Australian spinner Xavier Doherty did not bowl poorly against Sri Lanka. Strangely enough, that’s why he shouldn’t play any further part in this tournament, unless Australia encounter a parched pitch.
It wasn’t as though Doherty offered up a buffet of boundary balls in Sydney. He just doesn’t have the tools to be effective in modern ODIs when conditions don’t favour him.
The left armer’s effort against Sri Lanka was standard Doherty: flat deliveries, upon which minimal spin was imparted, speared in at the stumps.
These kind of darts used to be commonplace in ODIs. Limited spinners like Doherty formerly had value in hurrying through overs in the middle stages of an innings and returning figures of 1-50 from 10 overs.
Now, with tougher fielding restrictions and evermore powerful striking, a spinner must either be extremely accurate and crafty, like Daniel Vettori, or be an attacking option with a bag of tricks, like Imran Tahir, Saeed Ajmal or Sunil Narine.
Doherty’s modus operandi is not dissimilar to that of Vettori, who is enjoying a stellar World Cup with 12 wickets at an average of 11. There are, however, two crucial differences which make Vettori a vastly superior bowler.
Firstly, the Kiwi is five inches taller and so gains not only sharper lift from the pitch but also a greater variety of bounce. The short Doherty tends to skid on to the bat, which many strokemakers enjoy.
Secondly, Vettori varies his pace more and with a less discernible change in action. Against Sri Lanka, Doherty’s speed was consistently in the 86 to 88 kilometres an hour range, topping out at 95.
When Vettori befuddled the Australian batsmen in Auckland, his pace dropped to as low as 82 kilometres an hour and rose to as high as 102. Together with his more disconcerting bounce, these variations were key to tying up the Aussie batsmen. Doherty bowls at a too-consistent pace and just slides the ball on to the bat.
He now looks even less effective than all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. The Victorian is a genuine wicket-taking option as he puts a lot more work on the ball, often getting it to loop and dip tantalisingly.
While his batting has been spawning headlines, for negative or positive reasons, Maxwell’s off spin has quietly improved out of sight. He has eliminated many of the loose deliveries batsmen used to sweat on, while managing to remain an attacking operator. In Sydney it was Doherty, not Maxwell, who the Sri Lankans targeted. The former gave up 34 runs in boundaries from his seven overs, while Maxwell went for just 12 runs in boundaries from his six overs.
Without the rank long hops and full tosses that used to punctuate his expensive spells, Maxwell is now the more difficult spinner to get after. As such, there is no need for Doherty unless conditions dictate that spin will play a major role in one of Australia’s coming World Cup matches.
The bowling strength of the co-hosts lies with pace and Josh Hazlewood appears far more likely to influence the result of a knockout match than Doherty.
Australia have one more pool match, against the struggling Scotland, but already have booked a quarter final at Adelaide. Their opponents in that match have not yet been confirmed – it could be any of Ireland, Pakistan or the West Indies.
With their batting line-up having clicked and their pace attack a major threat, Australia would be overwhelming favourites against any of those three teams.
A semi-final against India at the SCG beckons. The Indian batsmen would be delighted to see Doherty skipping to the crease. A striding Hazlewood would be a far less welcome sight.
Don Freo
Guest
Incorrect.
mattyb
Guest
Marsh looked ok in the tests and should have been in the odi squad.Since returning to the big bash and shield he has been a match winning sensation.
Armchair Expert
Guest
Yes Don, Agar has bowled well in the last 2 shield games but he was 12th man before that.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Cheers fellow R'OC
The Bush
Roar Guru
The days of trying to tie the batsmen down with holding bowlers has passed. You may as well pick out and out strike bowlers and hope you run through the line up - otherwise it's just a bat-off. Bowlers like Watson and those holding spinners seem to be a thing of the past...
Don Freo
Guest
Ah, he's TURNED a few Oz A games as captain. Vogesy opened the bowling with him in 2 or 3 T20 games.
Armchair Expert
Guest
Interesting you mentioned Ashton Turner, Don, he was regularly selected ahead of Agar a couple of years ago for Australia U19s but can't even get a look in as a bowler for WA now, he mustn't be living up to his name.
ES
Guest
One of you best, Don. Doff of the cap...
Don Freo
Guest
He is way ahead of where you have him. His match winning bowling in Adelaide, Glenelg, Newcastle and AB Field, all batting paradises actually document his class. His batting and fielding are bonuses. He'll be on one or both of the upcoming Oz tours.
spruce moose
Guest
One must question why it was written to be honest. Up there with as obvious an observation as Usain Bolt is fast.
spruce moose
Guest
See, there is a difference between being decent and being test worthy. Agar is in the former. Shaun Marsh is knocking on the door of the latter. Agar needs another year of this.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Sometimes a piece is so on-point, you literally have nothing to add or contribute. This is one of this pieces.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
It was strange that when the World Cup squad was announced, the selectors implied that Lyon had missed out because they were worried he'd be too expensive with the new fielding restrictions and higher scoring. Yet I think guys like Lyon who can beat batsmen both in the flight and off the pitch are now actually more valuable than the holding spinners like Doherty, who many batsmen have learned how to collar. One positive of Lyon being out of the World Cup is that he's getting a lot of FC bowling under his belt and is enjoying consistent success in the Shield, something which previously had eluded him.
Dog's Breakfast
Guest
I was surprised when Doherty was picked in the squad. Ever since midway through last year it's looked like the selectors have been reluctant to pick him. On top of that, as you state, Maxwell's bowling has improved out of sight and he was used a heck of a lot, and successfully, when the pitches were offering assistance in the UAE late last year. By the way, I know you said Vettori is a far superior bowler to Doherty, but I reckon Vettori would have every reason to be pretty ticked that you even mentioned them in the same breath in bowling terms.
Don Freo
Guest
Do you follow the matches or the scores? WA was just having a swing in the second dig to set up a tilt on the outright...which they achieved. Marsh Man of the Match. Klinger did the same. WA boys don't bat for averages, they commit themselves to team play. Care to comment on his other 13 or 14 innings this Shield season? Almost 70 average is not attained over that many innings without consistency.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
That last sentence of your first paragraph is a myth.
Gav
Guest
S Marsh, 169 in his first innings of his last Shield match - great Next innings, same match??? What's his biggest problem......
Don Freo
Guest
Just like WA's Ashton Turner. Vettori must have gone to him for lessons. This Vettori bloke could be a good bowler.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
These days, Vettori is unlike any finger spinner I can think of. Just about every ball he bowls he imparts spin on, but it's actually back-spin rather than over-spin, which means the ball tends to curve into the batsman and then skid off the deck and continue on the same line. The commentators have said a few times you basically need to play him like a slow medium swing bowler rather than a spinner. Smith got out to him in Auckland playing for spin that was never there. You basically have to realise it's highly unlikely to spin but rather will slide through and it's all about a little curve in the air and change of pace.
Don Freo
Guest
He has spun WA to victory 3 times this season, all on batting roads. His flight, changes of pace and tightness are consistent parts of his game now and if you watched replays of his dismissals this year, there have been 3 wickets that have come from really vicious rips of the ball. His height...and subsequent bounce...is getting him a number of caughts behind and bat pads. They are more likely to take a second spinner than a second keeper. Bancroft, BTW, might be the best bat/pad fieldsman in Australia now. It's great listening to him commentate on how he trains for it. He is a regular commentator on SportFM when WA is batting...after he has been dismissed, of course.