MELBOURNE: Austra­lia head to the New Year’s Test in Sydney full of cheer after a brilliant finish at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and with confidence that pace veteran Mitchell Starc will be fit to bowl in the series finale.

Australia snatched a 184-run win in the fourth Test at the MCG on Monday to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with their bowlers taking seven wickets in an extraordinary final session on day five.

A draw in Sydney would be enough for Australia to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy contested between the nations, which India, winners of the last four series, have long held.

Australia will hope to finish off with another win, though, given it will secure the champions a second successive place in the World Test Cham­pionship final next year.

South Africa have already qualified for the final at Lord’s.

Starc was sore on the final days of the match, pinching at his back and grimacing at the start of his spells, but bowled through the pain to capture the key wicket of Virat Kohli.

Staff put Starc’s discomfort down to rib soreness but said the big left-armer would probably be ready to go again at his home ground.

“We’ll see how the bodies are. Clearly Starcy’s carrying something of some description. We’ll assess that,” head coach Andrew McDonald told reporters.

“But other than that it looks as though we got through.

“But short turnaround, recovery is important and we’ll assess what the team looks like in Sydney based upon the surface, as we always do.”

“Any time you get through the game, it’s always a good indicator that you’re a chance at the next game,” McDonald added.

“It didn’t stop him. Clearly there was a little bit of discomfort early on in spells, but once he got warm it seemed as though he was pretty free.”

Australia’s bowling was of the highest quality on the final day and there were positives in the batting, too, throughout the match in Melbourne.

Jhye Richardson and Sean Abbott are the other fast bowlers in the squad, with skipper Pat Cummins and Scott Boland certain to play again.

Teen debutant Sam Konstas made a thrilling first innings 60 and fellow opener Usman Khawaja shrugged off a lean run with a half-century but selectors have a big decision to make around struggling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.

Though consistently outstanding in the field, the Western Australian has had a poor series with the bat and has been used only sparingly with the ball.

Marsh had a sore back in Perth but McDonald said it was not a factor and that he was just not needed for longer spells with the ball.

Australia have another all-rounder in the squad ready to step up in the form of Beau Webster.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2025