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Skippers wage spin war ahead of ODIs

Smith and du Plessis exchange views ahead of the first ODI of the five-match series

Not since the days of Shane Warne’s relentless taunting of his South African batting bunny Daryll Cullinan has wrist spin played such a pointed part in the verbal sparring ahead of a series between Australia and the Proteas.

Emboldened by the performance of his spinners against the world champions during the recent ODI tri-series in the Caribbean, and doubtless mindful of the Australians’ recent struggles against spin in Sri Lanka, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis fired the opening salvo at a media conference at Centurion yesterday.

He suggested that despite emerging triumphant in the tri-series that featured the West Indies and South Africa, Australia’s batters were clearly at sea against the Proteas’ veteran leg spinner Imran Tahir and combative left-arm ‘chinaman’ bowler Tabraiz Shamsi.

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The none-too-subtle reference from du Plessis, standing in for injured ODI captain AB de Villiers in this five-match ODI campaign and quite possibly the Test series to follow in Australia, was that Steve Smith’s men looked lost against the turning ball.

As they proved to be in the subsequent 3-0 Test series loss to Sri Lanka.

And while conditions for the first two ODIs in the drought-affected, high altitude conditions of the Highveld at Centurion (today) and Wanderers in nearby Johannesburg (on Sunday), spin is definitely a weapon he will be looking to unleash.

Not just in the remaining ODIs at Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, but potentially at some stage during the Tests that follow in Perth, Hobart and Adelaide.



“Definitely, I thought so,” du Plessis said yesterday when asked if the success of wrist spinners Tahir and Shamsi – as well as left-arm orthodox spinner Aaron Phangiso – a few months earlier had exposed a chink in the Australians’ armour.

“That was our biggest weapon against them in the West Iindies, and you could see they were just trying to sweep the ball after a while.

“That’s generally a sign for when the guys struggle to pick the ball.

“Conditions there were a lot different (in the Caribbean) to South African conditions so when the ball’s spinning a lot both ways it can become really tricky.

“But I think especially for the first two games (of this current series), you won’t see too much spin.”

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At the height of his considerable powers in the late 1990s, Warne preyed (and played) heavily upon Cullinan’s - then South Africa’s batting lynchpin - insecurities and inability to pick or play the champion leg spinner’s vast repertoire.

Their battles became the stuff of enduring legend, with the pair trading regular on-pitch and off-field barbs before Warne would invariably win the battle with the ball.

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But if du Plessis thought he might strike an early psychological blow against his rival skipper before the coming two months of ODI and Test battles gets underway, he was given an immediate confirmation that Smith was not intimidated.

Instead, while acknowledging the spinners from all three teams had performed strongly in favourable conditions in the Caribbean tri-series and that the Sri Lanka Test matches provided a challenge that his batters failed to meet, Smith dared South Africa to rely on their slow bowlers.

Making it clear that in the vastly different conditions that await in South Africa over coming weeks, and will be rolled out for the Test matches in November, his batters will back themselves to not only cope, but to prosper.

“If they want to dish out a few spinners in these conditions they’re more than welcome,” Smith hit back shortly after his opposing skipper’s media conference today.

“I thought the (Australian) one-day team played the spinners in Sri Lanka quite well.

“And the conditions in the West Indies were entirely different to here as well.

“Those wickets were turning a fair bit, and the spinners from all three of the teams in that tri-series had very good tournaments.

“We probably could have played a little bit better as batters but the conditions certainly helped as well.

“I don’t think they (South Africa’s spinners) will get the same purchase out of these conditions as they did in the West Indies.

“So we’ll see how we go.”

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South Africa’s belief that Australia remains susceptible to spin, even though they won the five-match ODI series 4-1 on spin-friendly pitches in the aftermath of the Test match humiliation, is highlighted by their 15-man squad for this ODI series.

It contains three specialist spinners - Tahir, Shamsi and Phangiso - as well as part-time tweaker JP Duminy who claimed 4-16 from 4.5 overs of off-spin against Ireland at Benoni last Sunday.

By contrast, Australia’s 14-man outfit includes a solitary specialist spinner – leg break bowler Adam Zampa who currently sits atop the list of ODI wicket-takers for 2016 – with any back-up to come from part-timers Smith, Travis Head and Aaron Finch.

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But Smith today spoke of his admiration for Zampa’s progress since making his ODI debut against New Zealand at Wellington last February.

And indicated the 24-year-old would be comfortable filling the dual role of an attacking option when conditions were more favourable to spinners, and as a more defensive contributor at venues such as Centurion and Wanderers that are expected to favour the seamers.

“I can’t speak highly enough of Adam since he’s come into the team, he’s done a terrific job,” Smith said.

“He understands his skills well, he knows what he’s doing and he reads the batsmen very well.

“And I think that’s one of his big strengths.

“He doesn’t tend to change a lot, it’s pretty basic and he likes to keep things pretty simple which is nice.”