• Starc: ‘If Stokes is not there it is a blow for them and good for us’ • Fast bowler believes England can still be competitive in Ashes

Mitchell Starc believes the possible absence of Ben Stokes from the Ashes is a blow for England and “good for us”.

The Australia fast bowler, who will return from injury at the weekend for the first of three Sheffield Shield matches, said on Tuesday: “Everyone in world cricket knows how good a cricketer Ben is. He is England’s best all-rounder. It is yet to be seen whether he will be on the plane – if he does come we know how good a player he is and he makes that team more balanced. If he is not there it is a blow for them and good for us.”

Australia quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood on track for Ashes Read more

Stokes was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm during a late-night altercation outside a Bristol nightclub. He was released without charge but is under investigation. He and Alex Hales have both been made unavailable for international selection until further notice, with an announcement not expected until the middle of the month.

Australia will not be complacent whether Stoke travels or not, Starc said. “I am sure they can still be competitive. They’ve got those experienced guys at the top and he is not the be-all and end-all of their team. There are plenty of others we need to worry about. They bat quite deep, you’ve got Moeen Ali coming in at No8 and Chris Woakes at No9. It is not just one guy.”

Starc is keen to ensure England have the same problems as they did when Mitchell Johnson was the driving force in the 5-0 whitewash of England in Australia four years ago.

“We’ve got a great attack there, it is not really down to one person, obviously everyone would like to bowl like Johnno and terrorise the Poms like he did and take a thousand wickets in the series but the great thing for us is we have a young group who complement each other nicely,” Starc said.