Overseas spinners and their woes in India

With Bryce McGain ruled out due to injury and Jason Krejza being spanked all around the park by the Board President's XI batsmen on the opening day of a practice game, it'll surprise no one if Australia go into the first Test against India without a specialist spinner in the line-up. It might make their bowling a tad one-dimensional, but considering the manner in which overseas spinners have performed in India over the last few years, Australia might just decide to settle for the part-time spin of Michael Clarke and Simon Katich.

Since 1990 the only overseas team whose spinners have been consistently effective in India is Pakistan: Saqlain Mushtaq was deadly in 1998-99, taking 24 wickets in three Tests, while Shahid Afridi was among the wickets in 2004-05. Those two bowlers have been largely responsible for ensuring that Pakistan's slow bowlers average less than 34 runs per wicket in Tests in India since 1990. The other teams haven't been as lucky, though: the Australians concede more than 36 per wicket, Sri Lanka almost 42, despite Muttiah Muralitharan, while England, West Indies and New Zealand leak even more.

Australia's pace attack doesn't have much experience of bowling in Indian conditions either, but they probably have a much better chance of bowling Australia to victory. Over the last 18 years, fast bowlers from both Australia and South Africa have done a fine job of conquering Indian conditions - they're the only sides whose pace bowlers average less than 30 runs per wicket in India. As it turns out, they're also the only teams to win Test series in India during this period. South Africa's win in 1999-00 was largely fashioned by Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock - though Nicky Boje played a vital hand as well - while Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath were outstanding during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2004-05. Historically Australia have relied a fair amount on spin in India: it has accounted for 39% of all their wickets. For South Africa, on the other hand, spin has offered just 25% of their total wickets. The Indians, of course, have relied heavily on spin at home: almost 70% of their wickets have come courtesy the slow bowlers.

Clarke's 6 for 9 in the Mumbai Test in 2004 was obviously the highlight for Australian spin in that series, but Shane Warne didn't do badly either: his 14 wickets came at just 30.07 each, and included a haul of 6 for 125 - his only five-for in India - in the second Test in Chennai. In that series, the Australian spinners tallied 25 wickets in four Tests at an average of 23.36, which is the best performance by an overseas team's spin unit in a series in India since 1990. (Nathan Hauritz, the offspinner, was the other contributor, with 5 for 103 in Mumbai.) The Pakistan spinners, largely a one-man act starring Saqlain, conceded less than 26 runs per wicket in 1998-99, and were only marginally more expensive in 2004-05.

That overseas spinners have struggled in India over the last couple of decades is obvious from the list below. Among the list of most successful slow bowlers in India, Saqlain is the only one from the post-1980 era. Australian spinners of the past have had success in India, but that was ages ago: Richie Benaud had a rich bounty of 52 scalps from eight Tests at a fantastic average of 18.38, while Ashley Mallett took 28 from five Tests in 1969. (If you lower the cut-off marginally, South Africa's Paul Adams, who announced his retirement yesterday, sneaks in too, with 14 wickets from three Tests in 1996.)

The modern-day stars pale in comparison. Danish Kaneria, Muttiah Muralitharan and Warne had one good series in India, but their overall numbers are dismal. Kaneria and Murali have taken the same number of wickets at exactly the same average, though Kaneria has played two fewer Tests. All three, though, have done better than Daniel Vettori, arguably the best left-arm spinner in the game today. In five Tests, he has only managed 17 wickets, each costing him more than 51.

Given Australia's lightweight spin line-up this time, it will be a huge surprise if any of them has a major impact with the ball during their four Tests in India.