Starc hoping Yorkshire stay can secure Ashes spot with Australia

Starc hopes it will give him valuable experience of how to bowl in English conditions.

Starc began that learning curve yesterday when he made his Yorkshire debut at Headingley Carnegie.

The left-arm pace bowler took 3-28 as Yorkshire beat Derbyshire by seven wickets.

Although Starc is fully focused on his county commitments, he has one eye firmly on next year’s tour.

England and Australia play five Test matches before meeting Down Under the following winter.

“Originally I was in the IPL auction, but my manager came to me with a few options to play county cricket and obviously with the Ashes starting next year, and the chance to play in England, I thought it would be better for my development to play red-ball cricket, so I pulled out of the IPL auction to sign for Yorkshire,” said Starc.

“I just thought it was the best move for my development if I want to play in the Ashes next year because the best thing for my development is to be in England. I haven’t been here before, there are different conditions here, and it can only be better for me.”

Starc, a 22-year-old who can swing the ball at 90mph, is one of several pace bowlers vying for a place in the Australia side.

Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson are also battling for a berth, meaning Starc – who has played four Tests and seven one-day internationals – can take nothing for granted.

“It’s great for the squad to have so many guys vying for three or four spots,” he added.

“Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus are bowling really well, as we’ve seen in the last few series, and then we’ve got guys like Pat Cummins and Mitch Johnson coming back from injury.

“Young guys like James Pattinson have done fantastically well, and we’re a pretty competitive but closely-knit group.

“I think everyone is really looking forward to the back-to-back Ashes contests next year because it’s really going to show where both sides are.”

For now, Starc is preoccupied with assisting Yorkshire as they aim to land their first domestic trophy for 10 years.

To that effect, a man whose great-grandfather was born in the county made a promising start yesterday, bowling with good pace from the Kirkstall Lane end in sunny conditions that favoured batsmen.

After Yorkshire won the toss and opted to field, Starc opened the bowling from the Kirkstall Lane end.

His first spell was 5-0-17-0 - a decent effort given that he was operating amid the power play overs.

Tall, rhythmic and with a loose-limbed approach, Starc returned at the end of the innings to claim 3-11 from his final three overs.

As Derbyshire collapsed from 154-1 in the 28th over to a final total of 219-8, he had Ross Whiteley caught on the cover boundary by Adam Lyth from the fifth delivery of his sixth over.

In his next over Starc had Dan Redfern caught behind as the batsman attempted an ambitious Dilshan-style scoop.

And Starc struck with the final ball of his spell when he knocked back Tom Poynton’s leg-stump with a rapid yorker.

It was a useful workout for the man nicknamed “Terminal” by his Yorkshire team-mates on account of the fact he recently undertook 14 flights in 12 days after problems with his visa.

Starc was deported due to paperwork irregularities and had to attend the British High Commission in Canberra.

But he showed no sign of fatigue after Yorkshire sensibly delayed his debut, which was to have come in last week’s County Championship match against Hampshire.

Instead Starc helped Yorkshire fight their way back into the contest after Derbyshire made a flying start.

The visitors looked set for a score of 250-plus after openers Martin Guptill and Chesney Hughes added 137 in 25 overs.

Guptill made 89 from 83 balls with four fours and five sixes before he was caught behind off Anthony McGrath, Hughes contributing 50 before being bowled by pace man Moin Ashraf.

No other batsman passed 13 as some splendid bowling from McGrath, Starc and, to a lesser degree, Azeem Rafiq prevented Derbyshire getting away.

There was warm applause for David Wainwright when he walked out to bat, the former Yorkshire left-arm spinner scoring an unbeaten 13. Adam Lyth and Andrew Gale added 56 for Yorkshire’s first wicket before Lyth picked out Wainwright at square-leg off spinner Wes Durston.

Gale, who will today have an injection on a shoulder problem that will rule him out of the CB40 games against Sussex and Unicorns, made 33 before being bowled by Durston.

Phil Jaques scored 47 before paddling Wainwright to short fine-leg, which left Yorkshire 153-3 in the 30th over.

But a forceful 77 from Gary Ballance, which included four sixes, and an inventive 28 from Joe Root led Yorkshire to an ultimately comfortable win.