Mitchell Starc low on confidence, admits Tim Paine

SYDNEY: Australia captain Tim Paine on Friday admitted that his premier fast bowler Mitchell Starc was low on confidence and that has been showing in his bowling.
The left-arm pacer has been struggling with his rhythm and has not been able to swing the new ball, much to the chagrin of former Australian cricketers who have questioned his place in the side. Starc has bowled a staggering 138.5 overs in the series so far and taken 13 wickets for 449 runs at 34.53 apiece.In contrast, his career average is 28.91. Starc’s Test tally stands at 199 from 49 Tests.
Talking to reporters after he and his teammates toiled for almost two days on the field, Paine said: “He’s (Starc) down on confidence a little bit and sometimes people forget he’s just a bloke who’s trying his best. I know he’s playing at the highest level and they expect a lot from him, but it doesn’t always work. Has he been at his best this series? No he hasn’t. Has he been for a little while? Probably not. Starcy knows that, he’s working on it, he’s being really honest about it and he’s trying to figure out exactly what’s missing at the moment.”
Paine, however, is certain that once he gets some time to address the problems, Starc will be good to go again. “When he’s at his best, he’s as good as anyone in the world. He’s nearing 200 Test wickets at a strike rate that’s pretty good. We know when he is confident how valuable he is,” Paine added.
‘No difference of opinion with bowlers’
The Australian captain also defended his bowling attack that has been taken apart by the Indian batsmen in successive Tests. India kept Australia on the field for nearly two days in Melbourne and here in the first innings, prompting a debate over the efficacy of the four-man attack comprising Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Australian bowlers, having bowled 169.4 overs in Melbourne last week, were forced to bowl 167.2 overs in India’s first innings here. Paine, on Friday, insisted there was no difference of opinion between him and his bowlers on the opening day of the fourth Test here, contrary to the claims of bowling coach David Saker.
Saker was apparently unhappy with the excessive use of the short ball by the pacers who failed to target the stumps in the process, allowing Indian batsmen to settle down. Statistics revealed that the Australian pacers messed up the bowling plans by targeting the stumps only 24 times out of the 319 deliveries they bowled, following which harsh words were exchanged in the Australian camp.
Paine, however, did admit that his pacers had got some plans wrong, but insisted there was no disagreement.
‘Pujara proved too good for us’
Lauding Cheteshwar Pujara’s masterful innings of 193, Tim Paine claimed his team had done everything in their control to unsettle the India No. 3 but it didn’t work out. “With Pujara, if you’re not swinging the ball, he’s extremely hard to get out. Early in the innings you’re trying to hit his stumps and his pad, but in the form he’s in, he’s not missing too many. He’s been really patient and disciplined around his off stump and grinded our bowlers down,” Paine observed.
“We tried to bounce him. We’ve tried lots of different things. He’s faced about a million balls this series. He has been simply too good for us,” he added.