In Warne's footsteps

In full flight on his Test debut © AFP

By the time he was 21, and long before he had been presented with the baggy green cap, Daniel Cullen was being spoken of as the future of Australian slow bowling. And while the tradition goes back many years, it's one that has been dominated by legspinners, from the days of Bill O'Reilly and Clarrie Grimmett down to Richie Benaud and then the two modern-day masters, Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill. Though Bruce Yardley and Greg Matthews would have their votaries, the last world-class offspinner that wore baggy green was Ashley Mallett, who played the last of his 38 Tests four years before Cullen was born.

As a 10-year-old, he chased down the Australian team bus to get Warne's autograph, but an inability to bowl anything other than the wrong `un resulted in him intensifying his efforts to spin the ball the other way. His team-mate Cullen Bailey remembers the teenaged Dan in the Westminister School nets, bowling in the wide-brimmed hat that an Australian legend with roots in Adelaide, Gregory Stephen Chappell, favoured in his playing days. At home, he and twin brother Nick had rigged up a golf net, into which Dan would bowl for hours, trying to master the doosra popularised by one of his heroes, Saqlain Mushtaq.

Recognition was slow in coming. He missed out on selection for South Australia's Under-15 and U-17 squads, but his career started to take off once he came under the tutelage of Terry Jenner, renowned as a "spin doctor" after his work with Warne. He had a remarkable debut season in first-class cricket, with 43 wickets, including four in his opening game against Victoria, and was also cheeky enough to sledge Justin Langer, and get him out, in a Pura Cup match at the WACA.

Though touted as a long shot for the Ashes, he never made the cut, perhaps just as well given that even MacGill didn't get a game. A Cricket Australia contract and the Best Young Player award at the Allan Border medal in February emphasised just how highly he's regarded, and though figures of 1 for 54 on Test debut at Chittagong were hardly eye-popping, his tenacious approach and eagerness to flight the ball and give it a good rip, should stand him in good stead as he learns on the job. With Warne and MacGill still very much in and around the squad, he couldn't ask for better mentors.

July 2004 Drafted into the South Australia squad for the upcoming domestic season

October 2004 Makes an immediate impact on debut against Victoria, dismissing the likes of David Hussey - bowled through the gate - and Matthew Elliott

February 2005 First five-wicket haul against Queensland, on a Gabba pitch not expected to be of much assistance. Finishes the season with 43 wickets at 30.37

February 2006 Named Best Young Player at the Allan Border Medal awards

March 2006 Called up to the Australian one-day side for the tour of Bangladesh

April 2006 Test call-up as fatigue catches up with several members of the touring party. Takes one wicket on debut

What he says
"When I was really young I had a little bit of ginger hair so I tried to copy Craig McDermott with the long run-up in the driveway. "When Warnie came along he was dominating and obviously still is. I tried bowling leggies and could only a bowl a wrong `un so I thought I better start bowling off spinners."

What they said - No. 1
"People describe him as an old-fashioned finger spinner. If so, fantastic. He has subtlety, maturity and shows a great change of pace." - Terry Jenner likes what he has to work with.

What they said - No. 2
"I faced him last year, he has all the toys, he is young and he has got a bit of fire about him." - Shane Warne, the keeper of the flame, gives his assessment of the young prodigy in November 2005.

What you may not know
Two years ago, his South Australian team-mates, Shaun Tait and Mark Cleary, were considered more likely to make an impact at the highest level. But with Tait enduring rotten luck with injuries, and Cleary having a poor season, Cullen and Mark Cosgrove, of the Darren Lehmann physique and shot-making instincts, may have moved ahead in the queue.