6 November 2008

Australia debutant off-spinner Jason Krejza attributed three crucial wickets on Thursday to the lessons he had learned from his Indian counterparts.

Krejza, 25, dismissed Rahul Dravid (0) and Virender Sehwag (66) and then sent back Vangipurappu Laxman (64) in the final session on the first day of the fourth and final test. He also had India's leading batsman Sachin Tendulkar dropped twice.

"There's a lot I've learned, patience is the key here and now it's starting to shine through, so I'm very pleased," Krejza told a news conference.

Krejza was picked in place of seamer Stuart Clark as a second specialist spinner alongside Cameron White to exploit the spin-friendly conditions. Australia are trying to avoid their first series defeat since the 2005 Ashes tour of England.

At first it was a baptism of fire as Sehwag hit Krejza for a four and a six off consecutive balls in his opening over.

"I was expecting for them to come after me early. I kept my head on my shoulders and had a bit of a chat with Ricky (Ponting) and Matty Hayden and got my nerves down and bowled quite well," he said.

Krejza, whose father is a footballer from Czechoslovakia and whose mother comes from Poland, was expensive in the only tour match he played in Hyderabad that spoiled his chances of earning an early debut.

"It was good to have the time to fine-tune what I was doing. I saw a lot of footage of what I did there and of the Indian spinners, and that helped," said Krejza who also had a chat with former India spinner Bishan Bedi before the third test.

"He was a bit unlucky," Tendulkar said. "He had a first wonderful day. As I said there is a lot more cricket to play, so we have to wait and see but he has had a good day."

© Reuters 2008

Australia In India 2008/9