McDonald backs Marsh, hopes Starc will play

sydney: Australia head coach Andrew McDonald conceded that Mitchell Marsh has fallen short of expectations with the bat against India but remained optimistic about Mitchell Starc’s availability for the pivotal fifth Test in Sydney.

Starc’s fitness remains the primary worry for the hosts after the pacer battled through sore ribs from Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test but still managed to bowl effectively, including claiming the prized wicket of Virat Kohli on the final day.

“Any time you get through the game, it’s always a good indicator that you’ve a chance at the next game,” McDonald said. “It didn’t stop him (Starc). Clearly there was a little bit of discomfort early on in spells, but once he got warm it seemed as though he was pretty free. We’ll see how everyone recovers. Bowling last, it was a pretty attritional game, something that we’re not used to in the last few years. Clearly Starcy’s carrying something of some description. We’ll assess that. But other than that, it looks as though we got through pretty unscathed, but [with a] short turnaround recovery is important, and we’ll assess what the team looks like in Sydney based upon the surface,” he said.