Australian master blaster Tim David believes he can become a short-form double threat and has been working hard on his bowling craft in the nets.
The Western Australian is soaking up the experience of bowling at training alongside Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar in the Caribbean during the T20 World Cup and is serious about strengthening his bowling.
The 28-year-old has always been able to bowl off-spin as a net bowler but started experimenting with leg spin as well late last year and is feeling increasingly comfortable as he looks to become a more versatile cricketer in the future.
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“I have been working on my leg spin for seven or eight months now, so that is something down the track,” he said.
“I have been working really hard on my bowling. I want to get more of an opportunity to try and do that and when that comes along, I am really looking forward to it. It has been really good to bowl with Ash, bowl with Zamps when they are around in the nets and grab ideas off them.
“There are bowling coaches (here) and it is really good to get different ideas from people, but again it is about what works for me and finding my own method.”
David took five wickets for Singapore in T20 cricket but has never bowled for Australia in the short-form game.
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But the middle-to-lower order batter, who will feature in Australia’s Super 8s clash at the T20 World Cup against Bangladesh on Thursday in Antigua, said he has been “nagging away at the skip to give me a go”.
He is mindful of the nation’s wealth of all-round options and said he is approaching the skill as part of a longer-term plan.
But the experiment with leg spin has fuelled David’s belief that he is capable of challenging both right and left-handed batters.
“I think that is the plan. It just gives you the match up,” he said.
“I started bowling leg-spin in the nets … and they came out really well, so I have just been working really hard on it.
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“To be honest … I come to training to have fun and I really enjoy bowling it. It is more fun in a game then just sitting there for 20 overs in the field. You get in the game and it makes it easier. I just want to be in the action all the time.”
The Australians had a light training session on Tuesday ahead of their group game against Bangladesh, with further matches against Afghanistan and India in the second phase of the tournament.
David did not face any spin in the early-week session but expects it will be a big factor on turning pitches for the next three games.
“I have practised spin a lot over the last couple of weeks,” he said.
“The day before a game, or a couple of days before a game, it is not that big of a stress. You can’t change too much at that stage. It is about feeling good, ticking off the boxes and having fun at training. That is the biggest focus for me.
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“There has been chat about it spinning over the last couple of games that have been played there, but we are open-minded. We feel like we have a lot of bases covered with our squad, whether it is squad balance or different guys playing different roles.”
Australia put in a surprisingly below-par performance in the field against Scotland in the final match of the group stage, but David said the issue had not been raised as they look to up the ante in the next phase of the World Cup.
“To be honest, there has not been a lot of discussion about that. We have high standards. We have been good through the tournament,” he said.
“The other night was a bit sloppy but those games happen. This team has shown how good it is at being switched on at crucial moments in knockout matches and that is the nature of it. It is three games now, the Super 8s, and we have to be on it.”