Mitchell Starc warms up for the Ashes with a hat-trick in the Sheffield Shield

Australian speedster Mitchell Starc announced his return to their Ashes rivals England, with a hat-trick for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield match on Monday. The left-arm quick will be the pace spearhead for the Australian team when the series begins later this month.

Starc picked up the wickets of Jason Behrendorff, David Moody and Simon Mackin in successive deliveries to bowl out Western Australia in their first innings. Two of the three wickets were in Starc’s trademark style with a yorker and Behrendorff and Mackin were bowled while Moody was struck in front of the stumps at Hurstville Oval.

Starc’s bowling partners

While he finished with figures of 4/65, his partner at the other end Josh Hazlewood did the damage at the top of the Western Australian order with his spell of 3/24. The duo of Hazlewood and Starc would be vital and brutal when the visitors play their opening match against the host side later this month.

Pat Cummins, who is likely to start as the third pacer in the playing XI picked up two wickets giving away just 31 runs. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon picked up the other wicket for 39 runs.

Vacant No.6 for the hosts

Steve Smith’s Australian side is looking for a batsman to play at No.6, with Marsh brothers at the top of the list followed by Hilton Cartwright. Shaun Marsh was dismissed for just two runs, while his brother Mitch got out for a duck. Cartwright was too dismissed for a duck as the Australian selectors had nothing to take back from that part.

Another contender for the No.6 position would be the left-handed batsman Travis Head who has taken his place in the ODI side with some consistent knocks for the national team in the past year or so. The Ashes gets underway at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 23 and Australia’s squad for the series is expected to announce after this round of Sheffield Shield matches is completed.

Watch the video of his hat-trick here: