Mitchell Starc unhappy with Cricket Australia's rotation policy

Fast bowler Mitchell Starc has been left frustrated by Australia’s rotation policy

Mitchell Starc has expressed his frustration at Cricket Australia’s rotation policy, saying it’s difficult to be consistent ”when you play one game and you’re dropped.”

Starc has been in and out of Australia’s Test side since his debut in 2011, and in the current Ashes series, he played the first and third Test matches but was dropped for the second and fourth.

‘I think the first two [Tests], I played in a row [in 2011] and I played the last game of the South African series and the first game of the Sri Lankan series… other than that never back to back,” he said of his Test career

Starc will hope to make the XI for the fifth and final test at The Oval, as he bowled in Australia’s practice match against England Lions in Northampton while Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris were rested.

The 23-year-old is Australia Cricket’s second highest paid player, as Cricket County report, but is unhappy with the rotation policy.

”Yeah, I guess it would be nice to get a few games back to back and get that rhythm,” Starc said.

“But to have a chance at that consistency that everyone talks about — ‘you’ve got to be more consistent’ —well, it’s a bit hard when you play one game and you’re dropped.”

Cricket Australia’s rotation policy is more apparent for fast bowlers than for others as they try to avoid burning out their players. The policy has been criticised on numerous occasions by prominent ex-players.

Former Australia leg-spinner and Test great Shane Warne said, “When we were number one there weren’t mission statements flying around, but we got the selection process right and the best 11 were selected for every game.”

Starc, who has taken 8 wickets in the two Tests he has played in this Ashes series at an average of 27.12, said he had to show in training that he was ready to play for the team.

”So in the end it comes back to getting better off the field and making sure I’m nailing everything and making sure I’m knocking down that door to be in the team,” he said.

”I’m pretty happy with where my reverse swing bowling is and how much I am getting the ball to swing but I guess it’s doing more damage with the new ball and being more consistent when the ball isn’t doing anything at all… so I know where I need to get better and it’s just a matter of doing it.”