Ashes-wrecked Australia are looking forward to take a new strategy in their upcoming Bangladesh tour as chief selector Rodney Marsh indicated they will strengthen their spin attack during the two-match Test series against Tigers. The strategy could bring back 22-year old left-arm slow bowler Ashton Agar, who holds the record of highest individual innings of 98 batting at number 11 in Test cricket.
Although he picked up just two wickets with an average of 124.00 in the 2013 series, the Sri Lankan origin spinner, who plays for Western Australia, is on track for a Test return.
‘Just looking forward to Bangladesh, everyone tells me that Chittagong turns square. What’s our best attack for Chittagong? It’s probably not three fast bowlers and one spinner,’ Sydney Morning Herald quoted Marsh as saying in Northampton while announcing Australia’s limited over squad in their current England tour.
‘It might be two quicks, two all-rounders and two spinners,’ said the former legendary wicket-keeper batsman.
Australia played only one Test match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium where they will play their first match of the upcoming series from 9-13 October.
Legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne teamed up with Stuart MacGill and off-spinner Dan Cullen to take 16 wickets altogether out of the 19 Bangladeshi wickets.
In the preceding Fatullah Test, spinners picked up 13 wickets including a first innings return of 8-108 by Stuart MacGill that helped them avoid an embarrassing defeat to then minnows Bangladesh.
Aware of the history, the Aussies are desperate to find a companion in the spin department for off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who has been the first choice for selectors in recent times.
Fawad Ahmed was picked up for the Test tours to the West Indies and England with good domestic performance, but he could not fit in any of the Test matches.
His dismal performances in practice matches were not good enough to impress the selectors.
‘He [Fawad] didn’t do a bad job at all [when played ODIs after 2013 Ashes], but we’ve opted for Ashton because we just reckon that with what’s coming up a left-arm orthodox is going to be [vital],’ Marsh said giving an idea of what their spin attack might look like in Bangladesh.
‘There could, in fact, be two left-arm orthodox on some of these tours, and it could be we [also] have Nathan Lyon and Glenn Maxwell. It could be that we take theoretically four spinners on these future tours,’ said Marsh.
‘It’s a tough call [on Fawad] you’d like to see him do well. He did very well in shield cricket, but at this stage he’s not in.’
-With New Age input
