Pretty much every off spinner from Pakistan bowls with the same action a sideways shuffle before the final stride and a significant pause before release. Against Australia,one spiritual heir of Saqlain Mushtaq Saeed Ajmal watched from the bench while another Mohammad Hafeez evoked some of his best spells from the late 90s. Hafeez,unlike Saqlain and Ajmal,doesnt possess the doosra. But he bowls a slider with a hint of drift away from the right-hander he used this almost as his stock delivery,pitching it on a good length around middle-and-off. With a shortish,straight midwicket cutting off the easy leg side single,Hafeez bowled strings of dot balls in the middle overs. The absence of turn in most of his deliveries prevented the batsmen from working the ball square on the leg side,and he slipped in just enough off breaks to keep the threat of turn in the back of their minds. The delayed release ensured that the batsmen couldnt use their feet unless they were really comfortable doing so only Michael Clarke among the top six was. He didnt bowl full enough for the cover drive,wide enough for the cut or the slash,or fast enough for boundaries behind square. The constant image of Hafeezs spell of one for 26 was of the right-handers (the Aussies didnt look to mix things up by promoting Michael Hussey or Mitchell Johnson) patting the ball back at him. The wicket of Ricky Ponting,and the run out of Cameron White,were byproducts of the pressure he exerted.
