Starc thunderbolt would get me out every time: Vince

PERTH: It was the ball of the Ashes series so far. Mitchell Starc to James Vince. The left-arm seamer, bowling from round the wicket, pitched one on a wide crack in line with middle stump.

If it had carried on its path, it would have missed leg stump. That’s why Vince attempted to play it through the leg side. The crack however changed the ball’s direction by about six inches and it thudded into off-stump. It was like a rapid leg-spinner.

Up until that point, Vince, who made 55, had looked in glorious touch. “It’s still frustrating to get out but they’re a little easier to take than the ones where you feel you’re at fault yourselves,” England’s number three told reporters after play on Sunday “If I faced that another 20 or 30 times, I think that would get me out every time. Give him some credit there and sweep it under the carpet and move on.

“We said at tea that the ones that had hit the cracks had done too much and weren’t in danger of the stumps. His angle, coming wide of the crease, the ball looked as if it looked like it was going down leg. For the right armers that perhaps start straighter, if it deviates it probably misses the stumps. It’s something we will have to look at tomorrow. I think his [Starc’s] plan is pretty clear. He’s going to come wide of the crease from round the wicket and try and hit that crack.”

It is a characteristic of the WACA surface that cracks appear on the wicket and get wider as the match progresses. “You’ve just got try and put it out of your mind,” added Vince. “If it does hit a crack, there’s not a huge amount you can do really. It’s making sure the ones that don’t hit the crack, you’re in a good position to play. Most of it’s mental, though. If it does move, you’ve got to accept it and move onto the next one.”