The pre-game chat that sparked Burl's blitz revealed

A stern pre-game chat from coach Dave Houghton was the catalyst in Ryan Burl's performance that etched his name into Zimbabwe cricket folklore.

Part-time leg-spinner Burl was the sixth bowler used by Zimbabwe captain Regis Chakabva in Australia's innings of 141 but he had the most impact, taking a remarkable 5-10 off three overs.

Burl was named Player of the Match in his side's nail-biting three-wicket win, Zimbabwe's first-ever ODI victory over Australia in Australia.

Heading into the three-match Dettol ODI series, Burl had taken just nine wickets from his 31 ODIs.

While he took three wickets in the first match in Townsville, he was expensive, taking 3-60 at eight and half runs per over.

And Houghton gathered the visiting slow bowlers ahead of the third ODI to demand better execution from them.

"I had a chat with our spinners today because I wasn't happy with the way we'd bowled in the first two games," Houghton told reporters in Townsville following their win on Saturday.

"I didn’t want our spinners to be bits and pieces' cricketers. I want them to bowl like spinners, which means you have to be on the spot from ball one.

"And I thought both Sean (Williams) and 'Burly' did that today."

Glenn Maxwell took a liking to Burl's leg-spin in game one, hitting two large sixes over square leg to seal Australia's five-wicket win.

However, four balls after being brought into the attack on Saturday, Burl had already removed the dangerous allrounder.

Maxwell tried to smash a well-flighted ball from Burl that drifted and spun just enough, resulting in an easy caught and bowled for the 28-year-old.

Burl admitted that the conditions and the pitch, which had been used for the opening two matches, were offering plenty of assistance for the spinners.

"I was bowling quite a lot into the wind (so) it came out a bit slower," Burl told Foxtel after his stunning haul.

"I found today there was quite a bit of drift, which helped, and also a bit of turn, which helped a lot.

"I wouldn't have believed it, but here we are."

Following the scalp of Maxwell, which broke a crucial 57-run stand, the wickets of Ashton Agar, David Warner, Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood followed in his next 14 balls.

His five wickets for 10 runs are the second-best figures ever taken by a visiting spinner in Australia in men's ODIs, behind only India's Yuzvendra Chahal, who took 6-42 in 2019.

Yet even Houghton wasn't sure Burl had such a display in him, when asked about it post-match, he said with a laugh, "Look, I'm not sure.

"He's a good leg-spinner. I think it's a set of figures he might struggle to beat.

"It's a good stat to have in the background; that you've taken 5-10 against Australia in a winning game."

Zimbabwe fly home Sunday morning before they returning to Australian shores in three weeks for the T20 World Cup.

Their campaign begins in Group B, where they'll face Ireland, Netherlands and the West Indies in Hobart for the right to enter the main draw.

Without doubt Burl will be a big part of their plans.

There's no doubting his destructiveness with the bat. In August, he smashed 34 off an over against Bangladesh.

But now he may have just as big a role to play with the ball.

Men's Dettol ODI Series v Zimbabwe

First ODI: Australia won by five wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by eight wickets

Saturday Sep 3: Zimbabwe won by three wickets

Australia squad: Aaron Finch, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Zimbabwe squad: Ryan Burl, Regis Chakabva (c), Bradley Evans, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tony Munyonga, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams.

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