MITCHELL STARC has been hiding an Ashes secret — he’s using his wife’s bat!

Fast bowler Starc, 33, is married to Australia women’s captain Alyssa Healy and says he prefers her bat because it is lighter.

He nabbed one of Healy’s willows last winter while she was away on tour.

Starc had a tidy innings of 41 in the World Test Championship final victory over India at The Oval last month but has a top score of just 16 in four innings in these Ashes.

Cricket bats used by women have the same dimensions but tend to be lighter.

Starc, who is 6ft 6in tall, said: “Anrich Nortje of South Africa was bowling pretty fast during our summer at home so I thought I’d try a lighter bat.

“I was cleaning out a few cricket bags at home while Alyssa was on tour. I said to her, ‘You know there are three bats in this bag?’

“She didn’t know. And then I told her, ‘Well, there’s two now. The other one’s in my bag!’ All I had to do was add an extra rubber grip to the handle.

“I think it’s one-all now because she took one of mine a few years ago. She cut the handle off, so it was no good to me after that!”

The Aussies lead England 2-1 ahead of the Fourth Test at Old Trafford, starting on Wednesday.

And batsman Harry Brook is expecting the atmosphere  to be even more electric than for England’s win at Headingley last week.

Brook, who top-scored with 75 in a thrilling fourth-innings run chase, said: “The atmosphere at Headingley was phenomenal but I think the ground at Old Trafford holds a few more thousand people. I’m guessing it’s going to be a really good atmosphere and we’re looking forward to that.

“We have some down-time this week, so I’m taking my mind away from cricket and will hit the ground hard when we go back to training.”

All three Tests in the series have been nail-biters, Australia winning by two wickets and 43 runs, while Ben Stokes’ side sneaked home by three wickets.

And England’s assistant coach Paul Collingwood believes his team’s Bazball approach is attracting a new generation of fans — with Sky Sports reporting record viewing figures for both the men’s and women’s Ashes.

Colly, who made a fleeting appearance in England’s stunning 2005 Ashes victory, said: “It’s been enthralling, gripping stuff and it feels like it’s not just the regular cricket fans who are switching on, it’s reaching a bit further.

“People just can’t wait for the cricket to be on. The 2005 Ashes was an inspiration for people to get involved — and that’s what we want.

“Baz McCullum and Ben Stokes didn’t keep it a secret when they took over — they want Test cricket to be as entertaining as it can be and that’s been behind everything we’re doing.”