‘We’ll must be higher’ – Australia’s ‘slip-up’ to spin in Potchefstroom will not go unnoticed
Australia’s stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh says his facet will be taught quite a bit from being uncovered by South Africa’s spinners in spinning circumstances in Potchefstroom whereas the health of spinner Ashton Agar is a fear after he was unavailable resulting from soreness together with his subsequent alternative to play earlier than the World Cup unknown due to paternity go away.
Australia had been 140 for 1 within the fifteenth over chasing an imposing however reachable 339 for victory to shut out the collection, significantly after the platform had been laid by David Warner, Travis Head and Marsh. But Australia misplaced 9 for 87 in lower than 20 overs to lose by 111 runs with South Africa’s left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and left-arm orthodox Keshav Maharaj sparking the collapse that included a weird run out of a shoeless Warner.
Both Shamsi and Maharaj extracted sharp flip to deceive Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne and Marcus Stoinis, with the latter’s continued lack of runs remaining a worry. Australia misplaced 4 for 38 in a 10-over sequence the place the pair bowled unchanged after South Africa’s quicks had been mauled at practically 10-an-over within the first 14 overs of the chase.
It was a passage of play that definitely would have been famous in Colombo, the place concurrently on a spinning floor at R Premadasa Stadium, India’s left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and left-arm orthodox Ravindra Jadeja took six wickets between them as India defended 213, after Sri Lanka’s left-arm orthodox Dunith Wellalage took 5 for 40.
But Marsh believed the Potchefstroom collapse was not trigger for alarm.
“Hopefully we learn a lot from it,” Marsh stated on the post-match presentation. “There’s no doubt we’ll be exposed to those conditions throughout the World Cup and we’ll have to be better. But I think the last 12 to 18 months, it’s our second loss of that period and we’ve generally played spin really well. It’s an area that we’ve thoroughly improved in. So tonight may be a little slip-up and hopefully we can rectify that in the next game.”
Australia may properly get spinning pitches of their first three video games within the World Cup as they face India in Chennai after which South Africa and Sri Lanka in Lucknow.
“Ash wasn’t available for selection today so that made it tough to play the two spinners. And Zamps, he’s got a big workload coming up, so we thought today was a good opportunity to rest him and give Tanveer [Sangha] an opportunity.”
Mitch Marsh explaining why Australia solely performed one spinner in Potchefstroom
Adding to the priority is the health of their spin choices. Agar has performed simply two ODIs this yr and is unlikely to play one other till the warm-up video games of the World Cup as he’s flying house from South Africa on Wednesday for the start of his first little one having performed only one sport within the collection.
After making a career-best 48 not out and taking 1 for 40 to assist Australia win the first ODI in Bloemfontein he was rested from the second match however was unavailable for the third as he was nonetheless sore, 5 days after the primary sport, having come off a minor calf tear that he suffered whereas coaching within the lead as much as the tour. He is ready to be assessed when he returns to Perth.
Agar’s solely different ODI this yr was in opposition to India in Chennai the place he and Adam Zampa took six wickets between them to assist Australia efficiently defend 269. He has solely performed 4 video games of cricket for the reason that finish of January, all List A matches, bowling simply 38.4 overs in match circumstances in that point.
Australia desires the pliability to have the ability to play two spinners within the World Cup, particularly on spinning tracks like Chepauk in Chennai, and Agar’s health will probably be essential with Marsh admitting he would have favored two spinners in Potchefstroom.
“Ash wasn’t available for selection today so that made it tough to play the two spinners,” Marsh added on the post-match press convention. “And Zamps, he’s got a big workload coming up, so we thought today was a good opportunity to rest him and give Tanveer [Sangha] an opportunity.”
One constructive was the efficiency of Travis Head with the ball. He claimed 2 for 39 from 10 overs simply three days after conceding 41 in 4 overs in Bloemfontein. Glenn Maxwell’s fitness cloud means Australia are mild on for part-time spin choices amongst their batting allrounders however Head discovering a groove with the ball will alleviate a few of these considerations.
“I thought Travis Head bowled exceptionally well,” Marsh stated. “It was really good for him to get an opportunity to bowl and we were able to, I guess, pull them back a bit through the middle.”
Tanveer Sangha bowled higher than his figures urged on his ODI debut. He picked up the wicket of Temba Bavuma however had Aiden Markram missed at slip on 2, with David Warner wrong-footed, after discovering his exterior edge with an excellent leg break. Markram made Australia pay, plundering 102 not out from 74 balls.
Australia will proceed to experiment with their line-up within the last two video games. They hope to have Cameron Green and Spencer Johnson return for at the very least one sport every however neither will probably be risked if they aren’t fairly proper.
“Hopefully Greeny will be able to play maybe the last game,” Marsh stated. “I’m unsure how many more days he’s got with the new concussion protocols. But we certainly won’t be taking any risks with that kind of stuff. And Spencer’s hopefully tracking well to play in one of those two games. Again, he’s early on in his international career, and we’ve got to look after him. Hamstrings are something you can’t really rush back but hopefully, he’s fit for one of the last few games and we can get a look at him.”