Starc versatility vital in Australia's T20 World Cup defence

Not taking the first over for just the fifth time across 58 T20Is, fans and pundits may have been scratching their heads at the change of tactic, only for the 32-year-old to deliver later in the Powerplay.

Starc came on as the fourth bowler in as many overs in Australia’s defence of 179, dismissing Curtis Campher and George Dockrell inside his first six balls, beating them with a mix of pace and swing to make a mess of the stumps on both occasions.

The double blow left Ireland in an irrecoverable position at 25/5, with a late fightback from wicket-keeper batter Lorcan Tucker (71* from 48 balls) not enough to steal what would have been a miraculous victory.

Starc would prefer the first crack at opposition line-ups, though insists he’s willing to do whatever it takes for Australia to press on in their title defence.

“It‘s obviously something new. Yeah, I generally obviously take the first over and see if it’s swinging,” he said after the victory.

“So, yeah, that seems to be my role at the moment, and I’ll just keep developing that and hopefully keep playing that role throughout the tournament.”

Australia are blessed with world-class bowling and a level of versatility across roles, with Starc’s team-mates Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood revered for their three-format skillsets.

For Starc, he sees the positives in bowling in tandem with spinners Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell, with the mix of pace providing headaches for opponents either at the backend of the Powerplay, or through the middle overs.

“Obviously we’ve got Josh and Pat who were fantastic across formats with the new ball as well," he said.

“I think that’s a positive that we’ve got plenty of options that it may not be my only role. It may not be Josh and Pat’s only role.

“We could change, as I said before, with different conditions, different opponents, whatever the match-ups may be."

Perhaps belying the talk surrounding the length of time the white-ball swings, Starc was able to generate prodigious movement in the air to beat Campher and Dockrell.

Despite this, the left-armer feels his plans may have to change to emulate the success, or even bring down his economy after being targeted by Tucker, conceding 43 runs in the three overs after his double-wicket maiden.

“I don’t think that the role changes in terms of trying to take wickets. It’s probably through a different sequencing of how the matchups are seen through the power play and through the middle,” he said.

“The lengths probably have to change, and it’s probably not going to swing outside those couple of overs. I still feel like the role is to take wickets, just at different times and through different partnerships with different match-ups, I guess.”

Australia take on Afghanistan in their next game, needing to win to continue their event comeback, with a defeat to New Zealand pushing backs to the wall.

The side are sweating on the fitness of skipper Aaron Finch, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis ahead of their next game, and they would likely still be on the wrong side of net run rate tiebreakers if England were to beat New Zealand on Thursday.

“For us, it’s just trying to win these games, first and foremost, because if you don’t win, it doesn’t matter, does it?” Starc reiterated.

“We brought that run rate back a bit, and we’ll see how we place in 24 hours (after England’s match with New Zealand.”