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Is Mitchell Swepson the leg spinner Australia has been looking for?

Roar Rookie
30th December, 2016
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Mitchell Swepson of the Heat drops the wicket of Andre Russell of the Thunder during the Big Bash League (BBL) T20 match between the Sydney Thunder and the Brisbane Heat at Spotless Stadium in Sydney, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)
Roar Rookie
30th December, 2016
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2891 Reads

Australia has long awaited that leg spinner to replace Shane Warne and it may be that the ‘King of Spin’ has hinted at a long term option to fill that void.

In commentary and on social media, Warne has called for Mitchell Swepson to be included in the squad for the Sydney New Year’s Test match. Although, the Australian selectors have opted for Lyon, O’Keefe and Agar as the spin options for that squad, there appears to be signs that Swepson may be the answer.

While trying to replace undoubtedly the greatest spinner of all time is akin to mission impossible, Australian teams throughout history have invariably performed best when selecting a leg spinner in the eleven. Names such as Warne, Grimmett, O’Reilly, Benaud and MacGill are testament to that.

The greater variation a ‘leggie’ can extract with the wrong’un, top spinner and ball that skids on adds to the appeal. Warne also demonstrated throughout his career on Australian pitches, like the Gabba’, that the extra bounce on offer can provide great assistance to a leg spin bowler. The fact that Nathan Lyon has performed so well on Australian pitches throughout his career so far only adds to his credibility as a quality off spinner, another point alluded to by Warne on social media yesterday.

Since the retirement of Warne in 2007, the Australian selectors have tried many leg spin options including the likes of Bryce McGain, Cameron White and the one-time leg spin hopeful, Australian captain Steve Smith. Others like Fawad Ahmed have also been mooted as possible Test selections.

With the arrival of Nathan Lyon into the Test arena in 2011 coupled with the depth of Australian fast bowling stocks, the urgency to find the next world class leg spinner has diminished somewhat. Yet there may be something there which the current form of Swepson suggests will develop further.

Swepson is still very new to the first-class scene, playing just the 14 matches to date, but already he has compiled some excellent figures for Queensland. He has taken 41 wickets at an average of 32.82, which statistically is very respectable for a cricketer of his experience. Vision of his bowling in the Big Bash for the Brisbane Heat also shows that he has a strong action and is a bowler that can think on his feet.

Despite Adam Zampa making a habit of taking wickets at the one-day international level with his leg spinners, his first class record is far less impressive than that of Swepson. Zampa averages 50.35 in comparison.

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Adam Zampa took six wickets in the IPL.

The emergence of a genuine leg spinner may also provide the Australian selectors with the opportunity of using Nathan Lyon in tandem with a wrist spinner, similar to arguably the last great off-spin leg-spin combination for Australia in Shane Warne and Tim May.

It was this combination that was used to such great effect in many Test matches, most notably the 1993 Ashes Series. This may in turn take the pressure off Nathan Lyon at times allowing him to slow down his pace and become a more attacking off-spinner.

However, like the great Shane Warne, Swepson will no doubt need time to find his feet at Test level and the foresight of selectors to give him that time. It is now folklore that Ravi Shastri dispatched Warne to all parts of the SCG during his debut in 1992.

Warne finished that match with figures of 1/150 and it was not until the following summer when he dismissed Richie Richardson at the MCG with that infamous ‘flipper’ that the genius started to surface.

To select Swepson for the tour to India in February and March would be the ultimate initiation for the young Queenslander. It could be considered a massive gamble. Then again it may be a gamble that pays dividends in the years to come.

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