'Week of tweak' to unlock spin mysteries

With at least two Test series on the subcontinent in Australia's demanding international schedule over the coming 12 months, the now annual Spin Camp at the National Cricket Centre has this year taken on extra significance.

In 2015, the Camp – which sees Australia's finest spinners, both young and established, descend on Brisbane for a week of expert tutelage from Cricket Australia spin coach John Davison, and former Test tweakers Ashley Mallett and Tom Hogan, among others – assisted in the emergence of Queensland leg-spinner Mitch Swepson, who went on to debut for the Bulls and the Heat over a memorable summer for the 22-year-old.

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This time around, the focus has turned to what Steve Waugh once called "the final frontier" – India, and its neighbouring subcontinental cricketing lands.

Utilising the unique hybrid wicket at CA's Brisbane headquarters overlooking Allan Border Field in Albion, as well as the introduction this year of a red soil-based strip that imitates subcontinental conditions, Australia's spinning posse have immersed themselves in the fine craft of spin bowling in an environment that would have otherwise been foreign to them.

"It's a really great concept. The focus of the Camp changes each year and this time around it's been about adapting to subcontinental conditions," Australia spinner Steve O'Keefe told cricket.com.au.

"The wickets we've trained on have been fantastic. CA's adapting by producing this red clay soil wicket which replicates Indian conditions with the spin and bounce.

"As spinners, very rarely do we get the opportunity to bowl on wickets that give us feedback in regards to spin; generally they're flat, or they're suited for quicks, whereas now we can use subtle variations and we can actually see that response off the wicket.

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"So we've got that and then through Davo's (Davison's) programming, we put a game-sense approach into that and you put guys under pressure, so all of a sudden, when these guys come to play for Australia in years to come, they've had a little taste of what it might be like bowling in conditions that we haven't really tasted in Australia."

O'Keefe himself won't have to wait "years" to put the methods into practice; the Blues left-arm orthodox spinner has earned another call-up to the Test squad, this time for a tour to Sri Lanka next month.

The Spin Camp has also had its benefits for Test batsmen Peter Nevill and Joe Burns; the former in town for Wicketkeepers Camp, running concurrently, and the latter utilising his home base of Brisbane to great effect.

Both have enjoyed the presence of a group of talented young spinners as they ready themselves for the subcontinent and the challenges it invariably brings.

"You're seeing batters who didn't sweep previously – someone like 'Nev' – getting down and sweeping, and we'll discuss where square leg might be, or leg slip, forty-five, or bat-pad. It's challenging ways of thinking for our batsmen as well," said O'Keefe of the game-specific practice that has been implemented.

"I think sometimes you can get complacent; you get on the synthetic wickets and you're hitting the ball well, then you go over to the subcontinent and the conditions are completely different.

"Training has really become a lot more focused. It's started happening over the last couple of years but it's really ramping up now. As players you feel like there's no excuse now; everything you've got is as good as it can be at home."

O'Keefe, Nevill and Burns will travel to India at the beginning of next month ahead of meeting the rest of the Australia squad in Sri Lanka.

From July 2-11, they'll link up with CA's National Performance Squad to continue working on spinning wickets, and will also take part in a practice match.

The first Test against Sri Lanka begins on July 26 in Kandy.

Spinners involved in CA Spin Camp: Mitch Swepson (Qld), Sam Grimwade (Vic), Arjun Nair (NSW), Kyle Gardiner (WA), Matt Short (Vic), Clint Hinchliffe (WA), Devlin Malone (NSW), Daniel Fallins (NSW), Mac Wright (ACT), Michael Cormack (SA), Ben Taylor (ACT), Riley Ayre (NSW), Chris Green (NSW), Jason Floros (Qld), Harrison Macoun (Qld), Tom Andrews (SA), Thomas O'Connell (SA), Gehan Seneviratne (Vic), Liam Bowe (Vic), Dylan Mullen (NT), Ashton Agar (WA), Jonte Pattison (NSW), Steve O'Keefe (NSW), Amanda Wellington (SA), Kristen Beams (Vic), Erin Osborne (NSW).