Mitchell Starc injury exposes grim Ashes truth for Australia

Australia's decision to leave out a frontline spinner for the fourth Ashes Test against England could come back to haunt them after an injury to Mitchell Starc that leaves the quick in some doubt at Old Trafford. Starc's shoulder issue was just one of many concerns for Pat Cummins' Aussie side after a disastrous second day that saw England set up a commanding advantage in the match.

Cummins' captaincy came under fire across the cricket world, with the Aussie skipper seemingly running out of ideas to stop England centurion, Zak Crawley. The England opener belted a devastating 189 runs from 182 balls to help England reach 4-384 at stumps - with a lead of 67 to take into day three.

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Adding insult to injury for the Aussies was the exit of Starc late in the day - the fast bowler injuring his shoulder after diving for a ball in the field. He attempted to re-enter the fray after receiving treatment on the shoulder but lasted just three balls before leaving the field again.

The Aussies are confident he will be right to resume bowling duties on day three but with a short turnaround before the fifth Test the situation is undoubtedly a concern. "He's currently got some ice on it and we're pretty confident it will be right tomorrow," assistant coach Dan Vettori said after the day's play.

"He wanted to get on the field as quickly as possible to see how it was. But three balls in a row came to him in the field and he didn't quite feel comfortable throwing it."

Starc (2-74) had earlier been spotted grabbing at his left hamstring while bowling and looking ginger, but Australia also played down those concerns. With Australia going without a frontline spinner in a Test for the first time in 11 years, Starc's injury could add to the burden on his fellow quicks and part-time tweaker Travis Head, who was smacked for 0-48 from six overs.

Aussies unfazed by lack of frontline spin option

Regardless, Aussie coach Andrew McDonald said there was nothing to suggest that his side had got the call on their spinner wrong. "We felt like on this surface, against this opponent, that spin wouldn't play a huge part and we're yet to see that," McDonald told the BBC.

Assistant coach and former New Zealand spinner Dan Vettori said it was too early to judge if Australia's call was the wrong one. "With the thoughts on the wicket and with potential weather conditions around, we potentially thought the Test match would be of a shorter nature," Vettori said.

"And also the way England play, how aggressive they are, it can shorten the game up a bit. It's a selector's call, but it's one of the ones we will judge at the end of the Test match, not two days in."

Much of the judgement could rest on whether Starc is able to bowl in the rest of the match. Plenty of fans were certainly of the belief that the quick's injury risked exposing the error in not picking a spinner.

England in commanding position to try and level series

Forecast rain for days four and five appears to be Australia's best chance of stopping England from levelling the series at 2-2, with Harry Brook (14 not out) and Ben Stokes (24 not out) set to resume England's charge when day three gets underway.

The hosts scored at a blistering rate of 5.34 an over in their first innings, with Crawley's 182-ball knock featuring 21 boundaries and three sixes. Cameron Green finally got Crawley out chopping on but he'd already put on a 178-ball, 206-run third-wicket partnership with Joe Root, who was eventually bowled by Josh Hazlewood for 84.

Cummins - caught on the very first ball of the day - had a nightmare afternoon after dropping one catch and completely missing another, while wicketkeeper Alex Carey also put down an extremely tough chance off Crawley's inside edge on 42.

Australia's captain also let two overthrows through in the final session as he failed to back up a Steve Smith throw, in an uncharacteristic show of sloppiness. While Starc found opener Ben Duckett's edge early in the innings, for one, and snared makeshift No.3 Moeen Ali for 54, Australia's bowling was the worst it has been all series.

They were too straight to Crawley, going away from trying to take his edge outside off stumps with little seam movement on offer. Their short balls were also often not short enough, allowing Crawley and Root to regularly pull and hook to the gaps in the legside field. Crawley's 93-ball century was the second fastest in all Tests played at Old Trafford.

with AAP

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