Swepson stakes his claim with bag of four

Mitchell Swepson wasn't happy with the way his leg breaks came out the last time he played at Allan Border Field.

Too full, too short, and not enough in between.

That was against South Africa A, a month ago, when he finished with match figures of 2-80 from 15 overs as Australia A's fast bowlers ran rampant to claim a comfortable win.

"They had a serious team and it was a really tough challenge for me," Swepson told cricket.com.au. "And they didn't come out as well as I would've liked."

A week later in Townsville he claimed seven wickets for the match against the same opponents in a vastly improved display.

So maybe Swepson was being hard on himself. Or maybe it's The Shane Warne Effect.

With his unerring line and length, allied with his ability to take wickets regularly, Warne set the benchmark for leg-spinners impossibly high.

But as more time passes since the King of Spin's retirement, it becomes clearer that he was very much the exception rather than the rule.

And Swepson only needed a day to right what he perceived as his wrongs at this venue last time out, claim 4-78 from 21 overs to earn the bowling honours as Australia A bowled out the tourists for 230 on the opening day of their first-class match against India A.

The 22-year-old is doing what good leg-spinners do: he's taking wickets. Eleven in his last three first-class innings, no less.

Today, his first 11 overs cost him 52 runs.

He bought one wicket through that period; an aggressive Shreyas Iyer caught and bowled for 19.

But it was in his third spell – in the half hour before drinks in the final session – that the young Queenslander came into his own.

Across five overs, bowling to Naman Ojha – India A's captain and a one-time double-centurion at this venue – Karun Nair and Hardik Pandya, he took two wickets in five overs.

And he didn't concede a run.

Shardul Thakur was his fourth victim a few overs later, and just like that, Swepson had enjoyed a day out.

Perhaps most impressively, he'd also done a Warnie: he'd combined economy with wicket-taking incision.

"I was very happy with the way they came out today," Swepson said. "It was good to take a few poles after coming through the one-day series, it was good to come out and see that my long-form bowling is still going alright.

"I was a lot more consistent today (than last time at AB Field). I had a breeze there that was pretty helpful, so I was getting some nice drift there and I think that attributed to it as well, but in general just the consistency (was the key).

"There were patches where (his leg-break) wasn't coming out as well, but there were definitely periods where it was coming out really well for me, so I'm just going to try to bottle that up and work on keeping that consistency.

"I didn't actually know that I bowled five straight maidens there. I was just trying to bowl my best ball, and bowl it consistently well, and I was happy I was able to do that."

Swepson has spoken with Australia A coach Troy Cooley, as well as other mentors, about the penchant for leg-spinners to concede more runs than other bowlers, and the challenges that inevitably brings.

And like all young leggies who grew up watching Warne, he knows the solution – it's just a matter of getting there.

"It's a common message that leg-spinners do often go for a bit more," he said.

"Obviously the more consistent I can be, the less runs I'm going to go for, so that's going to be my goal.

"And that happened for me today."