Hauritz transcends pain barrier, performs for team
There were more than one hero for Australia, as the visitors scripted a thrilling 4-run triumph over India in the series opener on Sunday. There was Ricky Ponting who provided a sound platform with his sturdy knock of 74, followed by Michael Hussey who played a perfectly paced one-day innings. Later, it was speedster Peter Siddle, who held on to his nerve to bowl a brilliant last over and deny India the victory they almost pulled off.
Amidst all these splendid performances, off-spinner Nathan Hauritz came up with a low-key but a very crucial bowling effort. His bowling figures of 1/34 off nine overs, with an economy rate of 3.77, showed how successfully he managed to contain Indian batsmen in their own backyard.
There was a time in the match when two aggressive batsmen, Gambhir and Dhoni, who play spin bowling very well, had to be content with nudging and dabbing the ball even when India required more than run a ball for victory.
After the menacing Bhajji-Praveen duo converted what once looked to be a cakewalk for the visitors into a humdinger of a contest, one might just think if the quiet middle overs produced by Hauritz proved to be the difference.
The track did assist spin bowling in the second half of the match and Hauritz used the conditions to the fullest, varying his plans according to the situation and the batsman. He beat the batsmen with turn and bounce and was not afraid to toss the ball up in the air. He changed his pace intelligently, slipping in a quicker one every now and then.
"I don't know if the way I bowl has really ever changed too much," Hauritz told AAP. "Maybe people are perceiving it [to be attacking] a little bit more - I still try and bowl the same way every time. Bowling on a few more turning wickets people can actually see the ball spin, so I'm not the person that just bowls straight-breaks any more."
Hauritz’s bowling effort becomes all the more laudable considering he, along with some of his other teammates, joined the Aussie camp late on the eve of the match after 15 grinding days of crazy Twenty20 cricket in the Champions League. In spite of the hectic travel and hardly any time to settle down before coming into this high-profile series, Hauritz didn’t show any signs of fatigue.
"It was pretty tough," he admitted. "We didn't get out of the change room until 1 am that morning [after the final of the Champions League], flew out at mid-day and got in at 8.30 the night before the game. Becoming the inaugural champions you still have to celebrate with your team-mates, but in the back of your mind you still take it a bit easy because you've got to pull up and play in [less than] 48 hours.”
So what helped the man shrug away the tiredness and put up such an impressive show straight away? "The body is still tired but at the end of the day you're playing for your country and you virtually don't want to miss a game. I try to never take a game for granted.”
Ever since the legendary Shane Warne hung his boots three years ago, the Australian spin attack has lacked bite. Though everyone knows it will be extremely harsh to expect any slow bowler to achieve the heights of Warne, the quality of spinners in the country has been a worrying factor. But Hauritz is pretty confident and optimistic about the spin reservoir Australia possesses at the time.
"It is good to see them paying a little more attention to the spin-bowling aspect, but I think sometimes too it's taken a little bit of out context," Hauritz said. "There's a lot of good spinners around - we've got myself, young Jon Holland on this tour, Jason Krejza, Bryce McGain back home - so we're all still there.
"It's just a matter of whenever the spinners get the opportunity they just have to do what they do. I think, over time, the Australian public will learn to adapt to us," said a hopeful Hauritz.
