Mitchell Starc has been hiding an Ashes secret — he’s utilizing his spouse’s bat, The Sun experiences.
Fast bowler Starc, 33, is married to Australia girls’s captain Alyssa Healy and says he prefers her bat as a result of it’s lighter.
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He nabbed one in every of Healy’s willows final winter whereas she was away on tour.
Starc had a tidy innings of 41 within the World Test Championship closing victory over India at The Oval final month however has a prime rating of simply 16 in 4 innings in these Ashes.
Cricket bats utilized by girls have the identical dimensions however are usually lighter.
Starc, who’s 6ft 6in tall, mentioned: “Anrich Nortje of South Africa was bowling pretty fast during our summer at home so I thought I’d try a lighter bat.
“I was cleaning out a few cricket bags at home while Alyssa was on tour. I said to her, ‘You know there are three bats in this bag?’
“She didn’t know. And then I told her, ‘Well, there’s two now. The other one’s in my bag!’ All I had to do was add an extra rubber grip to the handle.
“I think it’s one-all now because she took one of mine a few years ago. She cut the handle off, so it was no good to me after that!”
Healy was out for simply eight as England beat Australia by two wickets within the first ODI to make it 6-6 within the multiform Women‘s Ashes.
In the men‘s version, the Aussies lead England 2-1 ahead of the Fourth Test at Old Trafford, starting on Wednesday.
And batsman Harry Brook is expecting the atmosphere to be even more electric than for England’s win at Headingley final week.
Brook, who topscored with 75 in an exhilarating fourth-innings run chase, mentioned: “The atmosphere at Headingley was phenomenal but I think the ground at Old Trafford holds a few more thousand people. I’m guessing it’s going to be a really good atmosphere and we’re looking forward to that.
“We have some down time this week, so I’m taking my mind away from cricket and will hit the ground hard when we go back to training.”
All three Tests within the collection have been nailbiters, Australia successful by two wickets and 43 runs, whereas Ben Stokes’ aspect sneaked house by three wickets.
And England’s assistant coach Paul Collingwood believes his workforce’s Bazball strategy is attracting a brand new technology of followers — with Sky Sports reporting report viewing figures for each the lads’s and girls’s Ashes.
Collingwood, who made a fleeting look in England’s gorgeous 2005 Ashes victory, mentioned: “It’s been enthralling, gripping stuff and it feels like it’s not just the regular cricket fans who are switching on, it’s reaching a bit further.
“People just can’t wait for the cricket to be on. The 2005 Ashes was an inspiration for people to get involved — and that’s what we want.
“Baz McCullum and Ben Stokes didn’t keep it a secret when they took over — they want Test cricket to be as entertaining as it can be and that’s been behind everything we’re doing.”
This article initially appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.
Source: www.news.com.au
