Steve O’Keefe wants young Australian spinners Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson to challenge Nathan Lyon for a spot in the squad.
India is considered as the final frontier for teams like Australia that dwell on seamer-friendly wickets and their spin attacks are not that skilled. However, former Australian spinner Steve O’Keefe has a solution for it and wants to see more wickets in Australia supporting spin.
O’Keefe said, “We have so much talent in this country, spin-bowling depth. I look across at the top two spinners in each state that I really think there's so much quality. The problem is that they aren't being encouraged enough to be given a ball in the first ten overs and being told to win a game of cricket. The conditions haven't allowed them to express themselves.”
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“We promote the Dukes ball. In the game at the moment you could pick four quicks and if you had to pick an all-rounder you could pick a medium pacer and still do well - you'd win with that team, with no spinner, which to me is a shock,” he added.
He then named the likes of Mitchell Swepson and Ashton Agar, who are premier spinners Down Under to challenge somebody like Nathan Lyon for a spot in the Australian cricket team. O’Keefe also mentioned that if spin bowling is not promoted at home, the Australian team would keep finding it difficult to win in subcontinent countries where pacers are not that effective.
“I want to see guys like Swepson, Agar really push Nathan Lyon in that Australian team. He's the next level but we have to start looking forward to the next generation and I think we can promote it more at home. If we really want to challenge India, which is the final frontier and win a series in India, and four or five other Test nations to beat them in their conditions, we're going to have to start promoting it at home,” he said.
The 35-year-old also expressed his will to help the spinners in Australia even if it is not in an official capacity.
“If there's any spinner out there, anyone willing to pick up the phone and say 'I'd like to work with you', I'd tell a 10-year-old the same thing I'd tell a 25-year-old playing cricket. The game in my eyes is that simple; I'm willing to give that time to anyone for nothing,” he concluded.
(With inputs from Cricbuzz)
