Turning point for Nathan Hauritz

da betway： Ricky Ponting has predicted Nathan Hauritz’s five-wicket haul at the MCG will be a career-turning moment for a spinner who was, only last week, challenged to stand up as a fourth-innings match-winner

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG30-Dec-2009

Ricky Ponting has predicted Nathan Hauritz’s five-wicket haul at theMCG will be a career-turning moment for a spinner who was, only last week, challengedto stand up as a fourth-innings match-winner. Hauritz helped knock Pakistanover for 251 to deliver a big win for Australia and his 5 for 101 was anoutstanding result; he had never before taken five wickets in an innings in a first-class game.His previous best at first-class level was 4 for 86, and in Tests he had nottaken more than three in an innings. In particular, his poor record in thefourth innings of Tests led the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch tochallenge Hauritz prior to the Boxing Day Test. Hilditch asked Hauritz to stand up towards the end of games, when the captain needs to be able to turn to a wicket-taking spinner.The words seemed to spark something in Hauritz, who on the fourth afternoonput Australia firmly in command with a sharp-turning offbreak that spunthrough the gate of Faisal Iqbal and collected his off stump. On the fifthday it was his flight and bounce that troubled Pakistan, as he had two mencaught in close, another stumped, and he finished the Test with a fifth wicketwhen the No. 11 Saeed Ajmal skied a catch to midwicket.The Australians flocked to Hauritz and embraced him, happy that the No. 1spinner in the country was taking positive steps after a year inthe team. Ponting said the five-for would give Hauritz confidence that hebelonged at Test level and develop into a dangerous strike bowler for Australiain the later stages of Tests.”Unless you’ve actually got over the line and done it when it really matters,you always have doubts about yourself and whether you can do it,” Pontingsaid. “Today, in Nathan’s career, could be one of the really big turning points.That’s his first-ever first-class five-for and it happens in a Test match- you couple that with the fact that there was an article written at thestart of the week about the selectors wanting him to stand up late in thegame, he’s done that really well.”There’s no doubt that’s a great thrill for him, it’s a great thrill forall of us as well. If you saw everyone when he took that last wicket, everyonerushed to him because we all knew how much it meant to him. It’s great tosee that spirit is around the team and all the hard work that guys are puttingin, they finally get the rewards.”Hauritz spent time speaking to Shane Warne on the fifth morning, keen forsome advice on how to be the match-winning fifth-day spinner that Australiahave craved. The words of wisdom involved altering his line and Ponting saideverything that Hauritz had done at the MCG had indicated he was moving inthe right direction.”A great sign for him was the first wicket he got last night, when he gotIqbal with one that caught the rough and spun back through the gate,” Pontingsaid. “They’re the sort of wickets we want offspinners to be getting. Hechanged up his line a little bit this morning, he bowled that little bitwider outside off stump and might have gone for a few more runs through theoff side, but that’s what we want to see from him. Batsmen scoring runs throughthe off side on the fifth day of a Test are always going to be taking risksagainst an offspinner.”Despite the general consensus that Australia’s spin-bowling depth has beena worry over the past couple of years, Ponting said he was pleased with theway the slow men were developing. Hauritz is stepping up as a Test player,Jason Krejza remains in the frame, the Victorian left-armer Jon Holland isviewed as a future prospect and the legspinner Steven Smith has been in thesquad for the past two Tests.”I’m very happy with the way our spin bowling stocks are looking at the moment,”Ponting said. “Krejza has shown a lot of improvement this year in domesticcricket. His wicket numbers might not suggest that but if you talk to a lotof the players who have played him and seen him bowl this year, they seemto think that he’s definitely on the right track.”Jon Holland spent some time with us in India in the one-day squad over there,unfortunately didn’t get a game, but it’s great to see him get an opportunityto play a first-class game for Victoria last week and get a few wickets.And then you’ve got Smith, so there are a few guys around at the moment.That’s a real positive for us.”