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Phil Lutton and Chloe Saltau AUSTRALIA'S cricket bosses are so disillusioned by the failure to uncover slow bowling talent that the states could be compelled to select and bowl spinners in a new national under-23 competition. Following Australia's Ashes defeat, much has been made of the omission of Nathan Hauritz on a turning pitch at The Oval, where English spinner Graeme Swann thrived and Australian part-timer Marcus North took four wickets in the second innings. Cricket Australia has taken steps to urgently broaden the talent pool with a new under-23 competition to be launched this summer. It will replace the Cricket Australia Cup, which was the previous second-tier national competition, and allow three over-age players to lead the state teams.
A CA spokesman said the rules of the competition were yet to be finalised but adjustments to the laws were being strongly considered to ensure spin bowling was given a higher priority by coaches and captains. CA wants spin prospects bowling more overs more often, especially in attacking roles. "They are looking into different ways of encouraging teams to play spinners. How that works is yet to be determined but they are trying to encourage captains to bowl spinners, teams to play more spinners and especially in the under-23 competitions, they are looking at possible changes to rules and regulations to encourage that,'' the spokesman said. "It will hopefully give us more spinners to pick from and part-time spinners to practise their spin bowling a little bit more." The lack of faith in Hauritz, who initially struggled to earn a regular start for NSW last season, and an absence of an obvious back-up have exposed the lack of depth in Australia's spinning stocks since the retirement of Shane Warne in January 2007. Jason Krejza looked as if he would fit the bill after a bewildering 12-wicket Test debut in India but played just one more match, against South Africa in Perth, before being dropped. All including Krejza now agree Hauritz should have played ahead of fourth paceman Stuart Clark on a dry pitch at The Oval but the attacking Tasmanian off-spinner said he had done what the selectors asked of him after he was dumped last summer for leaking too many runs. ''I've worked on a lot of things, on bowling quicker at certain times,'' Krejza said. ''I got dropped for being too expensive, and I went back and was the most economical bowler in Twenty20 cricket … now I have to start the [domestic] season well and be better than any other spinner. I have to give them the confidence to pick me and that comes down to performances in state cricket. ''It [the spinner's position] is still open but Nathan did a good job over there and I think if he had played in that last Test he could have had an impact.'' Hauritz tied with Queensland Bulls captain Chris Simpson, a part-timer, as the leading spinners in last year's Sheffield Shield with 16 victims each. http://www.smh.com.au |
