Graphic: why England's slow bowlers were flat

In January 1987, Australia picked a little-known off-spinner from New South Wales for the final Ashes Test in Sydney of a series England had already won. “Peter Who?” was the headline. Many assumed it was a mistake, thinking that it was Peter Taylor’s namesake and state teammate Mark, a promising opening batsman, whom the selectors meant to choose.

But Peter Taylor, who had only six first-class matches and 21 wickets behind him, was their man. He took eight wickets in the match to secure a consolation victory for Australia. In these more structured and professional times, Nathan Hauritz is not in the same class of anonymity as Taylor but he has a track record of such intriguing mediocrity that the prospect of him bowling Australia to victory in an Ashes Test seems hard to palate if you are an England batsman.

The 27-year-old has never taken a five-wicket haul in any form of top-flight cricket. His 89 first-class wickets have come at a luxurious 47 runs a pop. And in Australia’s two warm-up games he returned figures of two for 260. After making his Test debut in 2004 in India, he returned home to find he could not even secure a spot in the Queensland side, so he moved to New South Wales. When he was recalled to the Test side towards the end of last year, he was not even being picked by his state side.

He has been a joke figure on this tour so far, lampooned mercilessly by the former Australian Test players doing the rounds on the after-dinner circuit and the hospitality tents.

But Hauritz outbowled England’s two spinners in the first innings of this Test and he got out (even thought out) Kevin Pietersen on the first day. “To get his 20 overs out at just over three an over and get that important wicket was a good result for us,” was the verdict of Australia’s coach, Tim Nielsen. Pietersen himself said: “He’s a clever bowler, and he’s no fool. He’s a good bowler, that guy.”

Those comments indicate just how low a base Hauritz is working from. Nobody is expecting much, so any success is a bonus. But low expectations also mean low pressure. On Friday evening, Michael Clarke, Australia’s vice-captain, praised Hauritz but also placed a burden of expectation on him. “The wicket will start to play more tricks,” he said. “Nathan bowled much slower than the England spinners, and that gets more spin and bounce.”

Clarke’s assertion is backed up by statistics. On average, Hauritz bowled 2.5mph slower, at about 54mph, than Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar. His fastest ball was 3mph slower than the fastest of England’s spinners. It was instructive to note that only when Swann dropped his pace to about 53mph did he start getting drift and spin. But by then Marcus North and Brad Haddin were well on the way to securing Australia’s huge total.

At that point an Australian wag in the press box joked under his breath: “The Hauricane will be licking his lips — he might even get two second-innings wickets.” Hauritz is self-aware enough to understand his unflattering image. “I would be shocked if they didn’t have a go at me,” he said before the Test. “If they can get on top of me early, it will be very hard to come back from that.”

It was hardly the sort of declaration of intent that we have come to expect from Australian spinners, but times and personnel have changed. Hauritz is simply the latest man standing in a game of musical chairs that the Australian selectors have been playing with their spinners over the past 2.5 years since Shane Warne retired. They have tried seven specialist spinners since then; their combined efforts have yielded 51 wickets at an average of 54.

The selection of Hauritz is a pragmatic pick based on the realisation that the cupboard is so bare that slow bowlers are hardly worth bothering with. In Australia’s previous Test, against South Africa in Cape Town in March, their chosen slow man had a slow death. Bryce McGain, a 36-year-old leg-spinner making his debut, conceded 149 runs in 18 overs. By the end of his ordeal his confidence was shot and the selectors had one or two decisions made for them.

“I can definitely see myself playing a big role on turning wickets from the third day onwards,” Hauritz said. “Playing in Sydney on turning pitches, Warnie used to land the ball on a sixpence and spin it massively. He was just a genius. It probably made our job to follow him much harder. But it is up to us to have a crack at it.”

The way Hauritz bowled in the early part of this tour, there was no guarantee he would play in Cardiff. Had he not been picked here, it was believed he might as well pack his bags — or at least brush up on his drinks-waiting skills — because the chances of him getting a game in the rest of the series was so slim.

Today he will have the chance, not only to win a Test for Australia, but also to lay claim to a permanent place in the side. With Brett Lee injured and Stuart Clark off the pace, Australia’s resources are thin beyond the XI in Cardiff

Hauritz is equivocal about his role: “I don’t really know if there is such a thing as an attacking spinner or a defensive spinner. I just think there’s a spinner. I bowl off-spin, that’s what I see myself as. I spoke to Stuart MacGill at length about this. He said, ‘There’s a difference between being aggressive and bowling poorly’.”

In 2005, Ashley Giles was England’s fall guy after the defeat in the first Test but emerged as a hero by the end of the series with bat and ball. However, he bowled badly in the final innings of the third Test at Old Trafford when it was hoped he would spin England to victory. And that is the rub. Expectation can be the undoing of the slow bowler, such a delicate species. Warne did not take a wicket in England’s second innings of the Old Trafford Test.

Hauritz attended some of that match while he was playing club cricket for Nelson in the Lancashire League. He recalls keeping his head down, not betraying his nationality, in what he described as a “brutal” atmosphere.

Cardiff is unlikely to test his mettle like Manchester. But we will find out whether he has the stomach or the skill to deliver when it matters most.

- John Stern is editor of Wisden Cricketer