Nathan Hauritz must remain Australia’s slow bowling weapon of choice this summer while others develop their games, according to former Test tweaker Bruce Yardley.

The state of spin in Australia has come under major scrutiny over the off-season, and that introspection intensified after selectors wrongly chose not to pick Hauritz on a turning pitch in the pivotal fifth Ashes Test at the Oval.

Hauritz responded to the snub with some typically tidy limited overs bowling in subsequent matches, and was a key player in the triumph of NSW in the Champions League where he even took the new ball.

Yardley said Hauritz knew his game better than most slow men currently battling to maintain a place for their state, though Victorian Jon Holland – also touring India with the one day team – is learning fast.

“I’ve always rated Nathan, and I think he can be even better. He can definitely bowl, because the revs are right,” Yardley told AAP.

“Hauritz went to India in 2004 and a lot was expected of him, then Michael Clarke comes in and takes 6-9 while he couldn’t bowl them out, and that must’ve played on his mind for a couple of years.

“But I’ve watched him since and he’s doing the right things, even in the Twenty20.

“I was horrified when they didn’t play Hauritz in the last Test in England, if you see a track that’s white in England, it’s not rocket science…

“I believe if they’d played Hauritz they’d have won the Test match.”
Yardley watched Holland up close at the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence (COE) earlier this year, and it was the kind words of he and COE head coach Greg Chappell that helped gain the 22-year-old a spot on the tour.

“I like Jon a lot, he’s a very strong young bloke, lovely rhythm,” Yardley said.

“I saw him bowl at the Centre of Excellence in May and told Greg Chappell ‘how good is this bloke’, I’d never seen him before then.”
Since a mid-year spin summit at the COE, steps have been taken in each state to build a better network for the identification and nurture of young spinners.

Employed as a coaching consultant by the West Australian Cricket Association, Yardley summoned all the state’s slow bowlers to a joint training and teaching session earlier this year to assess the talent available.

He was horrified by some of the bowlers’ directives from their club captains and coaches.

“One bloke in Perth told me that his club coach had told him that he must bowl four ‘nude’ overs (maidens) when he first comes on,” Yardley said.

“We’ve got to get through to captains and coaches that it doesn’t matter whether you’re playing Test cricket, one day cricket or Twenty20 cricket, that you bowl to get people out.

“How are you going to get to play for Australia if all you do is do as you’re told and fire darts at leg stump – you’re not going anywhere.”

© AAP 2012

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