- Shane Warne called Mitchell Starc “soft” in 2014
- Starc used wild sledding as motivation.
- He is now the spearhead of Australia’s pace attack
The late Shane Warne was never one to mince his words, and labeling Mitchell Starc as “soft” a decade ago might have broken the Australian.
Warne later clarified his comments, insisting he was referring to the left-arm pacer’s soft body language in a Test match against India.
But in the eyes of many cricket fans, the damage had already been done and it was up to Starc to respond.
Fast forward to 2024 and Starc, 34, leads Australia’s attack and has 369 Test wickets to his name.
He is also approaching 100 Test matches for his country, and while Starc will never publicly admit that Warne got under his skin, his post-spray stats tell the story.
According news corporationBefore Warne called up Starc in 2014, his career read 45 wickets in 14 Tests at an average of 36.
The late Shane Warne was never one to mince his words, and labeling Mitchell Starc as “soft” a decade ago might have broken the Australian.
Instead of responding, Starc went away and worked on his game: he now has 369 Test wickets to his name and is closing in on 100 red-ball appearances for Australia.
His post-Warne sledging career is impressive: 77 Tests and 324 wickets at 26.
At the time, a forceful Starc told reporters: “He (Warne) gets paid to speak (in commentary) and I get paid to play cricket.”
He then added: “Warnie’s been on my back for years so I’m not too worried about that.”
It comes as Starc emerges as a key figure for the hosts in the third Gabba Test starting on Saturday.
He will take up the new ball in Brisbane, with Josh Hazlewood returning to the XI at the expense of Scott Boland.
Meanwhile, batsman Marnus Labuschagne has responded to recent criticism from former teammate David Warner, who suggested the Queenslander is showing a “lack of awareness” at the crease.
“I’d like to see him (Warner) see how many times I’ve been caught in the ravine, because apparently I go out there every week,” Labuschagne enthused.
And I looked back and I only remember that they caught me twice in the ravine.
‘(It seems) like everyone is here to write articles… at the end of the day, I’m not here to please everyone. “I’m here to win games for Australia.”