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Bloodied, bruised but unbeaten. That was Nathan Hauritz (5-53) after he produced the turning point of Pakistan’s final day run chase at the SCG by clinging onto a fearsome drive from Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf.
The ball thundered into the spinner’s chest and he managed to turn and wrap his hands around the ball before collapsing to the ground in agony.
The spinner is becoming familiar with suffering pain from batsmen belting balls back in his direction, having had his finger dislocated trying to grasp Andrew Strauss’s sweetly-struck drive at Lords last year.
But this time around he didn’t have to leave the field.
Following some treatment, the incident ended up sparking his day as he went on to claim his second five-wicket haul in Australia’s dramatic 36-run win.
“We needed him to take wickets today,” said skipper Ricky Ponting.
“He probably didn’t start as well as we would have liked … but Melbourne last week was a really good learning experience for him to back himself again in a crucial situation like we had today and to come away with five wickets is a great reward again.
“That’s what you want from your spin bowler, to stand up and back himself and get a couple of wickets.
“Maybe he goes for a few runs here and there but he ends up winning a game of Test cricket so that’s special.”
With Hauritz wicket-less and having been struck for three fours in the over before tea, Ponting had good reason to be tentative throwing him back the ball with so few runs to play with.
But the skipper, so regularly criticised in regards to tactics, was spot on in tossing Hauritz the ball for the second over of the final session.
“I don’t care how many runs he goes for, if he can pick us up three or four wickets late in the game we are going to win more often than not,” he said.
“That’s the way he’s got to look at it as well and I know in the last couple of experiences he’s had in the last innings he will be learning a lot and feeling a lot happier about himself as well.”
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