Steve Smith's decision not to enforce the follow-on against England didn't please his bowlers.

Mitchell Starc says Steve Smith will consult his bowling unit in future follow-on decisions to avoid a repeat of the captain's second test stress in Adelaide.

Smith came under fire for not sending England in to bat again to face the swinging pink ball when the tourists trailed by 215 runs after the first innings, former vice-captain Shane Warne among those to question the call.

The skipper admitted he needed a sleeping pill as he not only tossed and turned over not giving his bowlers another crack but after also wasting two reviews and putting down two catches on a tense fourth night as England threatened to pull off an unlikely comeback victory.

GETTY IMAGES Mitchell Starc, pictured celebrating the wicket of Jonny Bairstow, says Smith will ask his bowlers' opinions next time.

While Australia ultimately completed a 120-run victory to take a 2-0 Ashes series lead, the fallout continued when Australian bowling coach David Saker publicly called Smith out.

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Pace spearhead Mitchell Starc was particularly unhappy and did little to bury the issue when asked if he'd like the chance to take the new ball in a follow-on situation.

Starc's body language suggested that underlying tension remained and, tellingly, he revealed the attack would be consulted in future.

"If we're in that position again, I'm sure we'll chat about it as a group," Starc said before toeing the captain's line.

"As Smithy said yesterday, it's a long summer. It's a massive series for us. The three of us (Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins) haven't really played that much cricket together, in the longer formats anyway, and there's a lot of cricket to be played after the (test) series as well.

"So, in the end, we won the test match anyway so the follow-on's irrelevant."