'Fit, strong and ready': Injury-free Starc excited about making long-awaited return to cricket

Sydney: Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc said on Thursday that he was raring to go after six months on the sidelines, declaring himself “fit, strong and ready”. Starc, 26, is set to make his long-waited comeback in Guyana on 6 June against South Africa during a one-day tri-series that also features the West Indies. The left-arm paceman has been out of action since fracturing his foot in November’s historic day-night Test in Adelaide against New Zealand. [caption id=“attachment_2800204” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mitchell Starc injured his ankle while playing against New Zealand in November. AFP[/caption] “It’s been a long time coming. The foot has been great, there’s no pain in the ankle or the foot,” Starc told reporters in Sydney ahead of the team’s departure for the Caribbean. “I’ve been really happy with it, it’s come along really well. I’ve had a good three or four months in the gym to get a bit of size back on, and I’m feeling really good; fit, strong and ready to play some cricket.” His fitness boosts Australia’s pace attack which also features Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Scott Boland for a series where each team plays three matches against the other, with the top two making the final on 26 June. Starc has been bowling off his full run-up and doing so with impressive pace at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane over the past few days, and said he was “in a good place”. “I’m not sure if I’ll be back up to top speed straight away, it might take a couple of games as it normally does for fast bowlers coming back. But I’m excited to see how it comes out on the gun,” he said. If Starc comes through the tri-series unscathed, he can look forward to a busy period with tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa. This is followed by a home summer featuring Tests against South Africa and Pakistan and ODIs with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.