By Adrian Meredith
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| Australia are nurturing fast bowlers to keep their sights at ICC World Cup 2015 |
MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) October 24, 2012: It has been commented recently by Shane Warne, Australia's last decent spinner, that right now Australia should consider all-pace in most conditions. This is coming from a spin bowler! And that says enough for me.
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So let's look at the current options, to see how it stacks up:
Spin bowlers:
Nathan Lyon has done well enough in tests, averaging around 27, and is probably Australia's best test spin bowler. But he has recently commented that he is overloaded with advice. The fact that he isn't being used in ODIs or T20s suggests that perhaps his time in the test team is limited.
Michael Beersomehow got a game at Shane Warne's insistence and has a terrible record, both in tests and in first class matches, averaging around 50 in both formats. Plucked from obscurity, like so many others, as with most others he has stunk.
Xavier Dohertywas actually the form spin bowler in the Australian domestic circuit when he was picked for the ill-fated 2011 home Ashes series, playing in conditions not suited to spin bowlers. He still gets a game in ODIs and T20s but in tests he is seen to be surplus to requirements. A bit unfair, given his domestic form; but the numbers at test level don't look good.
Jason Krezja took 12 wickets on debut - but went for so many runs that it cost Australia the match. Since then, he got injured and others jumped ahead of him. Has a worse domestic record than anyone else in consideration, though he does do well bowling in partnership with Doherty.
Nathan Hauritzwas doing reasonably well in the test arena, after being plucked from obscurity, before being dumped, getting injured, and then staying dumped, in spite of being in huge form. I am not sure exactly what happened to him but it seems that the selectors got sick of him for one reason or another.
Fast bowlers:
Mitchell Johnsonis a left arm bowler with some serious pace who a couple of years ago won the ICC player of the year award. He is a form bowler who is up and down, but when he is hot he is the best bowler in the world. The kind of shock bowler that scares oppositions, he is someone that you want to have in your squad, even if you don't always play him. He can also bat fairly well on his day, has a test century and may benefit from playing the role of the bowling all-rounder.
Ryan Harris is in great form, with one of the best international bowling records of anyone in the world - other than perhaps Vernon Philander. His big problem is his tendency to get injured, so he has to be managed well. But so long as injury isn't bothering him he is definitely Australia's best bowler.
Peter Siddle has hardly any domestic matches behind him, yet is already almost 30, having gone through strings of injuries through his youth. In tests he is a real trier and plays above his domestic record. He rarely fails and is a great bowler to have to support some of the more erratic bowlers.
Ben Hilfenhaushad a poor start to his domestic career but in recent years has come good in a very big way, had an amazing start to his test career, is amazing in England, and is just so steady. He did lose form at one point and whether he has truly regained it is a big question mark. Provided that he is in form, he is a very steady bowler who can bowl forever and really drains an opposition team.
Doug Bollingerhas such an amazing record and was the foil for Ryan Harris but then in that ill-fated home Ashes series in 2011, he was quoted as saying that he "hit the wall" and hence has been banned from playing tests - or really much else internationally - since then, in spite of being in great form. A real line and length bowler, similar to Stuart Clark and Glenn McGrath, Bollinger has developed McGrath's fabled intimidation factor as well. A pretty good bowler to have outside of the team, as backup.
Mitchell Starc is probably the best of the new bowlers who have recently been discovered, yet a few times didn't even make the starting line up. He trained with Wasim Akram and is deadly dangerous in all formats. A left arm quick with control and variety he is a real danger and not just a star of the future - he is a star right now.
Justin Pattinsonhad a pretty ordinary domestic record, albeit after just a handful of games, before he was plucked from obscurity to play tests, and has done remarkably well. He has now done remarkably well in both ODIs and T20s, and, unlike some of the other young fast bowlers going around, hasn't succumbed to injury. Very consistent with his bowling and is also a real fighter with the bat as well.
Pat Cummins had that fabled amazing debut against South Africa, then promptly got injured and has been nursed very delicately since then, though his performances at times have been ordinary.
Clint McKay was the form domestic bowler before getting his ODI debut a couple of years ago, doing amazingly well, and also incredibly well in T20s, but then, in his only test, he had bad figures; so is known as a limited overs bowler only. A bit unfair really, especially considering his domestic record, and perhaps in time the selectors will consider him for tests again. A pretty good bowler to have in reserve, who has variety and real skill in getting batsmen out.
John Hastingscame in to the team at much the same time as McKay, though didn't do quite as well, didn't play a test, and was off injured. He is still an amazingly good bowler though and, while he is probably a fair way down the pecking order, he isn't a bad bowler to have in reserve.
So compare these. At best we have Nathan Lyon or Nathan Hauritz as spinners, who both average around 30 in tests, though that is only in helpful conditions. In the fast bowling stakes, we have an array of a dozen or more bowlers who average around 25 - or under - in tests - in all conditions. Not to mention that we are often playing spinners who average 50+.
In my opinion it is a choice of:
A) Pick a spin bowler only when the pitch absolutely suits spin bowling, and only when the opposition team are weak against spin (i.e. not against India).
B) Never pick a spin bowler no matter what the conditions.
We have an array of different kinds of bowlers. We have the steady bowlers like Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Hastings and McKay. We have the attack leaders like Ryan Harris and Bollinger. We have the shock bowlers like Johnson and Cummins. We have the young tearaways like Pattinson and Starc. Not to mention that we have left and right, swing and true fast bowlers. Get a good mix, get the right, in-form fast bowlers playing and they would be deathly good.
I can't be sure who to pick. I would personally pick Starc, Pattinson, McKay and Johnson; but I can't be sure if that is the right mix. What I am sure of, though, is that playing a spinner, especially on a fast bowler's paradise like Brisbane is (the venue of the first test), is stupid.
