Mitchell Starc rules as pink-ball king for Australia in second Test with India

India 180; Australia 86-1 stumps on day one in AdelaideStarc takes six wickets, including with first ball of Test

Sporting songs from the outer are usually dross, partly because they’re most often sung tunelessly by annoying drunks, and partly because they usually consist of one cringey couplet jammed with no consideration of cadence or metre into the scarcely heeded melodic line of a mid-tier radio hit. The few that are slightly more artful stand out, appearing far better by virtue of their company than they might objectively deserve. One such of recent years that provides occasional enjoyment is: “Hark, the herald angels sing – Mitchell Starc, the new-ball king.”

The phrasing fits, the use of a Christmas hymn is seasonally apt for Australia in December or January, and the sentiment reflects a cricketing truth. Starc with a lacquered Kookaburra (while that sounds a strange object to possess without context) is a menace. But swap out the lyrics of “new-ball” for “pink-ball” and it would be even more apt. In the day-night Test format, nobody has done it better.

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