Starc, difference

Remind Starc of the dismissal and he is almost thankful for this unexpected but timely trip down memory lane. "It was Perth, isn't it? How can I forget that? I hope I get a few of those dismissals in this series," he says.

Meanwhile, at the Team India net session on Wednesday, Tendulkar was taking guard against left-arm pacers who were half of Starc's size, pace and skill. It had been a long morning, and the much-in-demand southpaws had already bowled to five top-order batsmen.

While Ishant, showing fine rhythm, was making the ball fly off the pitch, his less skilful bowling mates for the session were fading rapidly. With the sun at its brightest, the low-on-energy left-arm pacers were bowling rank long-hops that sat up perfectly to be swatted around.

It certainly wasn't the kind of length or quality that Tendulkar and his team mates will face in the middle in two days time. Johnson, on Tuesday, had given a hint of what they can expect. "Back home we bowl a bit fuller. But here we need to slightly vary the length. I have always said that variations work. You need to change the pace. Short balls are useful in these conditions. The ball doesn't swing here so we rely on reverse swing," he had said, when asked about the 'right areas' the Aussie pace pack was aiming at.

Interestingly, during the same interaction, while speaking about mentoring young Starc, Johnson had said: "Myself or (Peter) Siddle would be standing at mid-off and mid-on to help these guys regarding the length." Twenty-four hours later things were clearer. It was Siddle who was to be a shout away from Starc while Johnson would sit in the dressing room.

Valuable lessons

Starc has had enough inputs about bowling in the sub-continent. While playing for Yorkshire he was coached by the former Aussie pacer Jason Gillespie, someone who knows what it takes to toil hard on unresponsive Indian tracks under the hot sun.

... contd.

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