First time in 138 years: Australia break with tradition by not fielding any spinners in SCG Test | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: Australia created an unwanted slice of history by naming a Test XI without a specialist spinner for a match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with skipper Steve Smith admitting he had been backed into a corner. Since 1888, the hosts have not gone into a Sydney Test without a frontline slow bowler at a venue once considered Australia’s spin paradise.The 138-year streak was broken for the fifth and final Ashes Test against England, with all-rounder Beau Webster included and off-spinner Todd Murphy overlooked.
“I hate doing this,” Smith said.“But if we continue to produce wickets that we don’t think are going to turn and the seams will play a big role and the cracks will play a big role, you’ll kind of be pushed into a corner.”The move reflects a growing trend in Australian cricket. The hosts had previously left out veteran Nathan Lyon for the second pink-ball Test in Brisbane, before Murphy – brought in to replace Lyon through injury – was also omitted in Melbourne and Sydney.England also continued without their front-rower Shoaib Bashir for a fifth consecutive Test in Sydney, meaning he will return home without playing a single ball in a Test match in Australia.In the first four Tests of the series, the spinners claimed only nine wickets, which is just a fraction of the total overs bowled.Speaking in Melbourne after the fourth Seamer Test concluded in two days, Smith explained the thinking behind the absence of spinners.“With a lot of wickets we are playing on now, I think spin… is the easiest thing to face,” he said.“On some of these wickets that offer a lot of seams, it’s almost gotten to the point where (you ask), ‘Why would you play when you know you could lose 30 or 40 runs quickly if they decide to play positively and the game changes immediately?’“I love seeing spinners play a part in the game, but right now, why would you?”
