Spin twins remain apart
Daniel Laidlaw
The selection of Stuart MacGill in the Australian XII for Friday’s first
Test of the much-anticipated World championship battle between Australia and
South Africa in Adelaide gives rise to some intriguing questions.
It's been more than two-and-a-half years since Australia’s pair of premiere
leg-spinners last played together. When the combination was last split, for
the final Test of the remarkable 1999 "Lara series" against the West Indies in
the Caribbean, it was at the expense of an out-of-form Warne, not MacGill.
And despite the recent denial of a rift between the pair after reports of
indifferent relations between them, Warne cannot have forgotten what
happened to him the last time they played a series together.
Since then, it is MacGill who has been largely left out in cold, playing
only when Warne has been injured and compiling an impressive Test record of
75 wickets at 25.02 from 16 matches (including 7/104 in the first innings of
his last, the fifth Test against West Indies in January this year) after
making his debut in Adelaide in 1997/’98, during Australia’s last series
against South Africa. Unfortunately for MacGill, who happens to be playing
in the same era as Australia’s highest wicket-taker and arguably its best
ever leg-spinner, he is no closer to becoming a Test regular than he was
then.
Although it's unlikely there is any actual antipathy between them, to the
outsider it does appear that Warne and MacGill are vastly contrasting
personalities. MacGill, though, seems to have a personality in contrast with
most Australian cricketers.
Intense and thoughtful, MacGill is well-spoken and likes reading and wine.
Warne has published two autobiographies, but projects the image of the
knockabout larrikin not interested in anything more meaningful than a beer
and a laugh. One suspects that behind the bonhomie they have little in
common except their bowling craft and poor behavioural records.
However much fun it is to speculate on the true nature of their relationship
and the rare possibility of a division within the Australian team, the
primary reason for their incompatibility is strictly on-field. Despite
boasting excellent individual statistics, Warne and MacGill have puzzlingly
performed poorly together. More accurately, Warne has bowled poorly when
playing alongside MacGill.
There is more than one possible reason for this. At first glance, it appears
that as a bowling combination, they do not complement one other. As
leg-spinners, both their stock deliveries turn away from the right-hander,
leading to the impression that the similarity in their bowling makes it
easier for batsmen to settle in against leg-spin from both ends than having
to adjust to facing leg-spin at one end and pace or off-spin at the other.
For this reason, it is said that Warne prefers bowling with an off-spinner,
such as Colin Miller (presently struggling to be picked for Victoria, with
just 4 wickets at 79.50 from three games this season), who turns the ball
the opposite way and forces the batsman to adjust to two different types of
bowling.
Then there is also the sound theory that as a "normal" leg-spinner, MacGill
bowls a typical number of bad balls and thus fails to create all-important
pressure for Warne at the other end in the manner of a parsimonious Glenn
McGrath. That has considerable merit, but it still cannot be the only reason
for the ineffectiveness of the Warne-MacGill pairing.
To begin with, although they are both leg-spinners, they hardly have similar
styles. MacGill spins the ball more and tends to bowl an off-stump line,
whereas Warne spins it a little less and bowls a line more often outside
leg. MacGill possesses an excellent wrong’un, while Warne is the more
accurate and crafty. There seems an inclination to bracket them as similar
bowlers simply because they are both leg-spinners, where the resemblance
begins and ends, but then again that happens to all types of bowlers who are
not right-arm pacemen.
The overriding reason for Warne’s below average returns in partnership with
MacGill appears to be injury. In the Caribbean two years ago, Warne was
returning from a shoulder operation and his mediocre figures then were
understandable. Perhaps seeing his position threatened by MacGill, he may
also have pushed himself too hard and bowled badly as a result. In four of
his five Tests with MacGill, Warne was still regaining form after that
injury. In the other, in Adelaide, he quite simply had an average match on
one of his less successful Australian grounds – it need not have any deeper
significance than that.
In any case, it is probably all moot. The pitch is reportedly likely to
dictate Australia retain an unchanged XI and continue, quite justifiably, to
place faith in their battery of quicks. Left-arm chinaman Michael Bevan and
offie Colin Miller have 10-wicket hauls in Adelaide, but Warne’s best
innings figures are 4/31. Adelaide is his second-worst Australian venue
after Perth. Unless five bowlers are boldly selected, picking two leggies is
most likely superfluous.
The way the Adelaide wicket wears, fast bowlers are equally suited to
exploiting the inconsistent bounce in the latter stages of the match. After
a lean start to the summer, it would not be at all surprising to see the
unheralded champion McGrath claim the greatest share of the spoils along
with his counterpart Shaun Pollock.
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