Exhausted Starc happy to give IPL payday a miss after long home summer

Mitchell Starc says you will find him at the golf course or the pub after this week’s Sheffield Shield final, with the exhausted NSW quick declaring he has no regrets about turning down a potentially lucrative Indian Premier League deal in order to have a break from the game.

The end of a long summer is near for Starc and a number of other international cricketers, including Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood, who will play their last domestic match of the season on Thursday when the Blues square off against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield final at Allan Border Oval.

One final effort … Mitchell Starc will have four weeks off after the Sheffield Shield final.Credit:Getty

A busy international and domestic season, stretching back to August last year, has Starc counting down the days until he can relax and get away from cricket.

While Steve Smith and David Warner go about their business in the IPL, Starc says it was a blessing in disguise to pull out of the tournament and spend more time in Australia, particularly to be with his family after the death of his father earlier this year.

“I couldn’t imagine going to India right now and playing cricket,” Starc said. “That was always my decision to go away and have some time with the family and a break from cricket. The byproduct of that meant I was around for more domestic cricket. Hopefully that can be a nice little finish this week.

“It’s April and round five of the footy and we’re still playing cricket. We’re looking forward to this week and then switching off. You’ll find me on a golf course or at a pub. For the moment it’s a Shield final and [then] feet up.”

Starc took 2-32 in Sunday’s one-day final win over Western Australia and is determined for one more big showing as NSW look to claim its first Sheffield Shield final victory since 2013-14. The Blues were crowned Shield champions last season but did not play a final due to COVID-19.

After the match Starc said he was expecting to have about four weeks of rest.

Despite making his first-class debut in 2009, Starc is yet to win a Sheffield Shield title with NSW and it is something very high up on the to-do list.

“That was always the goal when I made a decision with the IPL, it meant I was going to be around for more state cricket anyway,” Starc said. “I put a bit of focus on the Shield stuff rather than one-day cricket.

“We had a good win the other day but this will be quite special for the group.”

Although Queensland are the higher-ranked side, a draw won’t guarantee them the title. There will be a bonus points count back, with each side receiving 0.01 bonus points for every run over 200 in the first 100 overs, while 0.1 points will be awarded for every wicket taken in the first 100 overs.

“It now means Queensland still get to play at home but they can’t just bat for as long as they want,” Starc said. “We’re going to have a chance at some point. We’ve got a really experienced bowling line-up which is going to be key for us.”

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