Shane Warne backs Nathan Hauritz
Australian cricket legend Shane Warne has backed off-spinner Nathan Hauritz to do well during the Ashes despite competition from Xavier Doherty.
Both players, as well as leg-spinner Steve Smith, have been named in Australia's mammoth 17-man squad to play England in the first Ashes Test match next week.
There are strong rumours in the Australian press that Doherty will be the player who is given the nod to play but Warne thinks that Hauritz would be the safer and more reliable option.
"I think Nathan Hauritz is our number one spinner, he has a very good record in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746
and I'm sure he'll get first chance. I had a chat with him just before the Boxing Day Test last year and talked about being
positive," Warne said on the Sky Sports website.
Warne suggests that Hauritz is the right man to attack the English batting line up. He insists that Hauritz can be effective as long as
Australian captain Ricky Ponting listens to him and gives him the fields he asks for.
There was a high profile flair-up between Warne and Ponting earlier in the Australian summer because of incidents during Australia's recent
tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750. Television pictures showed Hauritz asking Ponting for certain fields only for the captain to do something totally different.
"I
said 'mate, you're bowling well, get some right fields, work with Ricky (Ponting) to get the right fields and bowl to get someone out. Ask yourself how am I getting them out and if you ask how am I getting them out that naturally gives you a positive mindset'.
And if he does that he'll be fine. If (Hauritz) doesn't do well, a bloke like Doherty is pushing for a place," added Warne.
Nathan Hauritz also has the statistics to back up his selection. He has taken a total of 63 Test match wickets in 17 matches so far. Warne
suggests that Doherty does not turn or spin the ball any more than Hauritz, which suggests the logical thing to do is go with the player that has more experience.
"He looks good (Doherty), I've worked with him a bit, not
in a while, but whenever I worked with him he looks very good. He's definitely not a big spinner of the ball and that's something he's trying to work on, to spin it more, and this
summer he looks like he's spinning it a bit more, and that's great. I'm sure he'd do a very good job," said Warne.
Warne was always viewed as Australia's biggest weapon in preparation for an Ashes series. However, this time round it's England that has
the best spinner in Graeme Swann who, despite being a regulation off-spinner, takes wickets for fun against the best teams in the world.
"Graeme Swann is the number one spinner in the world and
the most improved cricketer in the world, so everyone is expecting him to do really well.
Expectation is on him for the first time which is different," commented Warne.
Betting advice
Australia needs something a little more than a spinner who will hold up one end and bowl defensively. Ponting has to try and counter England's
ace card with Swann.
This means that Doherty may be given the nod ahead of Hauritz because he is more of an exciting and unknown bowler. However, there will
be a lot of pressure on the Australians this winter and if this decision is not made correctly then Ponting could pay for it with his captaincy.
Swann looks likely to take more wickets than anyone else during the 2010/11 Ashes series.
Tags: