Starc omission in Afghanistan loss: Australia Coach stands by team call

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 24, 2024 06:28 IST

Australia coach Andrew McDonald defended the decision to drop Mitchell Starc for Ashton Agar in the loss to Afghanistan on June 23, Sunday. Starc, who has been operating as one of the main bowlers for the Aussies, was surprisingly dropped for the game, which could have potentially sealed Australia's qualification into the semis. However, they ended up losing the game by 21 runs.

Agar, who played the game ahead of Starc, conceded only 17 runs in his 4 overs, but went wicketless in the end. Speaking at the press conference ahead of the high-stakes India game, McDonald admitted it was a tough call to leave Starc out of the side but felt Agar was best suited for the conditions.

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"It's always a tough decision to leave Mitch Starc out of a team, but I think as you saw from the way the game unfolded, I think Ashton was suited to these conditions and we needed to make room. We knew that we were going to need more than eight overs to spin on that surface and it's probably something we've been planning and preparing for once we knew we were at this venue and we look at our squad of 15 and set it before the tournament."

"We're going to need options and flexibility, but it's always a difficult decision. You never know whether it's going to be right or wrong, but I thought Ashton bowled incredibly well today. Used his skill, some good arm balls, found some purchase early, and he made it tricky to navigate through those first few overs, and we got two out of the power play, which then set up, clearly, the bowling from that end with him and Zamps operating. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take those early wickets, had a couple of opportunities and no doubt we'll speak about the fielding," said McDonald.

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Comfortable with the decision

McDonald said he was comfortable with the decision to drop Starc for the game and claimed they have trust in the players who they call into the side.

"When you're hopping around the islands, the conditions change dramatically, and we got what we expected," McDonald said. "I was comfortable with that decision and now we've got to turn our focus to India: a totally different line-up on a totally different surface, and we've got to make good decisions at the selection table.

"That's part of the art of navigating through a World Cup, to get those decisions right - and you can't play the same game twice. You can't put Mitchell Starc in there, or Nathan Ellis, and work out what the game would have looked like. We went to Ash and backed him in, and we've got full trust in whoever we call on in that 15 to get a job done and we've got a task ahead."

Australia will face India in St. Lucia in a must-win game on June 24.