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Hove: The odds of Australia fielding an all-pace attack for the first Test shortened today after Nathan Hauritz, the sole spinner in the touring party, struggled for impact against a below-par Sussex batting line-up. On a day in which Stuart Clark (3 for 46), Peter Siddle (2 for 33) and Brett Lee (3 for 53) enhanced their selection chances for the Cardiff Test, Hauritz returned the unflattering figures of 0 for 98 from 18 largely ineffective overs.
Suggestions that the Sophia Gardens surface in Cardiff will prove a raging turner from July 8 have come under question of late, with only 14 of 69 wickets falling to spin in the three Championship matches played there this season. The decision of the ECB's pitch panel to penalise Glamorgan for producing a "poor" surface now appears a false alarm in terms of its potential impact on the Ashes, and despite England's move to name three specialist spinners in its squad, Australia will be sorely tempted to field four quicks on the evidence of Thursday's outing in Hove.
Save for a missed stumping opportunity to Andrew Hodd, Hauritz seldom troubled the Sussex batsmen. The nadir of his spell came in his third over, when Chris Nash and Rory Hamilton-Brown blasted him for 16 runs, and his impact was best summed up when a large section of the Hove crowd offered a rousing Bronx cheer when his figures were read over the PA-system at the conclusion of the Sussex innings.
Brief Score: Australians 349 for 7 dec and 18 for 0 (Hughes 17*) lead Sussex 311 (Nash 45, Hodd 40) by 56 runs.
