Starc quit the IPL because of an air raid warning. He doesn't care if he isn't invited back
Mitchell Starc has rebuked South Africa for suggesting Kagiso Rabada will be sledged about his drugs ban at next week's world Test championship final at Lord's, counselling the Proteas to catch up on how Pat Cummins' top-ranked team has played its cricket over the past five years.
Speaking for the first time since his decision not to return to the Indian Premier League after he and wife Alyssa Healy were thrown into the midst of conflict between India and Pakistan, Starc told this masthead he was content with the call even if it means franchises are reluctant to recontract him in the future.
Starc also rebuffed suggestions from former South African seamer Vernon Philander that England conditions suited the Proteas more than Australia. Philander has claimed the Australian batters have a 'defect' against the moving ball and their paceman bowl too short to hit the stumps.
The notion of drugs-based sledging, pushed by South Africa's high-performance chief Enoch Nkwe and also Rabada himself, left Starc feeling like he was living in a time warp where Australia's players were unchanged since the infamous 2018 series in South Africa.
'I would say that people, media and fans, who've followed our team closely over the last few years would tend to agree [we don't sledge],' Starc said.
'We play cricket our way, we haven't played Test cricket against South Africa since [2023], so they can say or have an approach however they like.
'But we'll stay true to how we've been playing our cricket, the way we've been playing to get into this final, the way we've been playing it the previous two years to get to that final [in 2023].
'We'll have our tactical meetings and whatnot, but ultimately this team has shown over a period of time that we'll stick to the way we play our cricket. Close followers of the team would have a different opinion to South Africa about how we're going to play this week.'
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He chipped in for an eagle and a birdie on his way to his 66 and shot up the leaderboard after a brief weather delay, eagling the par-5 14th and birdieing each of the next two holes. His chip at No.14 was a soft placement next to a slope, and his ball rolled from right to left right into the cup. At the par-4 16th, he missed the green and chopped his third shot out of some thick rough, only to watch his ball head straight to the pin and disappear again. "Man, what's nice is coming out into some soft conditions," DeChambeau said. "That little chip shot became a hell of a lot easier for me. So I just chipped it out to the right exactly what I saw. I don't know if you saw, but I was studying it before I left. "I was like this looks perfect, came out, still looks perfect, hit it exactly where I wanted it to land, and it went right in the frickin' hole." Leishman is tied for third with Phil Mickelson, who may play in his final US Open next week. Also on the same number are Spain's Jon Rahm, searching for his third career major win, Chilean Joaquin Niemann, who received the USGA's first special invite based on LIV performance, Indian Anirban Lahiri and Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell. RangeGoats GC teammates Bubba Watson and Peter Uihlein are tied at three under with Patrick Reed and Belgium's Thomas Pieters, both of 4Aces. Australian Cameron Smith is at one under while compatriots Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are both at four over. RangeGoats lead the team competition at nine under par, two shots better than 4Aces and DeChambeau's team, Crushers GC. Marc Leishman appears to be finding form at the right time with his US Open date on the horizon. The Australian shot a four-under 67 at LIV Golf Virginia in Gainesville on Friday to trail leaders Bryson DeChambeau and Germany's Martin Kaymer by one stroke after the opening round. Leishman is in good knick after coming through qualifying at nearby Rockville by obtaining one of four slots available for next week's Open at Oakmont Country Club. Tied for third, Leishman went on a birdie blitz on the sixth, seventh and eighth holes before making another on the 10th at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Bogeys on the 12th and 15th stymied his progress before he rebounded with closing birdies on 17 and 18. Like Leishman, DeChambeau is also in good shape before the defence of his US Open title. He chipped in for an eagle and a birdie on his way to his 66 and shot up the leaderboard after a brief weather delay, eagling the par-5 14th and birdieing each of the next two holes. His chip at No.14 was a soft placement next to a slope, and his ball rolled from right to left right into the cup. At the par-4 16th, he missed the green and chopped his third shot out of some thick rough, only to watch his ball head straight to the pin and disappear again. "Man, what's nice is coming out into some soft conditions," DeChambeau said. "That little chip shot became a hell of a lot easier for me. So I just chipped it out to the right exactly what I saw. I don't know if you saw, but I was studying it before I left. "I was like this looks perfect, came out, still looks perfect, hit it exactly where I wanted it to land, and it went right in the frickin' hole." Leishman is tied for third with Phil Mickelson, who may play in his final US Open next week. Also on the same number are Spain's Jon Rahm, searching for his third career major win, Chilean Joaquin Niemann, who received the USGA's first special invite based on LIV performance, Indian Anirban Lahiri and Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell. RangeGoats GC teammates Bubba Watson and Peter Uihlein are tied at three under with Patrick Reed and Belgium's Thomas Pieters, both of 4Aces. Australian Cameron Smith is at one under while compatriots Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are both at four over. RangeGoats lead the team competition at nine under par, two shots better than 4Aces and DeChambeau's team, Crushers GC.
