Alarmed by the limited options, Australia goes on spin-hunt

After the Ashes debacle exposed their bare spin cupboard, Cricket Australia is likely to make it mandatory for the state teams to include tweakers in a new national under-23 tournament scheduled later this summer.

Grappling with thin spin resource since Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill exited the scene, Australia did not show any confidence in Nathan Hauritz in the Ashes series they lost to England despite the off-spinner's decent form in recent past.

Hauritz was left to cool his heels in the decider at The Oval, where England offie Graeme Swann ran through Australian middle and lower orders, while Australia's part-time spinner Marcus North took four wickets in England's second innings.

Alarmed by the limited options they have in the spin department, CA is set to instruct the state teams to select and bowl spinners in the under-23 tournament, according to a Sydney Morning Herald report.

"They are looking into different ways of encouraging teams to play spinners. How that works is yet to be determined but they are trying to encourage captains to bowl spinners, teams to play more spinners and especially in the under-23 competitions, they are looking at possible changes to rules and regulations to encourage that,"

A CA spokesman said. "It will hopefully give us more spinners to pick from and part-time spinners to practise their spin bowling a little bit more," he added.

Australia tried Beau Casson, Jason Krejza, Cameron White, Bryce Mcgain and Hauritz over the past one and half years but still could not fill the void.