Australian spinner Nathan Hauritz gunning to tour Sri Lanka
Australian injured off spinner Nathan Hauritz hopes to get a nod for the tour of Sri Lanka at the start of August as he recovers from a shoulder injury that kept him out of the ICC World Cup 2011.
Hauritz, who until recently was the number one spinner in the Aussie ranks, fell by the wayside after an unimpressive performance against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 last year, which led to his omission from the team that played in the ill fated Ashes series at home; the hosts
were thrashed 3-1 in that series.
He was brought back for the One Day International (ODI) series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c749 that followed the Ashes, however, in his first game he suffered a nasty shoulder injury which kept him out of the premier ODI tournament that followed in the Indian Subcontinent.
Hauritz disclosed to the media in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 that he knew at the time of sustaining the injury that his World Cup chances were in serious jeopardy, however, in the last few days the injury has improved a great deal and since he is on the mend, he thinks that
the tour of Sri Lanka would be a realistic possibility for him.
"In the back of my mind I probably knew, when we did the fitness testing we knew that it was nowhere near right [for the World Cup]," Hauritz told media. "It had to improve pretty rapidly while I was over there to be able to play. I understood the decision,
they had to get a spinner over there and start straight away. I wanted it to be me, no doubt, but it just couldn't happen."
He added that his injury was healing at a quick pace and he was happy with the rehabilitation program that he is following under supervision of the Australian medical panel that looks after the injuries to the players’ part of the national team or on the
fringe of selection.
The off-spinner also stated that in the last couple of weeks he stepped up the training on the advice of the trainers and Doctors. According to Hauritz, the emphasis was on a bit more strength-based stuff; swimming and push- ups have got a good response
from his shoulder which gives him the belief that he would be ready to don the Aussie kit at the highest level soon.
Hauritz added, "I'm hoping to be bowling in about three weeks. Generally it's about a four to six-month recovery. I'm hoping to be fit for selection [for Sri Lanka in August], and bowling. I probably won't be throwing by then, but definitely bowling and
everything like that should be no drama."
Another concern for Hauritz would be that he is no way a guaranteed selection in the test team as his lacklustre show in India had pushed him back in the pecking order for the national team. However, on the flip side there are hardly any quality spinners
in the country which means that the Queenslander has a realistic chance of winning a berth for the pearl island.
His hope is that the national selection panel would bring in an additional spinner for the tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 as the wickets there support slow bowlers, and Hauritz has been a decent performer all over, barring India.
Tags: