As Australia arrive in India with two little-known spinners, G.S. Vivek writes on why you don’t need spin to win anymore
After India’s defeat in the one-day series in Sri Lanka served a notice to the seniors with Sourav Ganguly’s slot apparently up for grabs, and more victims a possibility in the near future, Australia arrive in India with a set of two greenhorn spinners in Jason Kreza and Brian McGain. Good news for the struggling Indian Test team on flat, pancake wickets? Some would think so.

An extensive search of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane and a study of Sheffield Shield footage failed to spot any bowler hurling deliveries with perfectly slanted revolutions. Jamie Cox, the selector who’s on tour to India with the Australia A side, admits the paucity of spinners back home. “Australia is a very unforgiving country for spin bowlers. We don’t have the wickets that help spinners — perhaps Sydney is an exception. Spinners generally mature after some years. The younger generation loves to bowl fast and that could be a reason you won’t find many slow bowlers back home,” he says.

But Cox stresses that Kreza and McGain are not in the squad to make up the numbers. “These guys are here after performing very well in domestic cricket. They had good summers at home. Now they have a chance to make their place in the senior side.”

So the best team in the world is clearly short on variety but the Australians are unconcerned. They’ve often been accused of being monotonous. The focus for them is mainly on playing spin — Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and perhaps even a third — rather than give the series a spin of their own.

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