I CAN FILL MO’S SHOES, INSISTS ROOKIE CRANE
Mason Crane emerged from his first red-ball experience with england to declare himself ready to take on australia in the Gabba cauldron if needed for the first ashes Test.
The 20- year- old leg- spinner passed the first examination of his temperament when he bowled well in the practice match against Western australia in Perth. He held his nerve to take two wickets before a loose late round-thewicket experiment.
now the Hampshire player will prepare as if he will play in Brisbane on november 23, starting with tomorrow’s pink-ball warmup under the adelaide oval lights against a Cricket australia XI.
Moeen ali is still missing with the side strain that has hampered england’s ashes preparations so Crane knows he is the only spin alternative should Moeen fail to make his hoped-for comeback in next week’s final warm-up in Townsville. Crane insists he can cope with the most daunting of Test debuts.
‘absolutely. I’m ready,’ he said. ‘I’m very confident I could do a job if called upon. I probably wouldn’t be here if other people didn’t think so either.
‘Mo’s injury just shows that I have to prepare for every game like I’m going to play. If it looks like a one-spinner pitch, then you never know.’
even if Moeen fails to make it to Brisbane it remains to be seen whether england would plunge Crane into the deep end as the Gabba usually favours seam and the absence of Ben stokes has affected the balance of the side. But coach Trevor Bayliss has said he would not hesitate to throw a debutant into the first Test — Craig overton is favourite to take stokes’ place — and clearly the magnitude of the situation does not worry Crane.
‘ This is an experience I’ll remember for ever and if I’m called upon, great,’ he said.
There is no doubt Crane’s development owes much to the winter he spent in australia last year that culminated in him becoming the first overseas player to represent new south Wales in sheffield shield cricket since Imran Khan more than 30 years ago.
The biggest influence on him in sydney was the often controversial figure of stuart MacGill, the maverick leg- spinner who endured a chequered career with australia in the shadows of the great shane Warne.
It is MacGill, though, who has done the old enemy a favour by becoming Crane’s mentor and he hopes to work with him again when england go to sydney later on this tour.
‘stu was brilliant. He’s as passionate as anyone I’ve seen when they talk about bowling. That came across even when I just spoke to him over coffee,’ said Crane. ‘We worked on technical things but a lot of it was mental and he was an amazing help.
‘stu was keen on letting me know what a big deal it was to play for new south Wales and I’m very appreciative.
‘Luckily, this summer I’ve had the chance to play in some other big games, too. I don’t think it crossed anyone’s mind that new south Wales were helping an englishman.’
It was Warne, predictably, who Crane grew up idolising but, even though the greatest of all legspinners has strong Hampshire connections, the youngster has not yet had a chance to pick the master’s brains.
‘There has been a crack at trying to tee it up but he’s a busy man. I hope one day I can have a bowl with him,’ said Crane.
It is a blow to england that Moeen cannot play in adelaide tomorrow when they will have the perfect chance to experience the best lights in world cricket before the day-night second Test.
england had hoped to play their probable first Test team here in south australia but the absence of a second key all-rounder at least enables them to give Dawid Malan and Gary Ballance, who both made half- centuries in Perth, another chance to stake a claim for the no 5 position.
It will be revealing, meanwhile, to see which seamer of overton and Jake Ball gets the nod to face the Cricket australia XI as they will be the likely choice for Brisbane in the impossible-to-fill position vacated by stokes.