NEWS
Follow UsTim David might have just bowled around 30 overs in his international career but that hasn’t stopped him from taking up more responsibilities. The 28-year-old all-rounder has made a startling revelation that he took up the art of leg-spin around nine months ago and has been consistently working on the art.
Prior to trying out leg spin, David was bowling off spin as his trade. He has five wickets in T20Is, all of which came during his days with the Singapore national team.
"It just gives you options as a match-up. I started bowling legspin in nets about nine months ago, and they came out really well," David said, reported ESPNCricinfo.
"So just been working really hard on it. And to be honest... I really enjoy bowling. It's more fun in the game than just sitting there for 20 overs in the field,” he added.
The 28-year-old also praised fellow spin bowlers Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa, stating that he ‘rubs ideas off them’ and learns about the trade of spin actively.
"It's been really good to bowl with Ash, [and] bowl with Zamps when they're around in the nets, [and] rub ideas off them. There's [also] bowling coaches, and it's really good to get different ideas from people. But again, it's about what works for me and [about] finding my own method,” David said.
Australia are unbeaten in the tournament with four wins on the trot, joining the likes of India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in Group 1 of the Super 8s. While the Men in Yellow have faced India and Afghanistan before, they haven’t played many games against Bangladesh, especially the ones since Rishad Hossain made his debut.
The Bangladeshi leg spinner has bowled with some venom during the tournament, and his consistency has been nothing short of shocking.
"I suppose that's the nature of the World Cup, isn't it? You play every team once," David said. "You might get a team twice if you play in the final, so you don't get to face a lot of lot of these guys; you don't get a big look at them. I don't think anyone in our team will have played against him [Rishad]. So we're going to take him on."
While Australia have played a lot of their games in the Caribbean, it has almost become clear that the Super 8 games could be played at a much slower tempo, as evidenced by the turn the spinners have got. Not just that, they also play three spin-dominated bowling units, and David reckoned that spin could play a big role. Australia open their Super 8 campaign against Bangladesh on June 21 (Friday).
"I've practiced a lot against spin over the last couple of weeks. Day before a game or couple of days before game [though], it's not that big of a stress," he said. "You know you can't change too much in that last stage. You just get feeling good [in the nets], ticking a couple of boxes, having fun at training. That's the most important thing for me [so close to the game]."
Wind is another factor that has dominated the Caribbean leg of the competition. While teams that have read the room have made the fullest use of it, the others who have shown negligence have paid a price for it.
"Yeah, the wind's really important. You hit the ball into the wind, [and] it goes 50 metres shorter; you get one downwind, [and] you can't stop it. I think the other night in St. Lucia, if you hit the ball downwind, it went out of the stadium," David said.
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