O'Keefe set to join exclusive club

With spin expected to play a crucial part in the two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE, NSW tweaker Steve O’Keefe is set to join two exclusive clubs tomorrow when the first Test in Dubai gets underway.

If O’Keefe debuts he will be either the 438th or 439th Test cricketer for Australia, depending on Mitchell Marsh’s selection, and become a member of an even rarer group: Australian Test left-arm spin bowlers.

Excluding allrounders, 17 specialist left-arm spinners have played Test cricket for Australia since 1877, putting O’Keefe into a select bunch if he earns a Baggy Green on Wednesday morning.

Leading left-arm Test spin bowlers for Australia

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It’s been tough going for the lefties. Ray Bright, who played 25 Tests during the World Series Cricket days of the late 1970s and early 80s, is the most successful left-arm spinner for Australia with 53 wickets. The Victorian sits tied 66th on the highest Test wicket-takers list for Australia, sharing the position with NSW leg-spinner Kerry O’Keeffe.

Only four Aussie left-handed bowlers have played 10 Tests or more, with Lindsay Kline possessing the best average (22.82), economy (1.96) and strike rate (69.7) amongst the quartet.

Interestingly, four of the top 10 spots belong to part-time spinners, with 156-Test veteran Allan Border leading the charge in fourth spot and incredibly owns the best bowling figures by a left-arm spinner of 7-46 against the West Indies at the SCG in 1989.

But it’s not just Aussies who haven’t mastered southpaw spin. 

Leading left-arm Test spin bowlers 

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New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori is Test cricket’s most successful left-arm spin bowler, but his 360 wickets puts him 19th on the leading Test wicket-takers list. In fact, there’s only one other left-arm bowler in the top 20: Pakistan swing king Wasim Akram.

Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath is the only active member in the top five and is a strong chance to overtake India’s Bishan Bedi into third spot when Sri Lanka travels to New Zealand in January for two Tests.

Sitting fifth is one half of England's twin spin threats of the 1950s, Tony Lock. His partner in crime, right-arm off-spinner Jim Laker, claimed 19 wickets in a Test match against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956. Lock took the other wicket.

O’Keefe will potentially launch his career with two Tests in the UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi) where spin has been a factor in the past.

Leading spin bowlers in the UAE

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Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal leads the wicket count in the Emirates, but will miss the entire series through suspension due to a suspect illegal bowling action.

Shane Warne destroyed Pakistan in 2002 with 16 wickets in two Tests, and England’s Monty Panesar had similar success in 2012.

The first Test starts at 5pm AEDT tomorrow and can be followed live here.