Trent Boult was showered in praise and swing was identified by many as the cause of Australia’s downfall against New Zealand last weekend.
Veteran spinner Dan Vettori, however, would have been just as deserving of the man-of-the-match award as its recipient Boult, who took five wickets.
Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum placed extraordinary faith in Vettori when he introduced him after just six overs.
Australia had 51 runs on the board and spearhead Tim Southee had bowled poorly, giving up 32 runs from his first three overs.
With only two men allowed outside the circle and Eden Park’s absurdly short boundaries on offer to big hitters David Warner and Shane Watson, Vettori’s task was immensely difficult.
Bowling around the wicket to Warner, the finger spinner managed to concede just two runs from his first over while denying the Australian the chance to free his arms.
Varying his flight and pace like the old pro that he is, Vettori helped to halve the momentum of the aggressive Aussies. They managed to score only 13 runs from his first 23 deliveries.
Then, Watson’s eyes widened when Vettori sent down a shorter, quicker delivery. Having been tied down by the Kiwi, Watson tried to inflict maximum punishment but instead of clearing the fence his pull shot lobbed into the hands of deep mid wicket.
Soon after, Vettori outfoxed Steve Smith, Australia’s most in-form batsmen and one of the finest players of spin in world cricket.
After letting the ball float gently through the air to Michael Clarke and seeing the Aussie skipper knock a single, Vettori’s next delivery was 10kmh quicker without a pronounced change in trajectory.
Playing for the spin, Smith tried to drive the delivery through the offside from the back foot. The extra pace saw the ball skid straight and kiss his inside edge, ending in the keeper’s gloves.
By the time Vettori completed his 10th consecutive over, Australia were 9-124 and New Zealand had one foot in the winner’s circle.
While his figures of 2-41 don’t catch the eye like Boult’s 5-27, he was every bit as influential and his miserly efforts may well have prompted some of the loose strokes which brought Boult his cluster of wickets.
Australia’s next opponents, Sri Lanka, will have noted how Vettori frustrated the Aussie batsmen and the manner in which other bowlers benefited from this.
The Sri Lankans may well try to execute a similar bowling strategy against Australia at the SCG this Sunday. Their spinners Tillakaratne Dilshan and Jeevan Mendis are similar in method to Vettori.
Like the Kiwi, neither of them give the ball extravagant loop or extract sharp turn, rather they are accurate, vary their flight and angles, and look to choke the run rate.
While that pair, and injured spinner Rangana Herath, have not taken many wickets in this World Cup, they have still performed this defensive role very well, conceding just 4.6 runs per over combined.
Herath is a big loss for Sri Lanka, having needed four stitches on his spinning finger following his side’s nine-wicket smashing of England last Sunday. Of course, Sri Lanka’s spinners are not the only threat to Australia’s batsmen.
Their economical work can, however, make Sri Lanka’s pacemen even more effective. Skipper Angelo Mathews may use Dilshan or Mendis early in Australia’s innings to try to dry things up in the hope the Aussies will react by going hard at their quicks, as they did with fatal consequences against New Zealand.
Sri Lankan spearhead Lasith Malinga will be more than pleased if the Aussies try to collar him. With his swing and clever variations in pace, Malinga is one of the most deceptive pacemen in the world.
Australia’s batsmen may identify him as their main threat. But if Sri Lanka’s spinners can emulate Vettori then it could be them, and not Malinga, who derails the Australian innings.
Prosenjit majumdar
Guest
Bilal those were strangely high margins you predicted,but i think i get your point.
Prosenjit majumdar
Guest
Where was the spin?only maxwell and dilshan got it to turn a little occasionally..and yeah ronan, lankan bowling except malinga,was once more 'ratched'. :-D
Robbo
Guest
Great win by Australia, Maxwell was magnificent and so was Sangakara. Australia will win the cup on the back of Maxwell and Starc!
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
LOL at the laudable alliteration...
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
I guess the answer was "No", Ronan...
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
I probably should shut up, but laxly leaving Lasith in legal limbo did not seem legit.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
Good luck in getting the ICC to take meaningful action on the issue of throwing -- they don't have a great record. There are plenty of players who need to be examined before Malinga. If he's not bending his arm just prior to delivery, or during the delivery, he is legitimate. Slinging (like Jeff Thomson) is one of the cleanest deliveries possible in terms of elbow-bending. I agree the ICC needs to re-examine the rules, because one thing that "scientific testing" has shown is that elbow-bending is not a good predictor of whether someone appears to be throwing. Under current rules, Malinga looks legit to me -- apart from his hair, of course!
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
Great ball to get Warner today. Good change of pace...
cricket Australia
Guest
Professor rosseforp if he had a real bowling action his Yorker won't be as accurate and his bowling action just doesn't look right That bowling action. Is near impossible to hit for six even a full toss Icc need to change the rules to only bowl over arm and ban slinging action
Jake
Guest
No. Australia should win this. SL are similar to NZ - a team of journeymen and honest toilers pulled along by one or two world class players. McCullum and Vettori in the case of nz and Sangakarra and Matthews for SL. Get Kumar out early and the rest will falter.
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
I wouldn't have thought that maliciously maligning Malinga even merited a response, Prof...
Jarijari
Guest
Mendis is out of the cup with a hamstring Ronan and they replaced him with a batsman, so they might bring in Senanayake the offie. But their spin is severely weakened without Herath and Mendis. Doherty might get a run to tie them down in the middle overs but Clarke and Maxwell probably better wicket-taking options against slogging. Winner likely to play Pakistan, loser South Africa. Most would prefer to avoid Sth Africa but who knows looking at yesterday's result. Starc, Johnson, Malinga might be key men, not spin. interesting game.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
I have a pretty keen eye for a chucker, as regular readers may know. There's a lot of extraneous activity going on during a Malinga delivery, and it confuses the assessment of his action. But -- I think Malinga's arm remains in position when he is slinging, so is not bending ; and at any rate, I don't believe throwing creates more accuracy in a yorker than a bowling action does. A throwing action makes it harder for the batsman to know where the delivery is coming from during a delivery, so a batsman may have more chance of being yorked from a throw.
cricket Australia
Guest
I hope david warner smashes lasith malinga today Most of malinga wickets are junktime ones I dont like the way he carries on after taking a wicket even when he bowls out a number 11 The icc need to ban that hack That slinging action should be banned His Yorkers are accurate because he's actually throwing the ball If australia bat first. 300+ If sri lanka bat first. 250-280 Hopefully australia wins
E-Meter
Guest
Remember when Aravinda De Silva & Jayasuriya used to come on and bowl early against Australia? They'd bowl 10 overs for 25-30 runs and jag the odd wicket, and completely put the hand brake on our run rate. It would drive me up the wall. Then Murali would join in.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Huge game today playing for second in the group. Third place will likely play SA in a Qtr and then NZ at home in semi. Aussies really need to step up.
13th Man
Guest
It will be interesting to see if Bailey who is a good player of spin comes in for this match. I don't think they need to bring in Doherty because Clarke and Maxwell bowl just as well as him.
Alec Swann
Expert
No
Andrew
Guest
Depends which pitch is produced as well, a flat SCG or the usual turner. We remember what the Aussies did to Graeme Swann and he was no mug with the ball. Id fancy Australia knowing Herath is unable to play.
moaman
Guest
Are you saying the aussies can't play without home-ground support? Are you saying that Australians are stronger than Sri Lankans per se?