You have to feel for Mark Craig. The New Zealand off-spinner has endured a rough time in Australia, taking a combined 6-438 in Brisbane and Perth and 1-271 in three tour matches.
Before the Australia tour, Craig had played 10 Tests for 38 wickets, including 7-94 against Pakistan and 8-188 on his debut against the West Indies. This is a harsh reality check.
Most of Craig’s wickets have come during ‘garbage time’, when the Aussie batsmen chased quick runs to force a declaration. In the first innings Craig took 0-156 off 31 overs at the Gabba and 3-123 off 23 overs at the WACA, both times conceding more than five runs an over.
His first wicket in Perth came in the 131st over.
Some of the best international spinners have been humbled Down Under.
Muttiah Muralitharan took 800 wickets in 133 Tests compared to 12 in five Tests in Australia. It was the infamous Boxing Day Test in 1995 which sparked the no-ball furore that dogged his career, especially in Australia.
Graeme Swann took 15 wickets in the 2010-11 Ashes win. Three years later, he abruptly retired after England lost the Ashes in Perth.
Ashley Giles’s Test career was ended after the 2006 Adelaide Test, taking 2-149 and crucially dropping Ricky Ponting in the first innings.
Giles’s replacement Monty Panesar took eight wickets at the WACA, but is remembered for being Adam Gilchrist’s plaything in the second innings. Monty managed just five more wickets in four Tests and was dropped after England’s MCG loss in 2013-14.
Leg-spinner Scott Borthwick took over from Monty in Sydney, took four wickets and hasn’t been seen since.
One of the few international spinners to genuinely thrive in Australia – though India’s Ravi Ashwin has taken 21 wickets in six Tests – is Anil Kumble, with 49 wickets in 10 Tests, including 8-141 at the SCG in 2004 (12-279 for the game).
Kumble was tall and bowled at near-medium pace. His lack of turn was compensated by his bounce, subtle change of pace and incredible accuracy.
So why is it so hard for international spinners – many arriving with big reputations – to succeed in Australia?
Aside from Sydney and Adelaide, spin is hard to bowl in Australia. Spinners have to toil hard on flat or unsympathetic pitches and can’t get used to conditions like local spinners. Most international teams come to Australia every three to four years.
The spinner plays a crucial role in Tests: they need to keep it tight in the first innings and cash in when it turns on days four and five. Spinners who can’t do this – like Craig – are mercilessly punished by Aussie batsmen. The same theory partly explains why Australia struggle with the sub-continental spinners or the swinging ball in England.
So how can visiting spinners succeed in Australia?
The obvious answer is for overseas spinners to play more Sheffield Shield cricket while still active Test players.
South Africa’s Johan Botha has played with South Australia and the Adelaide Strikers since 2012, though he hasn’t played a Test since 2010. England’s Adil Rashid played for South Australia in the state-based Big Bash League in 2010-11 and helped them win the title.
New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori took 37 wickets in 12 Tests in Australia and has played with the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League since 2011, graduating to head coach in 2015. Like Kumble, Vettori is tall and relies more on bounce, accuracy and change of pace than turn.
If current overseas spinners can be lured to play Shield and BBL cricket, they will have time to prepare for Tests and avoid a potentially career-ruining pastings.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Only issue there Fox is Sohdi not in the touring squad.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Saqlain Mushtaq did fairly well here from memory.
Shanks
Guest
I didn't see Ashwin as successful nor Vettori. I felt they weren't dangerous but they got the cheap wickets. For me it is Kumble cause he got bounce and he wasn't your general spinner. He was a very smart bowler who used variations of pace to get his wickets. I was there when he got the 8for in Steve Waugh's last test. Then he backed it up in 2007/08. I remember it more than Katich's ton, Tendulkar's 241 and Laxman's 170 odd? Danish Kaneria did well in Australia but he was a leggie. I guess legspinners have it better than offies in Australia.
Stucco
Guest
I think the main difference is bounce, as Ronan has pointed out. Craig doesn't really get that. I do think Sodhi might have been worth a go as, while he does lack great control, he can bowl wicket-taking deliveries. I think the Aussie batsman would have had to respect him a bit more than they do Craig. But Craig gives the team good lower order batting and is excellent in the slips which helps. Sodhi is a useful batsman as well, but not nearly the fielder Craig is.
Fox
Guest
I'm with you Dingo Sohdi should have played..he has the ability to bowl some absolute jaffas and he is tal and gets bounce
DingoGray
Roar Guru
I understand all those points, I just wonder with his batting he would be better option than Craig.
Wasted1
Guest
The main issue they have with the young leggie is like Craig he doesn't keep a consistent line and length. The other problem with the young leggie is that his fielding is well below what you would expect from an international cricketer. However he impressed me in the short African tour they had before coming to Australia. That said there is no way i'd be brave enough to throw him into the deep end on an Australian test tour with the pitches we've had so far. Could have done huge damage to his confidence.
Andrew Pelechaty
Roar Rookie
Great points Ronan. Drop is so important to offies. What I like about Lyon is his reliability. He can hold up an end, take wickets and allows the fast bowlers to be more aggressive
DingoGray
Roar Guru
NZ got give the young leggie ago? Unless he's Bryce McGain he can't do much worse than Craig.
Wasted1
Guest
Craig just isn't a strong spin option really. He's simiilar to Moeen Ali, a solid attacking batsman, with a bit of spin on the side. With the right application he will get better, but you can't compare either of them to a top class spinner as it isn't a fair contest. I am a fan of Craig though, he is a very useful batting option at 8 and he is a talented cricketer even without showing it this series so far.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"So how can visiting spinners succeed in Australia?" Bowl with more overspin. For two reasons: 1) Bounce is such a crucial weapon on Aussie decks, as Nathan Lyon has shown, being much more effective than visiting spinners almost purely through the extra bounce he gets from his heavy overspin. 2) Spinners don't get exaggerated turn, or natural variation of spin and bounce, in Australia like they do overseas. So you won't beat batsman off the pitch (except with sharp bounce) which means you must beat them through the air. That has been a huge difference between Craig and Lyon in this series. Lyon regularly has beaten NZ players in the flight because of the sharp drop he gets from his overspin. Craig not only rolls the ball out of his fingers, instead of ripping it like Lyon, but he doesn't get his front knee up and then drive over it like Lyon does which is what creates a lot of the heavy overspin he gets. Lyon used to bowl more like Craig until in early 2013 John Davison remodelled his push through the crease and he came back in the Indian Test series with a new look and a lot more overspin and bounce. Since then his career has flourished.