Swepson wants another chance after 15-year first

It was a sight unseen for almost 15 years but after Australia played two leg-spinners in the same XI last night, one of them can't see why it shouldn't continue.

Leggies Adam Zampa and Mitch Swepson featured in Australia's T20 side that went down to India at Manuka Oval on Friday night after the Queenslander was parachuted into the XI when left-arm spinner Ashton Agar was ruled out of the series with a calf injury.

Zampa continued his excellent form in limited-overs cricket with 1-20 from four overs while Swepson, admittedly bowling with extra nerves in his first international on home soil, took 1-21 from two overs, his wicket being the prize scalp of India captain Virat Kohli.

It’s believed the last time Australia fielded two specialist leg-spinners in the same XI, in any format, was in Chittagong in April 2006 when Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill partnered for the last of their 16 Tests together.

Just like the combination of Warne and MacGill, Zampa and Swepson are similar yet different bowlers.

Image Id: 813200CF105A457BA8F3DDFCAFEE7F3C Image Caption: Warner and MacGill played the last of their 16 Tests together in 2006 // Getty

Zampa is not a huge turner of the ball but relies on flight, accuracy and subtle variation while Swepson loves to rip the ball and get big spin, which can occasionally result in the odd long hop.

Both bowlers possess their own bag of tricks, including a wrong'un that spins from off to leg and has been a successful weapon in the shortest form of the game.

It’s why Swepson says two leg-spinners can play in the same XI, as Zampa has done at the Melbourne Stars with Nepalese leggie Sandeep Lamichhane, who has moved to Hobart for BBL|10.

"You've seen the impact that leg-spin has had on the T20 format in basically all competitions; the BBL, IPL, international cricket, there's a lot of leg-spinners having a lot of impact," Swepson said today.

"In the BBL there's quite a few teams that play two leg-spinners.

"It's one of those things that no matter what way the ball is spinning, I think leg-spinners can have that impact.

"If you've got two that are good enough than why not play both of them?

"That ability to spin the ball both ways puts doubt in the batsman's mind. That's where I think leg-spinners have that advantage in the T20 format."

With Agar out of the three-match Dettol T20I Series, Swepson and Zampa could well team up again for Sunday's second clash at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Swepson was meant to be playing for Australia A tomorrow in a three-day red-ball match at Drummoyne Oval, but he says he is unsure what his movements will be when the team returns to Sydney.

If the 27-year-old plays at the SCG tomorrow night, he'll be looking to add to his impressive collection of international wickets that includes T20 stars Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler (in his debut at Edgbaston in July 2018) and Kohli.

The Indian captain's wicket on Friday followed a nervous first three balls that were dragged down and easily handled by the visiting skipper and in-form opener KL Rahul.

But Swepson’s fourth ball, while still short of a length, spun and bounced enough to get a leading edge from the bat of Kohli and was caught by the bowler, who breathed a sigh of relief when the catch stuck.

"I think my first three balls weren't great so to get a wicket on the fourth, and especially Virat's wicket, was a bit of a pressure release," Swepson said.

"I was just so excited to be out there and that over-excitement added with the pressure of wanting to do really well and perform on the international stage, throw in a couple of nerves as well … that helped getting that wicket, released a bit of that pressure.

"I guess what you saw, those emotions, were just that pressure release that I got that breakthrough for the team.

"He's obviously an unreal player, to get that wicket was a little bit extra on top as well.

"Overall, quite disappointed with the way I bowled but it's always nice to get a wicket like that."

Dettol T20 INTL Series v India 2020

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey , Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, D'Arcy Short, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa

India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan

First T20: India won by 11 runs

Second T20: December 6, SCG, 7.10pm AEDT

Third T20: December 8, SCG, 7.10pm AEDT