Mitchell Starc's omission from the squad for the first Test at Edgbaston came as a shock to many.
Starc is synonymous when it comes to the Australian red-ball bowling contingent, however, selectors preferred Victorian quick Scott Boland instead. The decision was questioned by many despite Australia's victory, as Boland only managed to scalp two wickets, his key involvement in the game was with the bat where he played an important knock as a night watchman at the end of day four.
With the released pictures of the Lord's wicket and its extra-grassy nature, there is a chance Starc could be included in the playing XI ahead of Boland, however, the left-arm pacer still has no indication of his involvement in London.
“I'm used to it now coming to England,” told reporters in reference to playing just a single game in 2019.
“It's a squad mentality, much the same as last time. We've got a great set of bowlers not just in this squad but a couple of other guys playing county cricket.
“It's a very, very short Ashes crammed into the space of seven weeks. We knew it was going to be hard work for anyone to play all the games. We've all taken that approach and will for the rest of the Test matches.”
Andrew McDonald, the Australian coach, also hinted that Starc will be in contention for the second Test, but the big man from New South Wales claims his “guess is as good as everyone else.”
When asked if Starc will rejoin the team for the pace-friendly Lord's surface, Australia skipper Pat Cummins declined to comment.
The choice, according to Cummins, has not yet been made, and he will make a judgment after seeing the pitch on the day of the Test match. Starc last played against India in the World Test Championship Final, taking four wickets for 148 runs.
"We'll work it out tomorrow, give the wicket another day, see what they do with it, see what the weather's like," the Australia captain said.
