Spinners rein in Aussies

Beer and Rayner show their class

Sussex may not have been at full strength but Australia cannot complain that they have not had a tough workout with the start of the Ashes only 11 days away.

Despite a short boundary on the pavilion side and a parched outfield, the Aussies were scoring at just 3.67 an over until the last hour when Michael Clarke and Brett Lee piled into a tiring attack on the third day in front of a 7,000 full house at Hove.

Phillip Hughes and Ricky Ponting played with a degree of freedom earlier in the day but after they were prised out the rest of the tourists’ top six, who all needed time in the middle and a score under their belts, were tied down by some impressive work, particularly by off-spinner Ollie Rayner.

Rayner has out peformed Nathan Hauritz, Australia’s lone spinner in this match, but of more importance to Sussex is that he has rediscovered his form now that Piyush Chawla’s departure makes him the senior spinner in the squad again.

Before Chawla arrived and took 19 wickets in two Championship games with his leg-spin Rayner had bowled poorly in helpful conditions at Headingley three weeks ago when he was out-performed by Yorkshire’s 18-year-old debutant off-spinner Azeem Rafiq and went wicket less in 29 overs.

Rayner did not turn too many wicket to wicket yesterday but when he pitched into the rough created by James Kirtley’s follow-through outside the left-hander’s off stump he was a threat. And there are a lot of southpaws in Australia’s top six.

If the summer stays dry Rayner is going to have to bowl a lot of overs in the Championship.

He also has to make sure that he produces consistent performances because there could always be the temptation for Mike Yardy to leave him out and play an extra batsmen, using Chris Nash or Rory Hamilton-Brown, who are both decent off-spinners in their own right, as his slow bowling option.

The 24-year-old had to wait until the last over before tea, his 21st, for his breakthrough when he ended a painful innings from Marcus North, who took 22 balls to get off the mark, hit just one boundary and faced 50 deliveries before missing a sweep.

North’s stand of 40 in 17 overs with Mike Hussey was not quite the entertainment the crowd had envisaged when they booked their tickets in anticipation of watching the Aussies fill their boots but it was no more than Rayner deserved and he struck again in his 26th over when Brad Haddin mis-timed a pull to deep mid-wicket.

By then he was bowling in tandem with Will Beer. The 20-year-old leg-spinner was harshly treated by the Australians in the first innings but he bowled with more control.

Before yesterday he had taken a solitary first-class wicket and although this game does not carry that status he will regard the scalp of Mike Hussey as the best of his career, bowling him through the gate and hitting leg stump.

Rayner could have claimed an even bigger scalp earlier in the day but Yardy dropped Hughes at slip on 73.

It wasn’t an expensive miss because Hughes lost his middle stump to Sandri for the second time in the match shortly afterwards, having driven the previous delivery sweetly through the covers for his 11th boundary.

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