The stats that prove Mitchell Starc with a pink ball is England’s worst Ashes nightmare – sportingnews.com

Peter Maniaty
There’s something almost unfair about Mitchell Starc with a pink Kookaburra in his hands—especially coming off the back of a match winning 10-wicket haul in Perth.
Hard enough to handle at the best of times in Australian conditions, under lights the danger is magnified exponentially.
The ball glows, the crowd buzzes, and batsman quiver, it really is modern Test cricketing theatre. 
Throw in the fact this match will be played with plenty of muggy summer moisture in the air at the Gabba—where England hasn’t won a Test match since 1986—and the besieged tourists are unlikely to be feeling especially comfortable at the prospect, already trailing 1-0 in the series.
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Lest we forget the last time Starc bowled in an Ashes Test at the Gabba he dispatched Rory Burns’ leg stump with the very first ball of the 2021-22 series—a dismissal that echoed all the way from Brisbane to Birmingham.
The towering left-armer is the highest wicket-taker in the history of day-night Tests, and by a massive margin.
Yes Starc has played more pink ball matches than anyone else, 14 currently, but in those he’s taken 81 wickets—that’s almost six wickets every match. 
Putting his performances into even sharper context, his pink ball wicket tally is almost double the next best bowlers, Australian teammates Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins who have 43 wickets each.
Starc’s pink ball bowling average is an outstanding 17.08 with a devastating strike rate of a wicket every 33 balls.
Heading into the crucial Second Test next week England can plan and prepare all they want. Hit the nets. Hit the golf courses. Hit the south-east Queensland beaches.
It’s unlikely to matter, because the brutal reality is the pink cricket ball just loves Mitchell Starc, and he loves bowling it.
The English batsmen would be wise to get their sleep now—because once Starc starts steaming in under the Gabbatoir lights, all they’re likely to be having are nightmares.
Peter Maniaty is a contributing Wires Writer at The Sporting News based in Sydney, Australia

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