In fact I had heard of Beer, but knew nothing about him, from reading Peter Roebuck’s columns in the SMH. Roebuck had mentioned his name as a possible long-term Australian spinner, some time after the Ashes series, though.
Already the jokes are being to be aired about his unexpected selection. An English reader of The Roar asked me in an email if ‘England can handle their Beer?’ He also suggested that ‘Richie, I hear, is a bit miffed about not getting a call-up.’
I think I can see a pattern in the selectors thinking about Beer. He is a tallish left-arm finger spinner who they reckon will get a bit of bounce at Perth. Why would they want this type of bowler when Nathan Hauritz, who is also a finger spinner but right-handed, has taken a five-wicket bag at Perth already this season?
The answer to this is that the selectors are obsessed with the fact that Kevin Pietersen has been dismissed 18 times (with his last dismissal by Xavier Doherty) in Test cricket by left-arm fingers spinners. Stephen O’Keefe (another leftie) dismissed him at Hobart for Australia A. And Beer dismissed him at Perth when England played West Australia before the Ashes series started.
In my opinion there is not much method in this and a lot of madness. Batsmen have to be dismissed by someone. If you go through Sir Donald Bradman’s record you’ll probably find that he was dismissed a lot by part-time bowlers. What the 18 dismissals of Pietersen by lefties and the Bradman dismissals don’t tell us is when they and why happened.
In Bradman’s case, on average, after he had scored near enough to 100 runs. And in Pietersen’s case, after he had scored more than 50 and at Adelaide after a double-century. Most batsmen would settle for being suspectible to finger-spinners after they’ve scored a hatful of runs.
This obsession by the selectors with playing a left-hand spinner to somehow get Pietersen out cheaply is a false strategy, in my opinion. If Australia had a really good left-arm finger-spinner spinner, someone like Bishen Bedi, then – perhaps – the strategy would be a workable one.
But Australia has never produced a world class left-arm finger-spinner. The best of them was the tradesman, Ray Bright. The left-arm spinners before him, Johnny Martin and Lindsay Kline were wrist spinners (and good ones) whose stock ball was the ball that spun in, the ‘Chinaman.’
You often hear commentators talk about the ball that moves away, either in swing or spin, as the ‘most dangerous’ delivery. Well, in my opinion, the ball that moves in is much more dangerous.
What about Shane Warne? And Richie Benaud? Bill O’Reilly? And Clarrie Grimmett? They represent the golden line of the greatest Australian spinners. All of them were right-arm leg-spinners.
They were wrist-spinners rather than finger-spinners like Beer, Doherty, and Ray Bright. As wrist spinners they had the top-spinner (the ball that skids through as it straightens up) and the wrong’un (the ball that spins in towards the stumps which is bowled with a leg-spin action).
If you go through the records of Warne, Benaud, O’Reilly and Grimmett you’ll find that the majority of their wickets came from top-spinners and wrong-uns. O’Reilly, in fact, used to bowl to a field with two fieldsman standing metres away from the batsmen’s hip in silly mid-on positions.
The thing about the ball that moves away from the bat is that if the swing or spin is big enough to deceive batsmen, it generally moves too much and beats the bats and stumps.
The ball that deceives a batsman by moving in towards the stumps is often a wicket ball, either bowled, LBW or caught at short leg.
The problem for off-spinners in the past, unless they were great practictioners like Jim Laker, is that the predictable in-turn can be thwarted by pad-play or just anticipating the movement of the ball into the bat.
But in recent years we’ve seen the development of the doosra (which is the right-hand finger spinner’s equivalent of the wrong-un) and the top-spinner. The effect of these developments, together with the change in the laws allowing finger-spinners to throw (think Murali), has given an edge to the finger spinners that the wrist spinners used to have.
I’m hoping that Beer turns up trumps at Perth. Australia needs a stopper in their attack, the role that Stuart Clark used to play when the opposition batting got on top of the front line attack.
There is nothing in Beer’s record to suggest that he will by able to do this in Test cricket, however. His average per wicket in first class cricket, 16 at 40, including 3 – 108 and 2 – 99 against England at Perth, suggest that he is not the tight, maiden-over-after-maiden over that a successful spinner needs to be.
In my opinion the selectors would have done better for the battling Australian XI by leaving the spinning to Steve Smith, an emerging wrist spinner, with some back-up from the part-time right-hand finger spinner David Hussey.
I hope this analysis is totally wrong. But somehow I don’t think this will be the case.
SAcricketer
Guest
"You often hear commentators talk about the ball that moves away, either in swing or spin, as the ‘most dangerous’ delivery. Well, in my opinion, the ball that moves in is much more dangerous." I totally agree with this, it's common sense really! Something that turns in hits the stumps every ball if the bowler is good; and it's been proven that the more batsmen have to play the ball the faster they get out. I could leave away turn all day, unless it lands on the stumps, in which case it's easy pickings for a drive / sweep. Lara, Chanderpaul, Tendulkar, Ponting and Allan Border would agree with me!
Nathan
Guest
ha ha harrr extremely humorous!
Justin
Guest
Spinner generally have awful records in Perth so why play one?
Fisher Price
Guest
So, you reckon those half-fit speedsters would have an impact?
Stu
Guest
I hope he meets a Beautiful Russian called Ivana..... Or a nice Aussie girl Anita. I really want to hear what is picked up via the stump mics should he play against England. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Parisien
Guest
That's very good Rob!
Bayman
Guest
Kersi, I think they just pick someone they haven't used before. Using this same criteria I'd have picked O'Keefe but, unfortunately, he can't seem to crack the NSW team so higher honours look doubtful. At least, in the short term. I've no doubt the NSW selectors expected Hauritz to be this summer's Test spinner so they could then play Smith and O'Keefe in all the state games. Horrie's fall from grace has somewhat ruined the game plan - unless, of course, NSW now cast Hauritz to the wind as their national panel comrades have done.
jameswm
Guest
a real Alfie Langer moment...
plugger
Guest
It's political. We have been ordered not to intimidate or hurt the poms and just let them win. Where is Brett Lee? Where was Dirk Nannes when England played Victoria? Where was Sean Tait when they played South Australia? Why did Bollinger bowl 10 kph faster when he went back to NSW than he did when he played in the Adelaide test? Why are our bowlers bowling lollipops in the tests? We have been brought down by a conspiracy and our authorities are too gutless to stand up to it.
Fisher Price
Guest
It'd be folly to leave out Cameron. Forrest at 4 I'd have thought.
Bob
Guest
True- obviously the selectors aren't interested in stats. Did not help Brad Hodge or Michael Klinger either.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
jameswm,I would agree that SOK has fight and ticker and is worth nurturing. I don't think he should be forgotten. there is a heck a lot of cricket coming up in all forms and i think we need a squad of more than 30 to get through the program. There will be plenty of opportunities coming up and in the end it will be good for aussie cricket...we are in a trough now but its been a good run..now comes the climbing back and i am sure we have the cattle. Just got to work them harder.
Hutchoman
Roar Pro
Vinay, I would agree with your assessment. It would certainly take considerable research to come up with a definitive answer, but in my 30 years of watching, playing and umpiring the game, my impression is always that that ball that moves away from the batsman is the more dangerous. Obviously I'm talking about the stock ball here, not the searing toe crushers that bring the likes of Akram to mind. Balls that swing/cut/spin in generally provide the batsman with larger margin for error as the pad comes into play in providing another layer of defence. Additionally, it is generally easier to make a late adjustment by pulling the bat (and pad) closer towards the body than away. It also provides a lower margin of error for the bowler as such deliveries will either be striking outside the line of off for LBW or drifting down the leg side. Balls that are moving away can generally pitch in a wider corridor and still have the batsman force to play a correct stroke to avoid dismissal. Looking at Warne specifically, he never really had a wrong 'un. His LBWs and bowleds against right handers were primarily topspinners, flippers and sliders, all essentially balls that went straight on that deceived batsman in speed through the air and off the pitch and/or who were playing for the turn.
TembaVJ
Guest
Rob, it beats getting beaten... but if winning is what they want then something drastic will need to be done, bringing in a left arm orthodox is not going to win them this match... if Beer is good, he will take 6, if Beer is the next Warn maybe 8 but I fear he is not and there is still another 14 wickets to be taken. The problem lies deeper than a spinner, Ponting lacks the hairy round ones as a captain and his batting is up the creek. Give him a break, astound the world, boost the numbers through the roof and bring back Warne. Its not impossible and it would be the greatest moment in cricket history probably never to be out done.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Vinay I did mention Hauritz, but SOK was the main one I was referring to. Having said that, unless they are convinced Beer is the future and it's time to start to nurture him through the next 5-9 years, then I'd have gone for Hauritz ahead of him. And I'm pretty sure they don't have those hopes for Beer. I reckon they must know SOK is better qualified, but went for Beer because he probably won't be playing anyway. And it didn't help SOK that he missed the last NSW game, with Smith and Hauritz there. If it were me I'd have SOK ahead of both of them - but then I'd be opening with Khawaja, would possibly have Ferguson ahead of Smith at 6, and I'd have Copeland ahead of Siddle. I'm not as confident as you Vinay, but your account only confirms that they will probably play 4 quicks, and the Beer argument is pointless.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
jameswm,if your logic pertains to SOK only then it has some merit but when you lump him in with "others" including hauritz it does not stack up because as I said before hauritz couldn't do the job in Cardiff and Mohali. Not to say he can't do it in the future. but not right now. I don;t know about the reports you are getting but by all accounts the WACA,though not at its 70's pace ,is a lot quicket than it has been for some years and certainly quicker than brisbane and Adelaide. England are down one paceman and the other has gone home for a baby. he will be back a day before the Test. I am actually rating Australia an even money bet to win in perth.
Rob McLean
Guest
Temba, the only problem with that is the fantasy doesn't benefit Australia - a drawn series doesn't win us back the Ashes.
TembaVJ
Guest
Aus to just hold on for a draw, public gets mad, fires Ponting, brings back Warne... Warne levels series... ad shows off Liz Hurley. Ill buy tickets for the game and the movie.
Brett McKay
Guest
Kersi, I don't think it's anywhere near exact a science as that!!
Kersi Meher-Homji
Expert
Quiz: How do Australian selectors pick their spinners? . . . Answer: By spinning a coin!