Starc compares Australia's daunting year to McIlroy's major sweep

Oct 8 : Australia's ageing test side face a defining year with tours of South Africa, India and England, and pace spearhead Mitchell Starc said winning all three series and retaining the one-day World Cup would be the equivalent of Rory McIlroy winning golf's four majors in a single season.

Australia begin the daunting 12-month stretch with a three-test series against South Africa in Durban on Friday, before tours of India and England next year and the defence of their 2023 ODI World Cup title.

Having not won a test series in England since 2001, India since 2004 and South Africa since 2014, the Australians face one of their toughest assignments in recent years.

"It's somewhat unusual that you play the three marquee series away from home in the space of 12 months," Starc told ESPNcricinfo.

"And there's two where we, as an Australian team, haven't won in a long time. Then you throw in the side of the narrative that we're obviously an older side and we've been together a long time, and the pressure comes from both of those things.

"But if, in 12 or 14 months time, we are sat here and we have won three away test series and a World Cup it'd be, I guess, the equivalent of Rory McIlroy winning four majors in the same year."

The challenge comes at a pivotal moment for a team increasingly scrutinised over its ageing profile, with key members of Australia's core now in their 30s.

Starc, 36, acknowledged the discussion around the team's ageing roster but said the team still had plenty it wanted to achieve.

"We're acutely aware of how old we are, particularly from the outside noise," Starc said.

"We know what's coming up, and we know series are big, but at some point the story's going to end, right? We're all aware of what we could achieve.