Australia leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson has delivered a blunt assessment of spinners not being fielded in the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, saying this decision made by the team think-tank “sucks.”
At a venue historically renowned for favoring slow bowlers, Australia fielded an all-pace attack, overlooking a spin bowling option for the third time in the ongoing Ashes. Swepson stated, “It sucks, mate. I won’t be careful, it sucks. Being a spin bowler, I am obviously biased but I think we’ve seen it for a while now, seen it coming in (Sheffield) Shield cricket.”
He further explained, “We see less and less spin bowlers coming into games, particularly in certain parts of the country, and I think that’s what we’re now seeing in the Test arena. You see greener wickets, you see seam be the main source of wickets, and it’s such a shame because I think there’s a really good piece there, a spot for spin bowling in Test cricket.” Swepson shared his thoughts with reporters after playing for Melbourne Stars in their Big Bash League (BBL) game against Melbourne Renegades at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Having played four Tests for Australia, Swepson expressed sadness for off-spinner Todd Murphy not getting a chance to play in the absence of injured Nathan Lyon. “In other parts of the world it’s massive, it’s something I grew up on, watching Shane Warne around the wicket into pizzas (footmarks) at the SCG. It would be nice to bring that back but the way it’s going, at the moment, it looks like we’re going further and further away from that with the wickets we’re producing.”
He emphasized, “I feel for Todd, he’s a great bowler… I am definitely a part of the spin brotherhood, I’d love to see it come back.” Swepson also suggested that groundsmen in Australia’s domestic games may be deliberately producing pace-friendly surfaces to eliminate tedious draws. “I think for me, we’re too worried about the wickets flattening out and getting no results than we are about it being a two-day Test or Shield game.”
He added, “It feels like we’d rather that and have a result than it be flat and deteriorate. Talking to the older guys in Shield cricket, talking to guys like ‘Uzzie’ (Usman Khawaja) that have been playing Shield cricket for a long time. They talk about batting for two days on an absolute road and then all of a sudden you’ve got chunks coming out of the wicket, really starting to rag.”
Swepson concluded, “I couldn’t tell you the last time I played a Shield game like that so it’s a real shame. I’d love to see it come back that way. But somewhere in the country has to be prepared to do that and make those sort of wickets, and I don’t know who is going to do that first, or whether it’s a CA thing.”