Gillespie certain Starc can shine as education process continues

Gillespie has asked them not to expect too much too soon from the 22-year-old left-armer, who has joined the county as overseas player.

Starc was denied the opportunity to get more overs under his belt yesterday when Yorkshire’s CB40 match against Northamptonshire at Headingley fell foul of the weather.

He has served up something of a mixed bag so far but is still adapting to his new environment.

“The bottom line is that Mitch is still learning the game and I hope everyone will understand that,” said Gillespie, Yorkshire’s first-team coach.

“He is still getting to know English conditions and getting to know his new team-mates and the coaching staff, and that takes time.

“The talent is there and he just needs to go through the various experiences he is going through right now because that’s how you get better.

“It’s still a bit new to him here in England and it’s just a matter of him coming to terms with the various challenges and finding his feet.”

Starc has started his Yorkshire career in steady fashion.

He took 3-28 on debut in a CB40 match against Derbyshire at Headingley before enduring a poor outing in the same tournament against Sussex at Hove.

Starc was put to the sword as he conceded 71 runs from eight wicket-less overs only to bounce back well with 3-36 in another CB40 game, against Unicorns at Scarborough.

He followed up last week with figures of 2-64 from 18.1 overs and 3-50 from 16 overs on his County Championship debut against Northamptonshire at Headingley.

“Mitch has bowled well apart from an off-game down at Sussex, but that’s not the end of the world,” added Gillespie.

“The important thing was that he came back and performed strongly against Unicorns and quickly put the Sussex match behind him.

“After the game at Hove I said to him, ‘Mate, you’re going to have days like that. It’s part and parcel of being a professional sportsman.

“‘It’s how you react to that and how you bounce back from that that’s important and what you’ll ultimately be judged on’, and, to his credit, he did bounce back.”

It is easy to forget that although Starc has played four Tests and seven one-day internationals, he has limited first-class experience.

The Northamptonshire game was only his 23rd in a first-class career which has brought 64 wickets at 23.

In addition, Starc has played only 25 List A games, which have yielded 45 wickets at 24, and just 16 Twenty20 fixtures, which have spawned 21 wickets for him at 21.

He has looked understandably raw at times but has genuine pace and is one to watch.

“Look, it’s still very early in his career,” said Gillespie, who took 613 wickets in 189 first-class matches at 26, including 259 Test wickets at the same cost.

“Mitch is still learning the game and we’re trying to help him here at Yorkshire as much as we can and trying to get the best out of him.

“I know for a fact that Mitch can bowl, I know for a fact that he can bat and I know, too, that he’s a great fielder for a fast bowler.

“He’s going to be a top player for many years to come and he’s a cracking lad as well, which is very important.”

Gillespie, Starc et al were frustrated yesterday by yet more bad weather in this soggiest of seasons.

Play was abandoned following a 2pm inspection, 15 minutes after the match was scheduled to start.

Both teams took one point for a no-result, leaving Yorkshire marooned in mid-table with five points from as many games.

Only the winners of the three seven-team groups qualify for the semi-finals, along with the best second-placed side, meaning Yorkshire already have a mountain to climb if they are to make further progress.

Gillespie’s charges now have a lengthy break from CB40 action as Twenty20 prepares to take centre stage.

Yorkshire do not return to CB40 duty until Sunday, July 22 against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.

After this they will conclude their Group C programme with games against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, Northamptonshire at Northampton, Unicorns at Headingley, Sussex at Headingley, Kent at Canterbury and Warwickshire at Scarborough.

Yesterday’s rain also denied Yorkshire batsman Gary Ballance the chance to improve his standing as the leading run-scorer in Group C.

Ballance has hit 220 runs in the tournament at an average of 110, with only Hampshire’s Michael Carberry (293) and the Netherlands’ Stephan Myburgh (255) having scored more going into the latest round of fixtures.

“Gary has shone in the competition this season,” said Gillespie.

“It’s just reward for all the hard work he has put into his game.”

Yorkshire return to action on Wednesday when they play Glamorgan in the Championship at Colwyn Bay.

[email protected]