Spinners die Down Under
IT’S hard being an offspinner in Australia.
The manner in which they rifled through finger spinners before settling on Nathan Lyon after Shane Warne’s 2007 retirement tells only half the story. The best in the business have gone Down Under only to return bruised and battered.
The less said about Muttiah Muralitharan’s lack of success in Australia the better.
There was also Imran Tahir’s evisceration at the Adelaide Oval four years ago that forever changed how the champion limited-overs legspinner was viewed in South Africa.
If the most successful offspinner of all time never found the firm Australian surfaces to his liking, what hope would Dane Piedt have of thriving in Australia?
The fact he didn’t make the touring squad explains the trepidation the selectors have even though Piedt has not done much wrong.
Convenor of selectors Linda Zondi said they found it hard to drop Piedt despite the excellent form he showed in the New Zealand series in unfavourable conditions.
Australian indifference to offspinners played a big role in the decision.
“You have to look at how offspinners have struggled and you also need to look at how our spinners have also not done well in Australia, so you’d rather be in a position where you have plenty of options instead of not having any options at all. I think at this point in time that’s the most important thing,” Zondi said.
“I know we are playing at venues that have not traditionally supported spin in the past, but we have the pace back-up to ensure the spinners have an easier introduction. We’ve got enough pace variation to ensure the different conditions are exploited but so long as we have a spinner, then all is fine.”
Piedt has never been expected to bowl out teams but that has never been the mandate of any South African spinners.
Pitches in Perth, Hobart and Adelaide will not be amicable to spin as Sri Lanka’s crazy paving surfaces in Kandy, Colombo and Galle, but Australia’s weakness against spin is well known.
Aggressive batting at home has been the best countermeasure, but that party trick wore thin in Sri Lanka when Steven Smith’s side was blanked 3-0 by Angelo Mathews’s street-smart spinners.
Despite their top-order struggles, the likes of Usman Khawaja, Smith and David Warner impose themselves very early on visiting tweakers.
Zondi is aware of how Australian batsmen take advantage of home comforts, but hopes the different leftarm spinners will prey on their mental weaknesses against the turning ball.