Scott Boland said that Mitchell Starc is “okay” after the speedster faced injury concerns on Day 3 of the ongoing Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Starc did not have the best of days on the field after he had figures of 25-2-86-0 at the close of play on the third day.
The 34-year-old Starc was seen holding his back while bowling on Day 3 after which Nick Jones, the team’s physiotherapist, treated him. Boland, who has had figures of 27-7-57-3 in the first innings, said that Starc is in decent shape as he generated speeds in the 140s.
“He’s okay. He just had a bit of a niggle somewhere in his back or rib, I don’t know, somewhere back there, but he came out after the break and was bowling 140km/h, so I think he’s going to be fine,” Boland said in the press conference after the day’s play.
Boland also recalled the Boxing Day Test against South Africa back in 2022 when Starc managed to bowl his heart out despite injuring his finger on the left hand. Boland said that the quality that sets Starc apart from the rest is his ability to bowl well despite nursing an injury.
“I think he is underrated for how tough he is. A couple of years ago here at the MCG, he had a broken finger and we’re pretty much planning for him not to bowl at all and then he came out and bowled 140km/h swingers,” Boland said.
“He’s someone who can play through a lot of pain, and you can probably tell (that because) he’s played close to 90 Test matches now. And as a fast bowler, there’s not many games where you do play without any niggle at all. He’s someone who can still bowl at the same pace even when he is really sore, which is a great trait to have,” Boland added.
Australia have their noses ahead in the ongoing Melbourne Test with India trailing by 116 runs. Apart from Boland, Pat Cummins also took three wickets while Nathan Lyon accounted for two scalps.
