No Animosity There': Starc Plays Down Australia-South Africa Rivalry

Australia's fast bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc believes the intense off-field friction that once defined contests against South Africa has largely dissolved, adding that there is certainly 'no animosity left' between the two teams ahead of the first Test starting at Kingsmead on October 9. Australia will return to the venue eight years after the volatile 2018 series, remembered more for the altercations between players from both sides and the Sandpaper gate. Before the Tests, Starc is set to headline the bowling attack in the first ODI to be played at Kingsmead on Thursday. 

"I think there's certainly no animosity there. I think there's two teams quite well known to one another across the franchise (T20) world. Not just myself, but a scattering of the other guys have played with and against each other for a few years.

"So it's certainly two teams that know each other on and off the field a bit. But I don't think that's going to detract from either team wanting to win 3-0 or really assert themselves," Starc was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Wednesday.

Starc also said that he anticipates lots of vocal voices from the stands, especially from the famous 'Castle Corner'. "I might have big ears, but I know how to switch them off. I do remember down at 'RSA' Corner down there - there's no responsible service (of alcohol) down there - they can get rowdy, which you expect from away tours.

"No doubt there'll be some of that through this whole series. Whether we see it on Thursday or not, I'm not sure, but we certainly will for the Test match," he added.

The crossover between the sides has been pronounced in recent seasons, with key players like stand-in skipper Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, and Starc frequently sharing dressing rooms with South African stars like Ryan Rickelton, Marco Jansen, and Lungi Ngidi in the IPL, The Hundred, and Major League Cricket.

Aside from the evolving relations between players from both teams, coming via sharing dressing rooms in the IPL, The Hundred and Major League Cricket (MLC), Starc noted that pitch conditions in Durban will also contrast sharply with his last Test appearance at the ground, where he took a match-winning 9-109 on a dry pitch offering reverse swing.

Recent heavy rains and humid weather in KwaZulu-Natal are likely to present seam-friendly conditions instead. "It's not that typical dry, baked-wicket part of the season just yet. So it could be interesting to see what the weather does the next couple of days. Obviously the group's been in Zimbabwe, and they were talking about how the outfield was quite firm and quite nice underfoot.

"It was a bit warmer and drier in Zimbabwe. They've had a bit of rain (in Durban) prior to us getting here, and then I think there's a bit of (rain) forecast through the next couple of weeks. So there's an element of the unknown ... it's part of Test cricket and you just adapt to what's in front of you," he concluded.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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