Starc is recovering from a nasty leg gash and would have been virtually no chance of coming into Australia selection equations had he not played next week.  

The left-armed paceman said he would be fit to play for the Blues against Queensland in a sign the star is readying for a return to national honours.

“I’m hopefully on that plane on Monday to Brisbane and get some good bowling in and get back playing and ready to go for the first Test,” Starc said.

The Shield match will give Starc a chance to practice with the pink ball that will be used in the third against South Africa and Pakistan.