Sydney: Former Australia opener and chief coach Geoff Marsh feels that speedster Mitchell Starc&rsquo;s performance will be key for the home team in their upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final clash against India at the SCG on Thursday.
<img title="Mitchell Starc" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/mar/22starc.jpg" alt="Mitchell Starc" /> Mitchell Starc. Pic/Getty Images
Left-arm pacer Starc is the leading Australian wicket-taker with 18 wickets from six matches in the tournament so far. &ldquo;It will be a great contest as it involves two extremely competitive teams.
&ldquo;India have shown a lot of consistency but at the same time Australia have a lot of quality in their ranks. It will be a good match but I will rate Australia&rsquo;s chances as slightly better in the semi-finals. I believe Mitchell Starc&rsquo;s performance could be a decisive factor,&rdquo; Marsh told PTI on Saturday.
The 56-year-old Marsh, who has won the World Cup both as player (in 1987) and coach (1999), is very impressed in the manner India have made a comeback after an indifferent show during the Test and ODI series in Australia. &ldquo;It has been an incredible comeback for them in the World Cup after the Test and tri-series.
&ldquo;They have really pulled it off well. It has been a collective effort. The batsmen have performed and the bowlers have done a splendid job for them so far. It is certainly not going to be easy for Australia. For Australia, the best part is that they bat deep,&rdquo; said Marsh, who has played 50 Tests and 117 ODIs for Australia between 1985 and 1992.
Coach-captain equation For him the relationship between the coach and captain is very important and believes that Ravi Shastri&rsquo;s presence has made a lot of difference to this current Indian team.
<img title="Geoff Marsh" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/mar/22marsh.jpg" alt="Geoff Marsh" /> Geoff Marsh
&ldquo;Even though India lost the Test series, they fought well. It&rsquo;s not fair on my part to comment on coach-captain relationship in the Indian team but Ravi Shastri I feel has made a lot of difference to the set-up.
&ldquo;Ravi himself has played a lot of international cricket and possesses an in-depth knowledge about the game. The inputs provided by him will certainly be of great value,&rdquo; said Marsh.

Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc's performance will be the key if Australia have to beat India in the semi-final, says former coach Geoff Marsh

ICC World Cup: Mitchell Starc could be the decisive factor, says Geoff Marsh

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Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc's performance will be the key if Australia have to beat India in the semi-final, says former coach Geoff Marsh

ICC World Cup: Mitchell Starc could be the decisive factor, says Geoff Marsh

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ICC World Cup: Mitchell Starc could be the decisive factor, says Geoff Marsh

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