NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Former Australia captain Steve Waugh tipped Graeme Swann, Ajantha Mendis and Harbhajan Singh to fill the void left by the retirement of spin bowling’s golden generation.
Test cricket was privileged to have Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble popularising the craft of slow bowling but Waugh was confident that the ‘generation next’ of spin bowlers were ready to take up the baton.
Waugh tipped England off-spinner Graeme Swann to trouble Australia in the Ashes, which begins in November.
“Swann burst into the scene as a steady bowler, not every trick in his bag but he has been the most successful spinner in the last one year. He is going to have a big impact in the Ashes.
“(Sri Lanka’s) Ajantha Mendis is another amazing bowler and he is going to be back (in form). In India, Harbhajan Singh has done well, especially against Australia.”
But with fewer tests now being played in a crammed cricket calendar which also features one-day and Twenty 20 matches, the likes of Swann, Mendis and Harbhajan are unlikely to match the exploits of the famed spinning trio that tormented opponents for over a decade.
Muralitharan quit test cricket last week with 800 scalps from 133 matches. Former India captain Kumble played one match less to finish with 619 wickets. Warne, another leg-spinner, claimed 708 victims in 145 tests before quitting in 2007.
“They were three great bowlers, who played in the same era which is rare and they have got some 2000 wickets among them,” said Waugh.
“But I think cricket will survive. The game is bigger than individuals and I’m sure big talents would surface again.”
Waugh, a highly successful captain, said Australia have lost their aura of invincibility.
“That probably they have. West Indies dominated cricket in the 1970s and ‘80s and we dominated roughly from 1995-2006. Australia is still a very good side but the aura has faded.
“Today you have four-five sides which are very close. I would say Australia, England, South Africa, India and maybe Sri Lanka make it pretty even at the top.
“I guess it is hard to dominate the game these days and I don’t see any one team dominating all three formats.”
Waugh welcomed the idea of day-night test matches and said: “It is needed in some countries…(experimentation) is fine as long as it does not change the essence of the game.”
