[Andrew Pollock]

Originally Posted by aussie

Presuming we are refering to tests cricket only...

Swann the best all-round spinner. Harris & Hauritz are a joke & too often have been made to look good by teams who play spin weak i.e my beloved England.

Harris in the last 3 years for SA has worked very well in a 5-man attack. So as long as SA have that
5-man attack he will be very useful in tests although he is a joke spinner. If Kallis stops bowling, i dont think Harris will be that effective in a 4-man attack.

Hauritz i still think he is joke - but he no doubt has improved a great deal in 2009 & is the most accurate/economical of the three. But as i've maintained AUS currently can do without playing him in most conditions. Their strenght is the pace attack & should play 4-seamers.

Swann is very solid in most conditions. He is the most likely of the three to get good batsman out consistently with good bowling - instead of batsman doing like Pietersen & getting themselves out due to false strokes/stupid shots. ENG can ATM can easily play him a 4-man attack wtihout much worries (although there will be conditions when ENG may consider dropping him for a 4-man pace attack as well).

Only problem is that with an average/decent pace trio of Anderson/Onions/Broad without Flintoff these days . If one of those guys has an off-days & Swann has to take up extra-responsibility (like a Warne in the 05 Ashes) he can be exposed due to a lack or raw wicket-taking weapons (i.e a doosra).

Nice post