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Maybe it didn’t backfire but it certainly didn’t fire either.
Australian coach and selector Darren Lehmann is happy with left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe’s performance on debut in the first Test in Dubai, where Pakistan claimed a 221-run win on Sunday.
Australia’s spinners Nathan Lyon, O’Keefe and Steve Smith took seven wickets at a cost of almost 70 runs each. Pakistan’s Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir Shah (on debut) and Mohammad Hafeez claimed 15 at 24.
Lehmann says when you lose the toss and your spinners don’t get the chance to bowl last, the odds are against them.
“Your spinner will struggle if there is no turn on day one which there wasn’t,” Lehmann said.
O’Keefe, 29, was Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the match while 23-year-old pace-bowling allrounder Mitchell Marsh (30 runs and 0-63) had no real impact on debut.
“It’s easy in hindsight, isn’t it?,” Lehmann said.
“But we’ve got two young kids debuting which is fantastic for the future of Australian cricket.
“It’s a great experience for them. It didn’t backfire.
“He (O’Keefe) managed to tie down an end at different stages. I was happy with his debut.”
Lehmann is expecting another low, slow wicket for Thursday’s second and final Test in Abu Dhabi which suggests Australia could play two spinners again, or even three.
Spin-bowling allrounder Glenn Maxwell is a possible replacement for Marsh at No.6 in Australia’s batting order.
After his 76 in the second one-dayer against Pakistan in Dubai on October 10, Maxwell bowled a double-wicket maiden in the final over to clinch an amazing one-run win for Australia two days later in Abu Dhabi.
However Marsh has also been in good one-day form for Australia in the past few months before missing the October series against Pakistan with a hamstring strain.
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