MacGill could be the Man

Stuart MacGill has had his fair share of controversy of late, however as Paul Johnson reports, he could be the man who leads the Australians to victory over England this summer.

The question most commonly asked about the Ashes series is who will be our third pace bowler, however it seems that everyone has forgotten that the Poms traditionally struggle against spin.

More particularly leg spin. And playing a second spinner alongside Warney may be a viable option. After all playing three quick’s did not exactly get the job done last time did it!

Not to knock the Aussie selectors but they have got it wrong in the past, and to do so as we battle to reagin the Ashes we so tragically lost, they need to take a look at the last series.

The player who got the most wickets by far was Shane Warne. Warne is a leg spinner, not a pace bowler. The pace bowlers with the exception of Glenn McGrath copped a pasting, particularly Jason Gillespie who was dropped after just three matches.

The statistics do not lie. Warne took 40 wickets for the series and was the best bowler for Australia in seven innings out of ten, with McGrath having the best figures in the other three innings of the series.

If history tells us anything it is that in recent years England have struggled against the spinners, and despite the fact that the wickets do not turn as much here as they do in the Old Dart, we have the quality of back up spinner to bother them.

That quality could come from none other than perennial second string spinner Stuart MacGill, particularly in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

MacGill has the experience in the Test arena having played over 40 Tests for Australia and would not struggle to handle the pressure, and if he puts the Poms in a spin in the three day practice match at the SCG before the Ashes he would have to be a big chance to play, ahead of the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Nathan Bracken.

Despite not being a currently contracted player MacGill has taken 39 wickets in just six Tests against the Poms and could be the destroyer once again if he is allowed to be; and with a bowling average over his career of 24.71 against the Poms, his tandem with Warney might be just what we need.

This option is more viable with the likely inclusion of gun all rounder Shane Watson in the team, which would mean that Australia already have a third pace option who is not only capable of bowling at over 140kph, but doing so economically and accurately with an ability to tie down the batsmen, as shown by his efforts in the recent Champions Trophy in India.

If this were the case then the Australian team would read like this: J Langer, M Hayden, R Ponting, M Hussey, M Clarke, A Gilchrist, S Watson, S Warne, B Lee, G McGrath, S MacGill.

While it is easy to understand the push for Mitchell Johnson or Nathan Bracken to play; with Watson in the side it becomes unnecessary, except for when we play in Perth or Adelaide and four pace options are traditionally a necessity.

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