It used to be said of leg-spinners that if you could bowl three good balls per over then you’d do well in grade cricket, four good balls and you’d do OK at first-class level, five good balls and you’d have a solid Test career.

Shane Warne re-wrote the books on that. He could bowl over after over of good balls and almost eliminated the bad ball from his repertoire. Even when he did bowl a shocker, it was such a surprise that batsmen often didn’t put it away.

How, then, can mere mortals like Stuart MacGill ever hope to look adequate. On one level, MacGill deserves our sympathy simply for having the bad luck to play in the same era as Warne. When compared to the generation before Warne, folks like Bob ‘Dutchie’ Holland (34 wickets at 40) or Peter ‘Sounda’ Sleep (31 wickets at 45), MacGill looks like a genius.

'Waist high full tosses are not uncommon and spectators and close-in fielders alike are both in mortal danger when he strays'


In those days before Warne, a leggy wasn’t consider essential. They were invariably brought in for one or two Tests per year, usually Sydney when it used to turn, but were usually overlooked in favour of a finger spinner in the remaining tests. If in doubt, a part-timer like Captain Grumpy (Allan Border) would come on to give the quicks a rest.

Today, however, it is unthinkable to go into a game without an attacking spinner, so strongly indoctrinated are we by Warne’s brilliance. The down side is, of course, that we no longer have Warne – and Stuart MacGill will never – ever – be able to replace him.

For many years, MacGill has struggled under the weight of the “heir apparent” tag, and rightly so; he simply isn’t up to the task. In isolation, his record of 203 wickets at 28 is comparable to anyone. Indeed, his figures compare very favourably to Warne and some of his best performances have been in tandem with the great man.

What the figures simply don’t show, is the inability of MacGill to build pressure the way Warne did. MacGill is a leg spinner of old and he bowls to the old formula. The one, sometimes more, bad balls per over are often absolute shockers. Waist high full tosses are not uncommon and spectators and close-in fielders alike are both in mortal danger when he strays.

The weight of expectation hasn’t done MacGill any favours. He constantly looks stressed on the cricket field and looks like someone with serious constipation when he takes a wicket. Absent are the effusive celebrations of just about any bowler you could name. It’s a symptom of the tremendous pressure that he places himself under.

Old habits die hard and the Australian selectors are reluctant to change a winning formula. The problem is, when the variables are changed, the formula no longer works. MacGill has, in all probability, earned the right to be given a chance, but to date he isn’t looking likely to go on with it. Fortunately for Aussie cricket lovers, there isn't that much in the way of challenging opposition at the moment.

With the fact that he is a lousy batsman and probably the worst fielder in the Aussie squad, he needs to excel with the ball and, in the current series, he’s fallen short. With Brad Hogg waiting in the wings, MacGill won’t get too many more chances. Perhaps that’s best for everyone.