The solution to Australian cricket’s spin problem has been hiding in plain sight

Galle: When Matt Kuhnemann was a late addition to the Australian Test side in Delhi in early 2023, teammates quickly took to calling him “Jaddu”, the nickname for India’s left-arm spin maestro Ravindra Jadeja.

Kuhnemann has never been entirely comfortable with the sporadic use of the term, even as it followed him from India to Queensland and now Tasmania, as well as the Australian team.

Matt Kuhnemann took five wickets on day one in Indore in 2023.Credit: Getty

But it has been a succinct way of underlining Kuhnemann’s vital importance to Australian campaigns in this part of the world – and a reminder of how thin the nation’s stocks are in terms of a skill that is, quite simply, essential to winning here.

After some years of investment in Ashton Agar as a Test bowler ended when he struggled for rhythm in the early part of the India tour and returned home, Kuhnemann was next in line. But had Kuhnemann’s dislocated right thumb ruled him out of the Sri Lanka trip, there was very little behind him.

Even in club cricket in a city with as big a spin bowling tradition as Sydney, there are remarkably few left-arm spinners in the ranks. Kuhnemann’s injury led to mentions for Tom Andrews, the former South Australia spinner now plying his trade with the Sydney Thunder.

Kuhnemann’s nominal understudy in Galle, Cooper Connolly, is a batting all-rounder who is yet to take a first-class wicket. Asked what he thought was important for developing left-arm spinners in Australia, Kuhnemann put the onus back on the bowlers themselves.

“It’s just about being a good bowler consistently in Australian conditions,” he said. “I love playing red-ball cricket and first-class cricket, so I’m doing everything I can to put up wins for Tasmania at the moment, and if that leads to higher honours then that’s all I can ask for.

“The advice I’ve had from Nathan Lyon, he’s massive on having your stock ball as your best ball, and making that good enough to be effective all around the world and not just in Australia. We talk about a blueprint and that’s what it is.”

Herath puts his hand up

Sri Lankan spin bowling legend Rangana Herath has put his hand up to help Australia unlock the secrets of left-arm spin bowling that have doggedly eluded cricket in this country for decades.

This masthead can reveal that Herath has been hiding in plain sight as far as Australian cricket is concerned, having moved to Melbourne three years ago.

Rangana Herath celebrates one of his 28 wickets in the 2016 series against Australia.Credit: Eranga Jayawardena

Initially, he spent much of his time coaching with Bangladesh, and last year helped mentor New Zealand to a surprise defeat of India on home soil.

But his contract with the Black Caps expires later this year, and Herath is eager to work with the likes of Kuhnemann and others to share the knowhow that brought him 433 Test wickets, including 66 against Australia at just 22.63 runs apiece.

“Because I was with Bangladesh for almost three and a half years I couldn’t really be in touch with [Australia],” Herath told this masthead. “I spoke to David Hussey at Cricket Victoria at one stage, just a casual chat, but apart from that, I didn’t get in touch with anyone else.

“But to be honest I’m very keen on doing something with CV or Cricket Australia once I finish with New Zealand. Of course we can have a discussion. I haven’t seen much of Matt but I’ll start looking more closely from now onwards, especially in the Test series.

“Left-arm spin is an art and you need to understand the fundamentals as well as things you need to work on tactically and be proactive. Especially in the subcontinent, you need to find a different length to Australia or New Zealand. It’s a little point, but it helps a lot.”

Given where Herath now lives, Kuhnemann’s knowledge of him should not be restricted to the YouTube videos he watched in Brisbane while recuperating from finger surgery. Especially with the 2027 tour of India looming fast.

“No, I’ve never met him,” Kuhnemann said this week. “I’d love to.”

Bailey’s job advertisement

The lack of slow, left-arm options has been a sore point for Australian selectors. This masthead asked George Bailey about what more could be done to encourage its greater proliferation last year. His response was more or less a job advertisement.

“I’m happy to very much throw it out there that it is an incredible skill set in the subcontinent and we’ve seen that for many years,” Bailey said. “Realistically there’s not a huge amount of players in domestic cricket that are doing it, so it’s something we’re looking to expose.”

The numbers in Asian conditions make an even bolder case than Bailey.

In all Test matches in Asia since 2010, 79 left-arm spinners have taken 28.5 per cent of all wickets despite representing only 12.9 per cent of all bowlers, and 44.8 per cent of all wickets falling to spin, despite representing only 26.5 per cent of spin bowlers.

They have done so at a significantly better average (29.61), strike rate (59.8) and run rate (2.96 runs per over) than all other kinds of bowlers, who take their wickets at a combined average of 34.02 and strike rate of 63.9.

Despite Ray Bright’s critical contribution to the tied Test in Chennai in 1986, Australia actually went on seven consecutive Test tours of India (1996, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2013) without taking a left-arm orthodox spinner on the trip. It was down to the brilliance of Shane Warne, Lyon and Stuart MacGill that Australia did win series in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India over that period, but more might have been achieved with the right skill sets.

When Steve O’Keefe was chosen in 2017, Australia came awfully close to beating India in a hot-tempered bout, and Kuhnemann was similarly useful two years ago.

Dan Vettori, the accomplished New Zealand left-arm spinner, is the senior assistant coach for Australia, but splits his time between the national team, franchise coaching and his homeland. He gets precious little time with spinners who are not actually on tour.

So there is still much more that Australian cricket can do to foster left-arm spin, and some of the best advice is close at hand after Herath’s move to Melbourne.

Before COVID-19 left Cricket Australia’s academy program cut back, Herath might have mixed with other spinners and coaches during “Spin Week” at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. But far more responsibility for those developmental tasks has now been passed back to the states.

Prabath Jayasuriya celebrates one of his 12 wickets in Galle in 2022.Credit: Getty Images

The immediate challenge for Australia

In the recent past Herath worked with Bangladesh’s spinners, and last year was retained by New Zealand ahead of dual tours of Sri Lanka and India. After getting to know the Black Caps’ left-arm spinners Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner on the first leg, Herath helped them mastermind India’s first home series loss since 2012, which was in turn their first home series defeat since 2000.

What did those two series have in common? Strong returns by crafty left-arm spin bowlers for the touring sides: Monty Panesar for England in 2012 and Nicky Boje for South Africa in 2000.

Herath predicts that Prabath Jayasuriya will make life challenging for Australia in Galle, after scooping 12 wickets on debut here in 2022.

“He’s a guy who’s capable of putting ball after ball in the same spot, and if you can put the majority of balls in the same spot the pitch will do the rest,” Herath said. “Sri Lankan spinners know the conditions, how to use the breeze and the length they need to bowl. To beat Sri Lanka in Galle is going to be difficult.”

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