The 2011 cricket world cup is the third one to be played in the subcontinent. Pitches in this part of the cricket world either help batsmen or spinners. They are notorious for being anti-fast bowling.
The last time a world cup was played here—in 1996—four out of the top six wicket takers were spinners. Kumble was at the top with 15 wickets from seven matches followed by Strang (Zimbabwean leg spinner) at No. 3, Harper (West Indian off-break bowler) at No. 4 and Shane Warne at No. 6. Waqar Younis (No. 2) and Damien Fleming at No. 5 were the only two fast bowlers to have taken more than 10 wickets.
India’s second most successful bowler in that world cup was left arm spinner Raju, who had eight wickets from just four matches. Srinath and Prasad managed eight wickets each out of seven matches.
These records make it amply clear who is going to play the key role in the tenth edition of cricket world cup. It is expected that every team would include at least two regular spinners.
Let’s have a look at the spin armies of major teams.
India
The Indian squad is perhaps the most rich vis-à-vis spin bowling options. Besides three specialist spinners—Harbhajan, Piyush Chawla and Ashwin—it has a number of part timers. Yousuf Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Sehwag, Sachin and Raina are all useful bowlers. They give Dhoni a lot of variety. It is almost certain that Indian fast bowlers will not need to complete their quota of ten overs. The Indian victory against Australia in the warm-up match gives us an idea what is in store for India’s opponents.
Pakistan
In the recent series against New Zealand, Pakistan relied on Shahid Afridi and Muhammad Hafeez, keeping Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman in the pavilion. But that was New Zealand where playing with four pace bowlers was possible. In the subcontinent, the 1992 champions will certainly include either Saeed Ajmal or Abdul Rehman. Pakistan has good chances with these four men in the squad.
Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 world cup had an astonishing number of spin bowlers. It had Murali, Jayasuriya and Dharmasena as regulars and De Silva and Ranatunga as their helpers. Vaas took only six wickets in that competition, so you can guess who got their opponents out. Their squad this time retains only one of that lot—the great Murali. But Sangakara’s options are as wide as were Ranatunga’s. He has Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath. Both of them can be as destructive on the subcontinent pitches as Murali is everywhere. To lengthen the spin bowling line, there are Jayawardene and Dilshan.
Bangladesh
The youngest test playing nation, who co hosts the world cup for the first time, has yet to produce match-winning fast bowlers. But they are no less than others as far as spin bowling is concerned. Shakib, their leader, is a great left-arm orthodox bowler with 129 wickets from 102 one-day matches. Abdul Razzaq, another slow left arm, has been even more successful with 162 wickets from 111 matches. He has 13 wickets from nine world cup matches. To support these two giants of Bengali cricket, there are Naeem Islam and Mahmudullah.
South Africa
The 2003 world cup hosts have got a very strong spin department, led by Johan Botha. Imran Tahir, a Pakistan-born leg spinner, is also likely to play a key role in the world cup. Peterson, the left arm orthodox bowler, and Duminy and Smith, the two batsmen who can bowl very good offbreaks, will complement the efforts of Botha and Tahir. With such wide options, Smith should not need to bowl more than 20 overs with fast bowlers.
England
England lacked match-winning spinners in 1990s. But they produced one after another match-winning spinners in 2000s. Ashley Giles served them well in the first half of the decade. Then came Monty Panesar who excelled for a few years. Now they have the services of Graeme Swann who can single-handedly rip apart any batting line. But he is not alone. The squad for this world cup includes Michael Yardy. With these two, England has all the chances to advance into the knockout stage.
New Zealand
Daniel Vettori is among the greatest spinners of the world. But he rarely gets enough support from his fellow bowlers to push New Zealand to victory. This time, too, he will have to bear most of the burden since their seamers are unlikely to get any support from the pitches. Nathan McCullum, who bowls offbreaks as a part time bowler, will not be able to provide much support to his skipper.
Australia
The defending champions have perhaps the poorest spin department. Nathan Hauritz, their most experienced spinner, was ruled out of the competition owing to an injury. They are relying on an inexperienced spin bowling squad comprising Jason Krezja, who has played only one one-day, and Steven Smith, who has 15 appearances. They might get some help from David Hussey and vice captain Michael Clarke. But that might not be enough.
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