Aussies' mystery man to counter Herath

Australia have adopted a unique tactic to counter the threat of Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath ahead of the Test series beginning against Sri Lanka next month.

That tactic comes in the form of little-known former India ODI allrounder Sridharan Sriram, a Cricket Australia spin consultant who, as well as helping prepare Australia's spinners and batsmen for subcontinental conditions, is striving to imitate Herath from the bowling crease.

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Close observers of the Australian set-up will be familiar with Sriram, a 40-year-old former spinning allrounder who played eight ODIs for India and has been on board with CA at different times over the past 12 months.

Last year he helped fellow left-arm orthodox spinner Steve O'Keefe as well as batsman Usman Khawaja, among others, during Australia's tour of India, having come to the attention of CA in a roundabout fashion; while coaching Marcus Stoinis at Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, Stoinis suggested Sriram get in touch with then Australia A coach Troy Cooley.

"Troy knew me for the last 25 years – I know him from Under-19 days when he was playing for Australia," Sriram told cricket.com.au. "The Australia A series was in Chennai and Troy invited me for a few sessions, and that's how it all happened."

Herath took 14 wickets in two Tests when Sri Lanka hosted Australia in 2011, and Sriram happens to be of similar height and build to the wily tweaker.

O'Keefe, who worked closely with the Indian during 'Spin Week' at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane last week, even light-heartedly took to calling him "Rangana" at times during their net sessions.

However, Sriram knows that imitating a man of Herath's quality is no mean feat.

"I'm going to try (to bowl like him)" he said. "He does have 300 Test wickets to be fair to him.

"The release and the angle may be similar, so it might help them acclimatise and we can talk to them about what he looks to do, give them an idea of what to expect.

"He's got very clever changes of pace. He's accurate, he bowls the one that comes in (to the right-hander) and the one that goes away, so he threatens your pad as well as your outside edge and that puts the batsman in doubt of where to play, he's thinking, 'Where am I going to play?'

"That's his greatest strength."

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O'Keefe, who is looking to fight his way back into the XI in conditions where selectors are a realistic chance of playing two spinners, says Sriram has been influential on his development in his time with CA.

"You can't underestimate having someone who has that subcontinental experience," he told cricket.com.au. "And like with any coach, it's the way it's delivered to you – they have to know how to speak to you.

"He's a good coach in general, but being a top-order batter and a guy who bowls a bit of spin, his knowledge is sort of second to none.

"I know personally he's had a huge impact on my game, but speaking to the batters as well, I know they're huge fans of him and fortunately he'll be coming away on the next tour.

"Listening to him talk, some of the misconceptions that we've got about (playing on the subcontinent), he can shed some light on that – sometimes it's the reverse of what we think.

"So just having those conversations and challenging us is a healthy thing – he'll be a guy who we bounce ideas off in the lead-up to and during matches."

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The respect, it seems, is mutual; Sriram believes O'Keefe – who has played two Tests – can make an impact in Sri Lanka, in a manner not dissimilar to Herath.

Under the tutelage of Sriram, O'Keefe was impressive in Australia A's two matches against India A in Chennai, taking 14 wickets in two matches, including the prized scalp of Virat Kohli.

"He's come on so much from when he played (Test cricket in the UAE in 2014)," Sriram added. "He's got loads of first-class experience and experience in the subcontinent now as well.

"For him to start the series (against Sri Lanka) well will be very important – the first few overs, if he can bowl nicely, settle in and get a wicket early on, I think that will set him up well.

"He bowled really well (in India) last year. He worked out various methods and speeds at which he needs to bowl, and different batsmen, what they were looking to do and how they were looking to attack him."

O'Keefe is now looking to add to those two Tests – his debut against Pakistan in 2014 was an unhappy one while he collected three wickets in a rain-affected draw against the West Indies in Sydney in January.

The 31-year-old, who averages an outstanding 24.72 across 60 first-class matches, has set himself for the tour.

"It's important for me to have that belief," he said. "It hasn't been tested at Test level, but I feel as though my preparation is as good as I can possibly have, so if it turns out to be a tour where everything goes to plan, then great, but I also know I've done the hard work and what will be, will be.

"I'm going to enjoy it – I'm looking forward to bowling with 'Gaz' (Nathan Lyon) and I'm looking forward to getting a few wins up on the subcontinent, which is hard to come by."