and a Marsh One-Day Cup game, though that lengthy stint came off the back of an Ashes series in which he was sparingly used, playing just one of the five Tests.

When asked what gives him the belief he can continually back up and perform at his peak, the 29-year-old points to his past.

Last summer Starc played all six Tests on home soil (four versus India, two against Sri Lanka) and followed it up by playing all 11 games in the World Cup in June and July in England.

While he missed one Test against England in the 2017-18 season, he again played all six Tests (three each against South Africa and Pakistan) the summer prior.

And if he needs inspiration when it comes to fast bowlers staying on the park, Starc only has to look at a teammate who has become Australia's marathon man over the past three years.

"Patty (Cummins) has been going for a long time now and he's had his struggles as a younger bowler but he's come through with flying colours and he's probably our most robust bowler at the moment," Starc told cricket.com.au.

"I'm feeling pretty good, I've been around a little while now so hopefully I've picked up a few things along the way to keep me in good health and good fitness.

"The older you get, the wiser you get. Things are always going to hurt, it's about putting them to the side and pushing through.

"The aches and pains go away when you win a game for Australia."

One aspect helping Starc stay on the park has been the time he has spent off it.

The bonus of Australia's batters firing against Pakistan and New Zealand has been significant chunks of rest for the bowling attack, allowing them to recharge instead of having to back up day after day.

That extra time to keep their feet up meant Paine had the confidence to enforce the follow-on in the Adelaide Test where his bowlers spent 177 overs straight in the field.

In this Test, Starc and his fellow bowlers had rested the whole first day as Marnus Labuschagne and the batters went on to occupy the crease for 146.2 overs, before the hosts knocked over the Black Caps inside 56 overs.

All that time spent off the field adds up and Starc and co will need all the energy they can muster to take 10 more New Zealand wickets in scorching conditions and without Hazlewood.

"It's a bit of a travelling circus, the old international schedule with the guys that play three formats – you're constantly on the road or playing games or training," Starc said.

"When you have those innings when you bowl a team out in 50 overs, they always help, but it will be a test for us in the second innings with a man down.

"We've got enough in the tank, it's more how Tim wants to rotate Pat and I when we've got someone like 'Gaz' (Nathan Lyon) who is used to bowling those long spells.

"You can have him settle in at one end and bowl his world-class off-spinners and for Pat and I to rotate from the other end and hopefully use some of those cracks."

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