Allan Border pinpoints root cause of Aussie spin woes
Australian great Allan Border has called for the pitches of old to be resurrected in the Sheffield Shield following the country’s first Test capitulation against Sri Lanka.
For years there have been grumblings from down under about pitches in Asia being ‘doctored’ to ensure spin is a major factor whenever Australia plays.
The results speak for themselves, with the Aussies winning just one match in Asia out of the 16 they’ve played there in the last decade.
Border scored six centuries and averaged 54.51 across 22 Tests on the sub-continent and is adamant that Australia’s first-class cricket tracks are too flat to prepare batsmen to play the turning ball.
“In my day we definitely had the SCG for spinners and Adelaide Oval would turn later on in the match,” Border told foxsports.com.au.
“New South Wales would travel to Perth and get beaten, and Perth would travel to Sydney and get beaten. You had a look at some decent spinners when the ball was turning and you’d work out some method. You were learning to play spin in first-class cricket.
“We’re not getting that in our domestic competitions now. The wickets in Australia are the best in world to bat on, as simple as that, so you don’t see quality spin and our spinners don’t get a chance to bowl on tracks that are offering a lot of turn.
“I know the powers that be are trying their best, we’ve got all sorts of different soils and pitches in the cricket academy in Brisbane. We’re trying to send our youth teams to the sub-continent a lot, but it’s just different.
“You’re learning how to play against spinners in Test match cricket, that’s really the bottom line.
“Test players are basically learning on the job, which is a tough ask when the job is batting in a Test match.”
However, Border does not believe that is an excuse for the fact the team lost 18 wickets in the Test to spin, especially considering the amount of time some members of the squad have spent in the subcontinent.
“There’s half a dozen guys there who have played a lot of cricket in India where the ball’s turning a bit, so we should be better than what we showed in Kandy.”
But the former Test skipper doesn’t think it is time for panic stations, remaining hopeful the team has learned from a tough first Test.
“We played some what I call ‘brain explosion shots’. Steve Smith, he’d be the first to admit that he just played a very poor shot in the first innings,” Border said. “ He’s the best player in the world, probably our best player of spin, so for him to get out like that, it just sends shivers through the camp.
“It’s just a few little mental errors and technical issues. It’s not huge, there are little percentage points here and there, but we certainly can play better and hopefully we’re learning some lessons along the way.”
The Australians had a particularly tough time against the left-arm wrist-spin of debutant Lakshan Sandakan (4-58 and 3-49) and finger-spin of Rangana Herath (4-49 and 5-54) in the first Test, and it is the latter who particularly worries Border.
He has a reason to be worried, given Herath has taken four five-wicket hauls from the nine Tests he’s played against Australia.
The 38-year-old averages 26.38 against the Aussies – the only teams that he has a better average against are Bangladesh and West Indies.
“Sandakan gave us a bit of a fright because we weren’t reading him that well, so we’ll be better for the run against him, having had a look to see the certain deliveries that he’s got,” Border said.
“The bloke that’s caused us the most problems is Herath. He’s a wily customer with a lot of Test wickets against all nations, so it’s not just us. If he gets on a wicket that turns a bit then he’s a handful because he’s very accurate.
“He’s got a sliding delivery that goes straight on instead of turning and reading that is difficult. It doesn’t matter how good you are, you’re under pressure because it’s hard to read out of the hand.”
But Border does have some advice for Australia’s batsmen ahead of their next encounter against the veteran spinner.
“I would be tending to play him like he’s bowling little straight breaks and then if one really rips and turns you tend to miss it,” Border said. “If that’s the one that gets you out, so be it, but I’d hate to get out bowled or lbw to him because that’s what he’s bowling for.”
Despite the struggles of the current batsmen and Border’s criticism of the pitches back home, he concedes that Australia’s lack of success on the subcontinent is far from a new phenomenon.
However if the Aussies truly want to be acknowledged as the best team in the world, they’ll need to find a way to arrest the trend.
“We struggled in my time as well. It’s nothing unique. Thirty-seven years ago I went on my first tour of India and since then we’ve only won a handful of games over there. And we’ve had some good teams and some good bowlers and good batting sides.
“Most of the subcontinent sides are hard to beat in their own backyards. We’re hard to beat in Australia. The best teams are the ones that find a way to do well away from home, and the sub-continent is our Achilles heel at the moment.”
