Australia Will Struggle To Dominate In Sub-Continent Till Spinners Are Encouraged, Says Steve O'Keefe

Test cricket is an ultimate reflection of life. It tests your patience, character and more importantly your versatility to the hilt, unlike white-ball cricket. And, the biggest challenge for any team is to win outside the comfort of their home conditions.

We often talk about how difficult it is for batsmen to acclimatize to the foreign conditions but the same is true for the bowlers as well. While for any fast bowler from the subcontinent, the biggest task is to find the ideal length to bowl in SENA countries, the same applies for the spinners coming to the subcontinent from countries like Australia, New Zealand, England, and South Africa.

Former Australian spinner Steven O’Keefe feels that Australia will find it incredibly tough to win in the subcontinent unless the spinners are encouraged in the country. O’Keefe, who claimed 301 First-Class wickets at an average of 24.66 recently retired from four-day cricket after he was denied a contract by New South Wales.

“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,” O’Keefe was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

He added: “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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Australia will struggle to win in the subcontinent, feels Steve O’Keefe

Since their 2011 Test series win in Sri Lanka, Australia have managed just a solitary win in the subcontinent. That win came against India in Pune during the 2017 Test series Steven O’Keefe spun a web [6-35 & 6-35] around Virat Kohli’s men. O’Keefe believes that if Australia wants to win more often in the subcontinent then the spinners are needed to be encouraged in Shield cricket.

“When you want to win overseas, spinners are the ones who have to win you games. But go back and have a look at Shield cricket. I’m the leading wicket-taker this year with 16 wickets and played five games. I’ve not had a match-winning role in any of the games,” O’Keefe said.

“When you go to these places, it’s all on your spinners; they have got to be people who are mentally tough and have the skill. It is a matter of urgency if we are going to win over there to make sure we encourage these guys.”, He added.

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Steven O’Keefe played nine Tests for Australia in which he claimed 35 wickets at an average of 29.4 with his career-best figures of 6-35 coming against India in Pune. The left-arm spinner played his last Test against Bangladesh in 2017.