‘My opinion doesn’t matter’: Starc’s blunt reply over toss shocker as star’s spell saves series

If Mitchell Starc had his way, Australia would wipe out everything that happened before lunch in an extraordinary opening day of the series decider against South Africa in Cape Town. But his finale will feature on highlights for a long time to come.

From Steve Smith stunning withdrawing to Pat Cummins choosing to bowl to the shock of everyone, before the world’s premier attack was bullied, it was a shocker of a first session.

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Starc saved the day with his heroics after that and, post-play, was happy to expand on how he had regained his menace with the ball.

But questions about the significant topics of the opening day - the absence of Smith and the decision by Cummins to bowl - were “above” his “pay grade”.

Starc proved a masterful problem solver with the ball. But he had no answers to the conundrums that unfolded early on.

The champion bowler said he had no idea Smith, who is understood to have made the call not to play after a fitness test in the nets earlier on Tuesday, would not be featuring until the warm-up.

And as for the decision from his captain to bowl under a blue sky with a pitch that did not offer much early on?

“(I’m) not in that pay bracket,” he said.

“My opinion doesn’t matter. It is what it is. Now we had to reassess at lunch, and I think at one point we probably looked like we would be bowling a fair bit tomorrow. So to bowl (them out) today, a good close to the day, (we will) reassess overnight, and now look to bat.”

For the record Ackerman, who made 95 before Nathan Lyon secured him stumped, had no hesitation in saying the Proteas would have batted had they won the toss.

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But courtesy of a strong response and a sensational finale from Starc, Australia arguably rescued the day when bowling the Proteas out for 329 after they were 158 without loss.

Without that first session where South Africa reached 0-140 at lunch, the tourists would be firmly on top. But with a makeshift batting order courtesy on the absence of Smith amid a big reshuffle, Wednesday shapes as a massive day at Newlands.

“If we can delete the first session, I think we had a pretty good day,” Starc said.

“I mean, I probably expected more out of the wicket. It was quite a slow, tennis ball bounce sort of thing. (There was) not too much sideways movement (but) we saw a bit of swing there at the end with a second newie.

“But they took the game to us in the first session. (It was) clearly not our best stuff and I think after lunch we were back on the money.

“We had to reassess at lunch and I thought we found different ways to be effective. And as I said, if we can delete that first session, I think the last two sessions for us were back on what we expected.”

With the series at risk of being lost by dinner on the opening day of the decider, the Aussies sparked a collapse in each of the final two sessions and Starc, who had struggled for his rhythm in the first two Tests, was a key figure in both.

Spanked for four consecutive fours by Marquis Ackerman in a miserable first session which also saw Travis Head drop a dolly from Aiden Markram off his bowling, Starc rebounded to post his best ever figures against the Proteas.

After a superb catch to remove Markram for 78 off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood, who later repaid the favour with an even better effort to secure the wicket of David Bedingham, Starc worked into the Test before a bowling blitz.

He was able to bounce out both Bedingham, who made 50, and Wiaan Mulder in quick succession in the second session and then wreaked late havoc after taking the new ball as the sky darkened.

With South Africa reaching 6-327 and Marco Jansen and Ryan Rickelton looking in command, Starc secured the last four wickets in six stunning balls, with a couple of them unplayable.

He took the last six wickets to finish with 6-72 and later credited a session assessing footage on the eve of the Test with bowling coach James Franklin, head coach Andrew McDonald and his wife Alyssa Healy for sparking his return to form.

Starc was dynamic during last year’s Ashes and said the quartet had overlaid footage from that series with his bowling during the first two Tests in South Africa, with a focus on the opening match in Durban.

What surprised him was that there was not any notable difference. He had been searching for something that was not there while striving to find his best for Australia.

“I probably was searching for a feeling that I probably didn’t need to. If I just switch my brain off, I might be right,” he said when expanding on an earlier answer.

“Problem solving (was the key). There’s been a lot of things that haven’t felt right through the series. I had a bit of a look last night with James Franklin and Ronnie, and also my wife has watched a lot of cricket - a lot of us have been around long enough to try and problem solve while we’re going.

“I was just hoping to get a few right with that second newie. It would have been nice to do that with the new ball in the first hour.

“But it’s a feature of our group. We can problem solve before the end of the day’s play, and as I said, to bowl them out (after) clearly not bringing our best stuff in the first two hours, I think we take that.”

Starc was asked as to why this series has seen so many swings in momentum, with the way the opening day unfolded in Cape Town extreme but in line with the shifts that occurred in both Durban and Gqeberha.

“I don’t (have a theory), no,” he said.

“(It is) two very good cricket teams. I guess there’s been a lot made in this series from that side of the desk (pointing to journalists). But it’s two good cricket teams playing some hard fought cricket.

“At times it’s going to get away from (each) other. At times you’re going to wrestle the momentum back, which we I thought we did today in the second half of the day.

“So I dare say I’d expect some other certain swings through the Test match as we now have to go and bat and they’re a very good attack.”