Schedule could leave Starc in Tests only

Mitchell Starc has revealed cricket's cluttered schedule will eventually prompt him to retire from white-ball formats in a bid to prolong his Test career.

And in a warning to administrators, the left-armer has also admitted he feels for fans and believes they too are becoming fatigued from too much cricket.

One of six three-format players in Australia's team, Starc is staring at the prospect of more than 100 days of international cricket in the next year.

Australia's busy schedule is highlighted by the fact players had no proper debrief following their Twenty20 World Cup exit, instead moving onto the ODI series against England.

England have also bemoaned the series, with Moeen Ali labelling it "horrible" that they are playing within days of their T20 triumph.

The long list of fixtures also prompted Pat Cummins to last week join Starc in sitting out the IPL, a position the latter has taken since 2016.

But Starc said while that was important in body management, it wouldn't enable him to play all three formats too long into the future.

"Not the way it's scheduled these days," Starc said. 

"It's certainly impossible at the moment to play every game as a three-format player. 

"They see a break and put a series on.

"Having (the IPL period) to rest might help me keep bowling at decent speeds for a period of time.

"(But) I don't think playing three formats is something I can do for a long period moving forward."

Asked if he'd given thought to his long-term plans, the world's former top-ranked ODI bowler said white-ball cricket would be the first to go.

The 32-year-old is however likely to play onto the T20 World Cup in 2024, with an ODI World Cup also next year.

"Tests (are) always first (priority) … far above white-ball," Starc said. 

"I'll decide on the rest as I go and where my body's at and how I feel about it.

"I'd love to, selection and form pending, continue playing Test cricket as long as we can."

Fans are also considering options.

Crowds of 15,420 and 16,993 turned up to watch Australia wrap up the ODI series with wins in Adelaide and Sydney, with Starc conceding he felt sorry for fans amid the never-ending run of games.

"100 per cent, there's a game every day," Starc said. 

"It's not for me to sit here and decide on a schedule.

"(But) we've come off a T20 World Cup into a three-match one-day series into five Tests, the WBBL is heading into finals at the minute. 

"Then you've got BBL, we go to India for Tests and white-ball, the girls have got a T20 World Cup into IPL. 

"How do you ask people to go spend $400 or $500 bucks at a day of cricket three days a week?"