My News
04.03.13
Where is Australian Cricket at? Part 4 "The Way Forward" - Spin Bowling
Once again, thanks for all the great feedback on Part 3; I really appreciate it and am glad it created a lot of discussion. Thanks also to all the parents that have written to me, tweeted me and stopped me to say that they loved the idea of 30/30 cricket for both school and club cricket.
I hope that Cricket Australia (CA) liked my suggestions for 14 and under cricket as well as the suggested changes for 15-18 year olds. Many of you also thought my suggestion about domestic players visiting local schools as part of a school cricket initiative was a great idea. For the real young boys and girls, CA should take a close look at Oz Kick, a superb program that is run in conjunction with the AFL.
Quick thoughts on the test series in India after 2 days into the second test match.
I thought Australia had an opportunity to put themselves into a winning position in the 1st test, but the boys just couldn’t quite make the most of the chances they had. What can we learn from the defeat?
Enriques on debut was fantastic and maybe the step up to International Cricket brings out the best in him; he was quite simply outstanding with the bat and showed a real maturity. Michael Clarke (what would we do without him?) is the best all-round batsmen in the world and James Pattinson is surely a future star for Australia; he has a big heart, oozes talent with the ball, has good pace and will only get better.
The Aussies really struggled for the first two days in Hyderabad. The batsmen, with the exception of Wade and Clarke, showed little application but they must find a way to build partnerships and I hope they will in the second innings.
Our bowlers didn’t look threatening in the conditions and I’m hopeful Day 3 can be a day for the bowlers or the test match is only going one way – another win for India.
Moving swiftly on…
State of Spin Bowling in Australia…
We have to start picking the correct spinners, that’s the first thing.
I think the problem lies in what we expect from our young spin bowlers and the way they are handled at domestic level by their captains and coaches. The attitude should always be about taking wickets and not about economy rates: 4/100 off 25 overs is a good result and better than 2/60 off 25 overs.
I believe the expectations are too high and the young spinners are put under a lot of pressure to be both attacking wicket takers as well as tight economical bowlers, which is very hard to do.
My guidelines on what to look for in a young spinner is pretty simple; someone who can spin the ball. Any fast bowler that can swing or make the ball move has a chance to take wickets; if they bowl straight they will struggle. The same criteria applies for spin bowling; straight = struggle, spin the ball = wickets.
They also have to play under a captain who is prepared to back the spinner and play them in all 10-shield games not just in Adelaide or Sydney where the ball spins. This way, the spinner gets experience in all the different conditions and the good spinners will adapt and find a way to be successful. The more a captain can put a young spinner, and the team for that matter, in situations where they have to learn how to win a game for the team or help contribute to a win, the faster the jar of experience strengthens along with their confidence.
Nothing beats knowing the captain has faith in you and will back you, as Alan Border did with me when I started. It means a lot, eases your mindset and boosts your confidence.
It’s like the young footballers in the AFL who need 30-40 games under their belts to understand what it takes to win at the top level, while gaining a vitally important understanding of themselves. They need to do both, individually and from a team perspective, to be successful in all conditions and situations.
Yeah sure, 20/20 and 50 over cricket are a hindrance in the development of a young spinner as you have to bowl differently in those forms; with so many $’s involved in the various 20/20 competitions around the world, it’s not an easy situation. This is where the responsibility falls upon the player; if the young spinner wants to play test cricket for Australia, then maybe they have to back themselves to learn how to bowl before taking up the options available to them around the world in the shorter forms of the game.
Easy to say, I know, but I believe we should identify our top four spinners and put them on a decent contract and have them play nothing but first class cricket for twelve months and then take a view and re-asses.
The other crucial element is the state of the pitches in Australia. I think it’s great we are seeing a contest between bat and ball on Days 1 & 2 by leaving more grass on the pitch. But the wickets have to deteriorate so the spinners can then come into the game.
Here is a suggestion from left field that will help spin bowlers, in fact all bowlers for that matter, as everything is in favour of the batsmen: Make the stumps a bit wider and a bit taller. This will help in the battle between bat and ball as there will be more bowled and LBW’s.
We are very lucky in Australia at the moment that we have a lot of quality fast bowlers around, meaning that the spinner’s role does not have to be one of taking bag fulls of wickets but rather to play his role and when the opportunity arises, seize his day in the sun. In short, spin bowling is about sticking your chest out, wanting the ball in your hand and imposing your will onto the contest.
We have to look at the programs we have in place too and examine the coaching and advice they are receiving through the ranks; we need a proper program with one person in charge, who is accountable.
Question – Is the bowling coach at the Cricket Academy meant to know everything about all forms of bowling or do we have specific bowling coaches for quicks, swing bowling and spin?
Without doubt, the one thing we need to look for in all our selections is simple; a lot of ticker and someone who is up for it no matter what, these players will always get runs or wickets when it’s tough.
Thanks again for taking the time to read Part 4, looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Shane
Twitter @warne888
Instagram shanewarne23
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Comments
Muhammad Shahbaz
I am leg break bowler same like you.My bowling action same like you.I can turn the ball same like you. I can turn the ball at any surface. I want to play for Australia.
Everybody knew that Australia is need at that time great spinner. i think i can fulfill the space of spin bowling in Australian team. After few days I will send my video . when you see my video, everybody will must say that guy is the same copy of Shane Warne.
Cell# 0092-0321-9536562
Robbie Garden
Interesting thoughts/side. This series is lost, so it's time to start preparing for the Ashes, so I'd go Warner(capable of destroying the opposition in one game out of the series and hasn't done it so far, so he is due and the Poms would love it if he wasn't there), push Hughes up to opener(that's his spot, he probably won't score runs in India, but is capable of taking the poms apart on their pitches, against their bowling), Clarke(best bat, should be at 3), Khawaja(deserves a decent chance to show what he can do at this level rather than 1 or 2 games at a time), Burns(massive potential, hundred in shield final is usually a good sign), Ferguson(looks like shield is too easy, loses concentration, needs the extra challenge of test cricket), Hartley(catches win matches, if the batsmen are good enough you don't need to rely on the keeper to score big runs and he is still pretty handy with the bat), Johnson(not real smart, but under the right guidance can be very effective at getting wickets, and can bat), Pattinson(second man picked after Clarke), Harris(No.1 bowler before injury, won Ryobi cup for Qld, and should come straight back into the team if fit enough, Starc(again, massive potential; tall, quick, left-handed, can move the ball both ways), Lyon(needs more time to develop, but don't forget he's only played about 10 shield games and got good batsmen out in 1st test). Next guys in the pecking order should be Copeland(Kumar and Philander have shown if you can move the ball you don't need to be fast to be effective, and he's got a $hitload of wickets at domestic level), Bird and Cummins, when fit, put pressure on the other bowlers. Forget Cowan(got nothing), Watson(ODI/T20 Specialist, one of the best around at that level, but no point selecting for tests if he can't bowl), Maxwell(T20 specialist, no point getting wickets when the opposition is already 200 ahead), Doherty(ODI specialist), Siddle(if he was half as good as the media/so-called experts say he is, we would have won the Adelaide test against South Africa.
Fred Boycott
'Flogging a dead horse' ?
Kumar Anoop
Colin Upcroft
Tim Laycock
Harish Kalyanaraman
Matthew Cowan
Adam Wardell
Roy Davie
Time for you to lead a young pack of TALENTED Spinners across Australia and hone their craft just like Mr Jenner honed yours.
We have Foxtel's Cricket Superstar in which the great AB found Ian Holland. A very good Victorian All Rounder.
How about we have Spin King's Spinners....
STEP UP WARNIE! We as a nation need you to deliver us from slump, once again
Rob Ridgeway
Tim Holt
But sadly, you are to blame for the pressure on the ones who have followed you with the Selectors not being able to truly apply 'context' to your Legend. In regards to you were a once in a life time genius that they absurdly measure everyone else with.
You talk about the difficulty of a spinner possessing relentless accuracy with profound spin- very true with it only being a combination seen in you and very few else in the games history.
Maybe only Murali and the rarely mentioned English genius Johnny Wardle
The proper identification and nurturing of talent is the key as you say. With Australia failing by paying too much attention to performances in ODI/T20 where wickets are given rather than in the Shield where they have to be earnt. Players in this form of the game should never have the reward of a Test Cap for good performances. Instead, not only talent, but know how needs to be identified in the juniors and honed through the levels. As you know a spinners strength is his talent with the ball in hand, but then the way he thinks out batsmen in the mind is equally as crucial. This needs to be given greater respect with our current bunch having no clue of the mental side of the Art.
Also, the way spinners are handled by Captains is a travesty with few if any employing tactics to compliment the spinners art. With an emphasis on him bowling with flight and guile and gaining satisfaction when a batsman might hit him over the top rather than acting like a startled hare and having men retreat to the fence in defence. You saw the difference between the handling of two mediocre spinners in Hauritz and Lyon. With Ponting's defensive mindset never supporting Hauritz in any way compared to Clarke's imaginative and attack minded Captaincy giving Lyon credibility.
You are spot on about identifying 4 that might have a long term future and playing them in all conditions. I think Cam Boyce is a talented bowler, but since Nathan Hauritz has moved to QLD , Hauritz is often preferred for his 'defensive qualities'
When in my 60 years of watching the game I was always taught that the key to winning was getting 20 pegs
Maybe the Aussie Powers that Be need to realise this point!
Lastly, well done on you extraordinary career and its profound meaning to Australia, and great to see you at such a happy stage in your Life