Australia’s quality fast bowler Mitchell Starc has announced that he will not play in the final One Day International match against South Africa. The bowler has excused himself from playing in the last match of the Qantas Tour of South Africa in Potchefstroom as he is slated to return home to Australia on Friday. Starc will be attending the ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup Final and will be watching the final game from a seat in the stadium.
Starc’s announcement comes as no shock, especially when his wife of almost 4 years, Alyssa Healy, will be playing in the finals of the Women’s T20 International World Cup against India. The final match is scheduled to be played on Sunday, 8th March, which is also Women’s Day.
The Men’s Head Coach Justin Langer spoke about the decision to let Starc go for the final match, saying,
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Mitch to watch Alyssa in a home World Cup Final and so we were happy to allow him to return home to support his wife and be part of a fantastic occasion.”
Further, Langer also emphasized on giving Starc some time off, as he already had a busy schedule. “It is something we have been talking about for a while and, given Mitch has had a considerable workload in all three formats this summer, his heading home a couple of days ahead of the rest of the squad means he will have a chance to refresh ahead of our home and away One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals against New Zealand that will wrap up our season.”
Langer is not worried about the lack of bowling options in Australia, as they can play Josh Hazlewood, Jhye Richardson and Kane Richardson.
He said, “Mitch’s absence will offer one of them an opportunity to impress in Saturday’s match.”
