Australia’s veteran Test cricket team is set to face a defining and demanding year, with tours scheduled in South Africa, India, and England. Leading pace bowler Mitchell Starc has drawn a striking comparison, suggesting that winning all three Test series and retaining the one-day World Cup would be akin to Rory McIlroy capturing golf’s four major titles in a single season.
The challenging 12-month period begins with a three-Test series against South Africa in Durban starting Friday, followed by tours to India and England next year, alongside defending their 2023 ODI World Cup crown. Australia has not secured a Test series victory in England since 2001, India since 2004, and South Africa since 2014, marking this as one of their toughest campaigns in recent memory.
“It’s somewhat unusual that you play the three marquee series away from home in the space of 12 months,” Starc told ESPNcricinfo. “And there’s two where we, as an Australian team, haven’t won in a long time. Then you throw in the side of the narrative that we’re obviously an older side and we’ve been together a long time, and the pressure comes from both of those things.
“But if, in 12 or 14 months time, we are sat here and we have won three away Test series and a World Cup it’d be, I guess, the equivalent of Rory McIlroy winning four majors in the same year.”
This challenge arrives at a critical juncture for a team under increasing scrutiny due to its ageing core, with many key players now in their 30s. Starc, 36, acknowledged the conversations about the team’s age but emphasized their strong desire to achieve more success.
“We’re acutely aware of how old we are, particularly from the outside noise,” Starc said. “We know what’s coming up, and we know series are big, but at some point the story’s going to end, right? We’re all aware of what we could achieve. We certainly want to win everything and there’s still a lot of things we all want to achieve.”
