Champions Trophy spins out a surprise

WHAT with two new balls being used in England’s seaming early-summer conditions, fast bowlers were expected to lead the charge against batsmen at the Champions Trophy.

Not so fast, say the spinners – who are holding their own in several departments.

Going into yesterday’s last group match between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Oval, seven spinners were among the top 20 bowlers in the tournament in terms of average.

Five had bowled themselves into the leading 20 wicket-takers, the same number that featured on the strike-rate list.

The best performance by any bowler in the Champions Trophy before yesterday was the 5/36 that Indian left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja claimed against West Indies at the Oval.

Those are Jadeja’s career-best figures, as well as the only five-wicket haul seen in the event before yesterday’s game. England endured its coldest spring in half-a-century this year, but there are forecasts that heat waves will strike this week.

The lower levels of grass regrowth after the winter, followed by spells of rapidly rising temperatures, could have something to do with the unexpected bowling conditions. Robin Peterson would not be surprised if they did.

“I thought the ball would swing a lot more than it has,” he said. “So it looks like hard work for the seamers and it could turn out to be a spinner’s tournament. When the sun shines in England there is definite abrasion in the wicket and it offers the spinners something, especially in the second half of the game,” he said.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe concurred with Peterson, albeit from a seamer’s perspective.

“England is not a place where pitches are bouncy,” he said. “The ball swings for a few overs, but once it gets soft, that is where your spinners come in and you have to bowl straighter lines and set straighter fields. You have to be very clever about it.”

Reading the conditions was a key skill, particularly with regard to the balance of an attack.

“You might go in with four seamers and then it starts turning,” Tsotsobe said. “It’s unpredictable; it’s a gut-feel thing for the coach and the captain.”

England have been getting reverse swing early in their opponents’ innings. However, Alistair Cook’s team is coming under increasing scrutiny from critics, among them England great Bob Willis, who are suggesting England are guilty of ball tampering.

England coach Ashley Giles has strongly denied his team employ illegal tactics.