O’Keefe changes ends, revs it up

PUNE: Australia spinner Steve O’Keefe, India’s tormentor on Day Two of the first Test on Friday, said assurance from captain and coach and a change of ends did the trick. The 32-year-old leftarm spinner had been in the fringes of the Australia team, having played just four Tests coming into the series against India, but upstaged the higher rated offspinner Nathan Lyon with a sensational haul of 6/35.

“I was none of 30 off nine, probably didn’t bowl very well at all in my first, sort of, six overs. And then, it all just happened really quickly,” he told the media after leaving Australia in a position to push for victory. “The first six overs were ordinary. Then I got a change of ends, and from there it spun a bit more. And (skipper) Steven Smith reassured me, helping me stay calm after an ordinary spell in the morning.

“I was just nervous, and I was trying to bowl the way I do in Australia. But I made some subtle changes, got a tap on the head from Boof (coach Darren Lehmann) in the dressing room, and I’m happy to turn things around.”

O’Keefe was modest about his haul, putting his success down to the spin-friendly pitch and Australia’s brilliant catching.

“I guess that’s the sort of wicket it is. We played and missed a lot of balls, and fortunately for us, they nicked and we caught them. It’s always nice to see a spinning wicket. You don’t get to see it too often back in Australia.”