Turning point for Nathan Hauritz
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 MCG
30-Dec-2009

Nathan Hauritz delivered when Australia were craving for a lethal fourth-innings wicket-taker • Getty Images
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. Hauritz helped knock Pakistan
over for 251 to deliver a big win for Australia and his 5 for 101 was an
outstanding 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 not
taken more than three in an innings. In particular, his poor record in the
fourth innings of Tests led the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch to
challenge 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 afternoon
put Australia firmly in command with a sharp-turning offbreak that spun
through the gate of Faisal Iqbal and collected his off stump. On the fifth
day it was his flight and bounce that troubled Pakistan, as he had two men
caught in close, another stumped, and he finished the Test with a fifth wicket
when the No. 11 Saeed Ajmal skied a catch to midwicket.
The Australians flocked to Hauritz and embraced him, happy that the No. 1
spinner in the country was taking positive steps after a year in
the team. Ponting said the five-for would give Hauritz confidence that he
belonged at Test level and develop into a dangerous strike bowler for Australia
in 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," Ponting
said. "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 the
start of the week about the selectors wanting him to stand up late in the
game, he's done that really well.
"There's no doubt that's a great thrill for him, it's a great thrill for
all of us as well. If you saw everyone when he took that last wicket, everyone
rushed to him because we all knew how much it meant to him. It's great to
see that spirit is around the team and all the hard work that guys are putting
in, they finally get the rewards."
Hauritz spent time speaking to Shane Warne on the fifth morning, keen for
some advice on how to be the match-winning fifth-day spinner that Australia
have craved. The words of wisdom involved altering his line and Ponting said
everything that Hauritz had done at the MCG had indicated he was moving in
the right direction.
"A great sign for him was the first wicket he got last night, when he got
Iqbal with one that caught the rough and spun back through the gate," Ponting
said. "They're the sort of wickets we want offspinners to be getting. He
changed up his line a little bit this morning, he bowled that little bit
wider outside off stump and might have gone for a few more runs through the
off side, but that's what we want to see from him. Batsmen scoring runs through
the off side on the fifth day of a Test are always going to be taking risks
against an offspinner."
Despite the general consensus that Australia's spin-bowling depth has been
a worry over the past couple of years, Ponting said he was pleased with the
way 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 is
viewed as a future prospect and the legspinner Steven Smith has been in the
squad 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 domestic
cricket. His wicket numbers might not suggest that but if you talk to a lot
of the players who have played him and seen him bowl this year, they seem
to 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 opportunity
to 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."
Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo