Lack of bounce could be reason behind Hauritz failure – Tim Nielsen
The Australia coach, Tim Nielsen, has defended off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who has been struggling for form during the ongoing trip to India, saying that the lack of bounce in Indian pitches might be one of the reasons behind his poor
performance.
Nielsen backed the off-spinner for the upcoming Ashes series, which kicks off in Brisbane from 25th of November.
“He hasn't got the assistance here he gets in Australia, probably because of the slowness of the wickets and the lack of bounce”, said the Australian coach while talking to the media reporters in Margao, the venue of the final ODI
on 24th October.
Nathan, leading the Australian spin attack, was totally ineffective against the Indian batting line-up in the two-match Test series, returning with six for 65, and finished wicket-less in Australia’s five-wicket defeat against India
in the second One Day International in Visakhapatnam.
Tim Nielsen said that the Test performance of Nathan Hauritz is much better than what he has done there in India. The coach said that he has quite a lot of discussions with the off-spinner since the conclusion of the Bangalore Test
and the bowler has started getting accustomed with the hard and humid Subcontinent weather conditions.
Nielsen said that the Indian bowlers put a lot of spin on the ball to get the bounce while in Australia the tracks are comparatively harder and the spinners mostly concentrate on sidespin. The visiting coach called it the major difference
“…something Nathan has to do to get adjusted to the playing conditions here”.
Hauritz was the leading bowler of Australia in the 2009-10 home Test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, where he claimed 18 Pakistani wickets to ensure a clean sweep, and the coach is hopeful that the off-spinner had a chance to return to his
apex form ahead of the home Ashes against England. "It was a massive learning curve for him. He's a better bowler as a result of it", Nielsen said. "He's got two-three Sheffield Shield matches and that should help him prepare well for the first Test".
When asked if the recent mauling of Australia at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 would affect Australia's World Cup preparation, Nielsen said, "We are not panicking at all. We understand we haven't got the results we would have liked but we have
been very competitive”.
Nielsen confirmed that Callum Ferguson would be playing in the third ODI replacing Michael Hussey, who had returned to home to get himself accustomed with home conditions ahead of The Ashes, by playing a four day game for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Western-Australia-c865
in the Sheffield Shield.
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