On the eve of the Sydney Test, Australian captain Steve Smith announced one change in the playing XI from the third Test at the MCG, with Mitchell Starc coming in for Mitchell Johnson.
Smith said they didn’t want to risk Johnson with the World Cup coming up and hoped that Starc would seize his chance in front of his home crowd.
“I’m sure he’s looking forward to playing out here in front of the SCG,” Smith said of Starc. “Having one left-hander is good for us. The way we’ve seen Mitch go back and play in the Big bash he’s looked like he bowled exceptionally quick.
“We’re looking forward to hopefully some of the same that he’s produced in there this week. I think if he sustains that for long periods, if he can keep that kind of pace up and sustain it for the long day he can be an extremely amazing bowler.”
There will also be a major change in the Indian side, now that Virat Kohli has taken over the reins of the team from MS Dhoni. Smith hailed Dhoni as a “terrific leader” and hoped the change at the helm of the Indian team will give Australia an advantage.
“MS has been a terrific leader for India for a long period of time. There’s no doubting about that,” Smith said. “We saw Virat in that first Test match and he did a pretty job for them. He’s a quite emotional character and likes to get involved in a lot of the decisions.
“I’m looking forward to this week again with India with another captain and hopefully we can close out the series well,” he said.
Going back to the Boxing Day Test and his decision to delay the declaration in the second innings, Smith said he would be more aggressive with such decisions in the fourth Test now that the series is in the bag.
“I said it last week that I didn’t want to let India back in the series at all. I had this week in the back of my mind as well knowing how hard it could be. To have the series wrapped up I think we can play a little bit more relaxed and not have that extra pressure of having to win this Test match. If the same thing comes around again I’m sure I’ll be a bit more aggressive,” he said.
