'It goes hand in hand': Mitchell Starc delivers reality check to England amid women's Ashes turmoil
Australian men's star Mitchell Starc believes the criticism levelled towards England during the women's Ashes series is a good sign for the sport.
The visitors have been completely dominated across the opening six matches, failing to win a game against a red-hot Aussie outfit led by Starc's wife Alyssa Healy.
Former player Alex Hartley was among the loudest critics of England's performances, which led to her being snubbed for a television interview during the series.
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Head coach Jon Lewis defended the poor showing thus far, claiming that it came down to a "cultural" difference between the two nations.
England have lost all six games against Australia. Getty
However, according to Starc, the recent backlash the team has faced is part and parcel of playing professional sport and proves how far the women's game has come.
"It's gone from strength to strength for the last five years or so and with that comes professionalism and criticism," he told The Age.
"When you play poorly you're going to get criticised, like the English are at the moment. Likewise, when you play really well like the Australian team are, they're going to be spoken about how dominant they are.
"It goes hand in hand, and certainly the girls who've been around enough have seen the change and see it as part of the game.
"For the younger group it's about growing up with it, it's not so foreign to them.
"We've obviously dealt with it for a bit longer, but it is part of the game and the more it gets broadcast and shown on TV or spoken about, the better for the game.
"But it comes with good and bad as well."
Mitchell Starc at training during the Sri Lanka tour. Getty
Starc has been no stranger to criticism at stages during his career, but has managed to block out the noise and cement himself as an all-time great of Aussie cricket.
Australia will be searching the first-ever whitewash in the Ashes since the multi-format series was introduced in 2013 when the day-night Test begins on Thursday.
Healy, along with all-rounder Ash Gardner, are in line to return from injury.
