'England will be happy' - Netizens bewildered by Mitchell Starc's startling omission from Ashes opener

Australian skipper Pat Cummins turned a few heads at the toss ahead of the Ashes opener against England in Birmingham after he revealed Australia's decision to drop star pacer Mitchell Starc. The left-arm pacer was dropped from the series opener to accommodate Josh Hazlewood in the playing eleven.

While the home side announced their starting eleven for the opening Test match of the series a couple of days in advance, Australia waited till the very last moment to disclose their starters. The visitors were in a dilemma of whether to play the returning Josh Hazlewood or retain Scott Boland in the starting eleven.

Scott Boland, who replaced Josh Hazlewood in the recently concluded World Test Championship Final against India, delivered a decisive spell in the fourth innings in Australia's title bout. Instead of picking one of either Boland or Hazlewood, the visitors made a bold move of dropping left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc to accommodate both players in the eleven.

Starc, who was the most expensive Australian bowler in the WTC Final at the Oval, averages the worst among all the other current Aussie pacers on English shores. However, the move puzzled quite a few experts and fans as Starc, despite being expensive, is a lethal exponent of the reverse swing with the old ball and has a knack for delivering important wickets for the side.