Australia have announced their squad travelling to the UAE next month for their series against Pakistan and one lucky spin bowler has found his name on the list for the first time.
Stephen O’Keefe made his debut for Australia back in 2010, ironically against Pakistan. Having never worn the national kit in an ODI game, O’Keefe now finds himself drafted into the national test team after a string of positive and successful domestic appearances. His recent form boasts 41 wickets in ten games, including an 11 wicket haul against South Australia back in March. This move mirrors that of South African number 3 batsman, Faf du Plessis, who cemented his spot in the test team before his ODI career properly took off.
But it isn’t only his recent form which has won his spot in the squad and the almost certainty of making his long awaited debut next month. Australia’s national selectors and coaches alike will be well aware that having the ability to play two spinners in the UAE is vital if they are going to come away with the win and O’Keefe offers a style of bowling the Pakistan side would rather do without.
O’Keefe is a left-arm orthodox spin bowler, and like the similarly sized Rangana Herath, he relies more on accuracy in pitching the ball rather than getting a large amount of turn. This is identical to the bowling of Herath, a style which awarded him 23 wickets last month in Sri Lanka’s tour to play Pakistan. With Pakistan’s poor form against Herath being common knowledge to all, it seemed only logical that O’Keefe received the call up. O’Keefe himself states that he has taken crucial tips from Herath and hopes to mimic him when the time arrives for him to take the ball.
Australia will hope that combining O’Keefe with their first choice spinner, Nathan Lyon, will offer them a solid spin attack delivering two opposite styles of deliveries and balls. Lyon is a off-spinner and therefore spins the ball in the opposite direction to O’Keefe. When you add the duties of part-time leg spinner Steve Smith to the mix, Australia will have plenty of options on pitches that are known to favour slow bowlers.
Along with his bowling abilities, O’Keefe is handy with the bat, coming into this tour with a first-class batting average of 27.82. If you combine this with his first-class bowling average of 24.72, many people feel he should be classed in the all rounder category rather than a specialist bowler.
A natural born leader and a deliverer of form, Stephen O’Keefe may be on the brink of starting a very successful test career for his country.
Australian Test Squad: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Alex Doolan, Michael Clarke (captain), Steven Smith, Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Brad Haddin, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Johnson, Stephen O’Keefe, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.
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