Spin challenge for Australia

Over the next couple of weeks, Michael Clarke's Australian team will attempt to continue their resurgence as a Test side. After losing 3-0 in the Ashes series in England last year, they have won seven out of eight Tests - 5-0 against England, and 2-1 in South Africa. In both those series, Australia's pace attack was outstanding, and their batsmen responded well to pitches that were quick and conditions that were generally favourable for seam and swing.

The challenge against Pakistan in the UAE will be different. Admittedly, the absence of Saeed Ajmal will make the job easier for Australia's batsmen, but there'll still be other obstacles to overcome. Spin - either bowling it or facing it - hasn't been Australia's strongest suit in the last few years, and in the UAE there could be a fair amount of it in the two Tests.

In the last seven years, Australia's Test numbers in Asia aren't pretty. Out of 13 Tests, they have won one, lost eight, and drawn four. It's easily their worst record, compared to the other continents they have played in. It's also true, though, that their Asian Tests have almost all been in India during this period, and India has generally been a country they have struggled in. Ten out of the 12 Tests Australia have played in Asia have been in India, and they have lost eight of those, across three different series - 2-0 in 2008, 2-0 in 2010, and 4-0 in 2013. They've lost each of the last six Tests in India. Other than India, the only Tests Australia have played in Asia during this period is a three-Test series in Sri Lanka in 2011, which they won 1-0.

As you would expect, when a team has a 1-8 win-loss record, Australia's stats in all aspects are pretty poor in Asia - they have a batting average of 32, a bowling average of 41, and their spinners concede almost 47 runs per wicket here. All of these are much poorer than their records in other continents.

However, it's also clear that most of Australia's problems in Asia are restricted to their tours to India, not other Asian countries. Even in the last seven years, the one time they toured an Asian country other than India, they won 1-0, in Sri Lanka. Their fast bowlers, led by Ryan Harris, who took 11 wickets at 14.54, did much better than they did in India. The batsmen flourished too. Michael Hussey scored 463 runs in five innings, while the overall tally of five hundreds in three Tests there is only two fewer than what they have managed in ten Tests in India.

Going back even further, since 2000, Australia have a superb record in other parts of Asia - 9-0 in Sri Lanka, the UAE, and Bangladesh - but a woeful 3-11 from 17 Tests in India.

Australia in Tests in each continent since Jan 2008

Continent	Tests	W/ L	Ratio	Bat ave	100s	Bowl ave	Pace ave	Spin ave
Aus/ NZ	38	25/ 8	3.12	40.17	49	29.87	26.53	42.27
Americas (WI)	6	4/ 0	-	35.95	6	29.65	26.91	32.22
Africa	8	5/ 3	1.66	35.03	13	31.54	29.88	35.70
Europe (Eng)	12	2/ 6	0.33	33.22	12	32.03	30.09	36.58
Asia	13	1/ 8	0.12	31.71	12	41.27	37.41	46.88

Comparing Australia's Test numbers in India and SL since Jan 2008

Host	Tests	W/ L	Bat ave	100s	Bowl ave	Pace ave	Spin ave
India	10	0/ 8	30.59	7	44.38	42.12	47.76
Sri Lanka	3	1/ 0	36.12	5	29.27	26.69	40.87

It's clear that Australia have had their troubles in India more than in other Asian countries, but they have struggled so often there - and spin has been the reason so often - that Pakistan must be keen to try that as their first weapon of choice, despite the absence of Ajmal. Australia's batsmen have averaged less than 30 against spin in these 13 Tests in Asia since the beginning of 2008; only New Zealand and West Indies have a lower average during this period. Among the teams from outside the subcontinent, South Africa have done considerably better, averaging more than 37, while England have only been marginally better than Australia, averaging 31.35 - they did very well in India, but struggled against Pakistan in the UAE, losing 3-0.

While Australia's batsmen have struggled against spin, their own slow bowlers have also failed to exploit the generally favourable conditions for spin in Asia. Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe are the two specialist spinners in their current squad, and if both play in the Tests they could have plenty of bowling to do. They'll want to improve on the recent numbers for Australian spinners in Asia, for they are at the bottom of the list below, with 63 wickets at an average of almost 47. Lyon himself is the leading wicket-taker among the Australians, with 23 wickets at 37.17. Apart from wickets, Clarke will also want more control from his spinners, in terms of controlling the runs. The Australian slow bowlers have had an economy rate of 3.87 in these 13 Tests, which means batsmen have been able to score runs far too easily against them. Lyon has gone at 3.85 per over, Jason Krejza 4.78, Nathan Hauritz 4.33 and Glenn Maxwell 4.70. England, with the quality of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, have averaged 29.06 at an economy rate of 2.73, giving the team both control and wickets.

Among the batsmen in the current Australian squad, only Steven Smith averages more than 40 against spin in Asia - he has scored 123 runs for three dismissals, giving him an average of 41. Michael Clarke is generally recognised as a very good player of spin, but even he averages a little below 40 - though he has scored plenty of runs against spinners, he has also been dismissed 22 times by them. Ravindra Jadeja has been the most successful spinner against him, dismissing Clarke five times conceding 72 runs, for an average of 14.40. Amit Mishra has dismissed him five times at an average of 17.33, while Rangana Herath has got him out thrice as well, at an average of 32.66.

The other Australian batsmen in the current squad have all had more than their fair share of problems against spin, which should encourage Pakistan. The absence of Ajmal, though, could be just what the Australian batsmen need to turn around their stats against spin.