Allan Donald says Mitchell Starc is world’s best quick bowler

Allan Donald says Mitchell Starc is world’s best quick bowler
JULY 12, 201611:52AM

GREG BUCKLE
Herald Sun

AUSTRALIA’S interim bowling coach Allan Donald has labelled Mitchell Starc the leading quick in the world and says he can “destroy top orders”.
However the South African pace great warns that Australia’s upcoming three-Test series in Sri Lanka will be hard work and striking with the new ball will be vital on lifeless pitches.

Donald says Starc and his fellow fast bowlers need to be unpredictable with their use of swing and be equally threatening bowling over the wicket and around the wicket.
“He’s a 150 (kilometres per hour) bowler,” Donald said in Colombo as Australia began its build-up to the first Test in Kandy on July 26.
“He’s done it in the World Cup and in Twenty20 cricket.

“I’ve seen him destroy top orders, middle orders, lower orders doing that same thing from both sides (of the wicket).
“That’s where he is at, and that’s why he is the leading fast bowler in the world right now.”
Donald says the importance of early wickets is “massive”.

“The new ball here in Sri Lanka is absolutely golden,” Donald told cricket.com.au.
“You’ve got to try and knock over two or three with the new ball.”
Starc hasn’t played a Test since November. The NSW quick has recovered from ankle surgery and a fractured foot and made his international return in last month’s one-day series in the West Indies.


Allan Donald says Mitchell Starc is “the leading fast bowler in the world right now”. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

Donald said it will be a challenging time for Australia’s new-ball pairing, likely to be Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
Donald says Australia’s quicks simply have to make the ball talk.
“For me the ball has to swing. There’s no excuses for that,” Donald said.
“And it has to swing both ways, to keep the unpredictability level up.
“When I say both ways, that has to happen over the wicket and around the wicket.

“I don’t think you can come here in this heat, in this humidity and on these flat decks and be one-dimensional in the way the ball swings.”
Sri Lanka failed to win a Test on its recent tour of England but will be more threatening at home, according to Donald.
“They find a way. They grind the opposition down, especially when you bowl first and find yourself on the wrong end of the (coin) toss,” Donald said.
Donald has worked alongside Starc with Indian Premier League side Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He says Starc needs to keep batsmen guessing with reverse swing, like Pakistan’s left-arm pace wizard Wasim Akram did.
“The bloke that was the best at it was Wasim Akram because you didn’t know what was coming,” Donald said.
“You were always guessing and I think that’s where we need to go, that’s where the skill needs to go.
“When you come here that’s what it requires — to be unpredictable for a long time.”

www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/allan-dona...f34d71073208849c0c71

Hе hаs thе bеst bоwling аvеrаgе - 8.5. Hе еffесtivеly hаs thе bеst strikе rаtе - 13.8 bаlls. Thе оnly bеttеr numbеr bеlоngs tо аfghаn bаtsmаn Nаwrоz Mаngаl, whо bоwlеd а sоlitаry оvеr fоr thе tоurnаmеnt thаt hаd Mitсhеll Mаrsh hоling оut аt dееp midwiсkеt.
еvеn inсluding fоrtunаtе pаrt-timеrs whоsе оvеrs соunt in singlе figurеs, Stаrс's есоnоmy rаtе оf 3.67 sits sixth оvеrаll. Drоp thе trundlеrs аnd hе's а litеrаl frасtiоn bеhind аfghаn sеаmеr Mirwаis аshrаf (3.66) аnd Kiwi spinnеr Dаniеl Vеttоri (3.21).

Given his current employer, I wouldn't expect Donald to say anything else. However, if you take a look at the international numbers across all three formats over the last 2 years across, my vote still goes to Dale Steyn with Starc second and Boult third. The fact that Broad and Anderson do not play all three formats of the game rules them out.

Trent Boult has the most international wickets (114) over the last 2 years. Starc is second with 113. Steyn is seventh (97) but played fewer matches.

Dale Steyn's strike-rate is (34.5). Starc is at 35.6, while Boult is higher still at 43.00.

Steyn and Starc have both taken 1.94 wickets per inning. Boult leads the way with 2.71.

Steyn's average (23.07) is the lowest of the three. Starc's average is 23.51, while Boult's is 26.20.

Starc does have five 5-wicket hauls to Steyn's four and Boult's three.