Sydney, November 22: Legendary bowler Shane Warne has termed Nathan Hauritz as the number one spinner of Australia in the lead-in to the first Test against West Indies
starting next week.
Warne said Hauritz had shown enough improvement to retain his spot in the squad despite strong pressure from Jason Krejza.
”I think Nathan Hauritz is doing a pretty good job,” Warne was qouted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
”First of all, the sign of any good international cricketer is if you improve, and I think Nathan Hauritz has improved since he first started.
”So I think he’s going pretty well,” he added.
Conditions at the Gabba are expected to favour spin late in the match, and with opening batsman Shane Watson also able to bowl 10-15 overs of pace each day, Bollinger is expected to be 12th man despite performing exceptionally well in the recently concluded ODI series against India in which Australia emerge victorius.
Warne also believes Australian spin stocks are healthier than most realise, however he urged domestic captains to be more aggressive in their approach to benefit slow bowlers.
”The spinning cupboard is not bare, we’ve got the talent there,” Warne said. ”It’s up to the captains to make sure they captain them right, and Shield cricket is played in the right spirit where we try to win games rather than bat too long, and that gives the spinners a chance.
”If all that happens I’m sure we’ve just got to be patient. You don’t just unearth a Dennis Lillee or good bowlers, it takes time.
So hopefully the process of these guys learning their craft in domestic cricket is going to come through, and then suddenly they’ve got a few options for them to play,” he added.
——Agencies