An Ashwin nightmare awaits Australia

The demolition job that R Ashwin did on New Zealand during the third Test, in Indore, shows that the Australian distaste for offspin bowling has now spread to become an Antipodean curse.

Ashwin has already caused Australia huge problems in India - not quite as devastating as his Indore performance, but troublesome nevertheless. Coincidentally, it was in Australia that Ashwin learned a very good lesson about bowling. His first attempt was peppered with multiple variations, resulting in his line and length suffering, which, in turn, provided easy pickings for the batsmen.

His second attempt was only marginally more successful in the scorebook but the execution was a big improvement. He concentrated on spinning his offbreak and relied more on subtle variations of pace rather than trying to turn the ball both ways. This provided more control and the batsmen were made to work harder for their runs.

That led to a much better performance against Australia when they toured India in 2012-13. Ashwin became a more confident bowler, exuding an aura that all good spinners possess. And as a solid middle-order run getter, he was on course to becoming a regular match-winner for India.

The trouble that Ashwin caused Australia in India was reminiscent of the mayhem that a number of other talented offspinners achieved.

My first memory of Australian ineptitude against offspin was a vivid one: Jim Laker taking 19 wickets in the 1956 Old Trafford Test. I was verging on teenager status and was devastated to see a picture of my idol, Keith Miller, tumbling head first out of his crease as he was beaten in flight by Laker.

Before collecting all ten wickets in the second innings of the match, Laker had already achieved that rare distinction in Australia's tour match against Surrey. Such was the turmoil in the Australian camp that when skipper and offspinner Ian Johnson attempted to rally his troops with an "anything he can do, I can do" speech, his vice-captain, Miller, is reported to have raised his gaze from a form guide and responded: "Six to four you can't."

Another offspinner to weave a spell over Australian batsmen was the Indian magician Erapalli Prasanna. In 1967-68 he took 25 wickets in only four Tests in Australia, and then bettered it by one (in five Tests) in the return series, in 1969-70. His performance in Australia has to be one of the outstanding achievements by a fingerspinner in a country renowned for pitches that are much more responsive to wristspinners.

Then there was Harbhajan Singh's tornado-like destruction in the 2000-01 series in India. Just when it appeared that Australia would win their first series in India since the 1969-70 tour and complete their 17th successive Test victory, Harbhajan struck. With six second-innings wickets in Kolkata, he turned what looked to be an Australian cruise to victory into a head-on crash.

He turned in a similarly destructive performance in Chennai, and finished the three Test series with an incredible 32 wickets. No wonder the crowds began chanting "Singh is king."

Ashwin has already inflicted much pain on Australia, as did Laker, Prasanna and Harbhajan before him. Ashwin's dominant performance in the series against New Zealand will send chills through Steven Smith's squad.

Ashwin's 27 wickets at 17.77 and Man-of-the-Series award against New Zealand could be viewed as a prelude to the main performance. In a few months' time he will face an Australian line-up traumatised by the portly left-arm Sri Lankan fingerspinner Rangana Herath.

Ashwin's spin bowling partner, left-armer Ravindra Jadeja, will be buoyed by Herath's success. Not only does this not augur well for Australia's batsmen, with their distaste for spin bowling, it will also revive memories of 1956 and the destruction caused by Laker and his partner - the left-arm orthodox spinner Tony Lock.