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Melbourne: Australian spinner Nathan Hauritz is taking tips from former Pakistani spin great Saqlain Mushtaq to develop a 'doosra' that will be unleashed on the West Indies in the ongoing Test series.
Saqlain met Hauritz during the Ashes in England and since then the Australian has fine-tuned his own doosra, a leg-spinner that looks like an off-spinner, at the nets.
Though it was Sri Lankan spin wizard Muthiah Muralidaran who made the doosra famous, it was Saqlain who introduced it to Test cricket during an Australian tour in 1999.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting is encouraging Hauritz to unleash his doosra in the Test series against the West Indies in the ongoing Test series.
"Punter' (Ponting) is always getting me to try to bowl it in a game. I bowl it a lot more in the nets now. It goes the other way. My action doesn't change a great deal, it's mainly just with my wrist," Hauritz was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.
"It doesn't spin much but with my natural shape it straightens down the line, I think it could be pretty handy. Whether or not we will see it soon is another thing. I think definitely on a pitch like Perth where the bounce is so fast, if it does spin it might come out there," he added.
"I need to be able to consistently land it in the nets before I bring it out. I feel like short leg will die if I don't get it right."
Hauritz, who took five wickets in Australia's win at the Gabba, says he can bowl the doosra legally without changing his arm position.
"The most important thing is to not worry about that stuff, to get on with everyday life and just concentrate on playing cricket," he added.
