MASON CRANE had a tough challenge when he bowled his first spell in Test cricket.
At the other end were two left-handers and one of them, David Warner, is an ultra-aggressive player who loves taking down slow bowlers.
Leg-spinners such as Crane don’t normally like operating to left-handers because the ball is turning into them, so the outside edge is rarely threatened and it is easier to pick off runs through the legside.
Inevitably, because he is just 20 years old and the youngest specialist spinner to play for England for 90 years, there was plenty of interest in how he would fare.
His initial spell produced figures of 5-0-14-0 and passed off with few dramas.
But it was interesting to hear the views of Shane Warne, the greatest leg-spinner of all time and the man who virtually single-handedly resurrected the art in the 1990s.
Warne thought Crane did okay although he reckoned the ball was planted too firmly in his hand as he ran up to bowl. That meant Crane did not have the desirable fingertip control and would not be able to spin the ball as readily as Warne used to.
Warne also said that Crane tended to bowl too straight, meaning he wasn’t allowing enough width for the turn and the left-handers in particular could pick off runs with minimum risk.
Crane went wicketless again in his second spell but he caused some problems and started spinning the ball more sharply.
Even when he went for a couple of boundaries, he did not panic. Warne said: “What I’ve seen of Mason and having spoken to him a few times, he will not be fazed if batsmen try to get after him. He is a confident lad and that’s vital for a leg-spinner.
“At the same age, I was playing fourth grade cricket in Melbourne. He is a very good prospect and I’ll be watching his development closely.”
Altogether, Crane had three spells and finished his first day as a Test match bowler with 17-0-58-0.
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