Queensland leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson expected to make long-awaited Test debut in Karachi

Queensland tweaker Mitchell Swepson is expected to make his long-awaited Test debut after Pat Cummins hinted at a 12-year first.

Mitchell Swepson of Australia. Photo by Matt Roberts – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Queensland leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson is expected to make his long-awaited Test debut after captain Pat Cummins hinted that Australia was leaning towards picking two strike spinners for the second Test against Pakistan in Karachi.

The series opener in Rawalpindi ended as a hapless draw on Tuesday, with only 14 wickets falling over five days of cricket. Australia’s world-class pace attack, featuring Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Cummins, collectively threw down 94 overs on the flat, lifeless deck, taking one wicket between them.

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Meanwhile, Pakistan spinner Nauman Ali claimed career-best figures of 6/107 from 39 overs in the first innings. Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon finished the Test with match figures of 1/236 from 78 overs.

Speaking to reporters at stumps, Cummins conceded selecting two strike spinners was “probably the way to go” for the second Test, but said a pitch inspection would be required before a final decision on the Australian starting XI was made.

“(Two spinners) may have been helpful here, but I don’t think it would have made too much of a difference,” he said from Rawalpindi.

“We were expecting more up-and-down bounce and reverse swing.”

Australia has not picked a specialist leg-spinner since Steve Smith’s debut Test series against Pakistan in 2010.

If George Bailey and the selection panel decide on a two-spin attack for the Karachi Test, one of Starc or Hazlewood would presumably make way for Swepson or West Australian tweaker Ashton Agar.

Swepson was first named in the Test squad ahead of the 2017 Border Gavaskar Trophy, and the leg-spinner has since featured regularly in the Aussie camp.

But after five years of carrying drinks and net bowling, the talented 28-year-old is still waiting for the coveted Baggy Green.

A familiar sight — Mitchell Swepson running drinks. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Swepson, who is coming off a stellar 18 months in long-format cricket, claimed 32 wickets at 23.40 in the 2020/21 Sheffield Shield to help Queensland secure its first title in three years.

While most leg-spinners have struggled on Australia’s flat wickets over the past decade, Swepson has proven a reliable threat in the game’s longest format.

“It is an asset for sure having a wrist spinner, it’s something a bit different,” Cummins said.

“And Sweppo has been bowling beautifully.

“We’ll get to Karachi and have a look. But absolutely Sweppo as a wrist spinner is a huge chance if we play two.”

Interim head coach Andrew McDonald, who is on the selection panel, echoed Cummins’ remarks on Wednesday morning, suggesting two strike spinners would be named if the pitch was dry and slow.

Spin bowlers average 32.54 in Test cricket at Karachi’s National Stadium, compared to 43.23 at Pindi Cricket Stadium.

More than half the wickets in last year’s Karachi Test between Pakistan and South Africa were taken by spin bowlers, with leggie Yasir Shah claiming seven victims.

“We will get down to the ground two days out and ask each other the usual questions we ask ourselves … that may lead to two spinners,” McDonald told reporters.

“If the surface dictates another way of doing it, then it could be three or back to one spinner, who knows. It probably lends itself … to a two-spin venue.”

Australian cricket icon Shane Warne mentored Swepson throughout his career, specifically helping the leg-spinner change his approach to the crease in 2019.

“Bloody hard to wrap my head around this. Never got to properly thank this man for his influence on my cricket career,” Swepson posted on Instagram after Warne’s sudden death last week.

“He has made me push myself day in and day out without ever knowing it. Truly the greatest cricketer I’ve ever seen play the game. All my thoughts are with his family and friends.

“Is and always will be the, The King.”

Former Australian leg-spinner Kerry O’Keeffe said Swepson’s selection was “a must” for the second Test in Karachi.

“It’s been exposed that three fast bowlers and one specialist spinner on this pitch is not going to work,” he told Fox Cricket.

“So, we’ve got to find out about Mitch Swepson. Is he the real deal? Is he Test quality?

“He’s there, they should play him.”

Australia has never won a Test match in Karachi, suffering five defeats and three draws at the venue since 1956.

The second Test of the Benaud-Qadir series gets underway on Saturday, with the first ball scheduled for 4pm AEDT.