The offspinner Jason Krejza is confident he will be fit for the first Test against South Africa after missing the Adelaide game with an ankle injury. Krejza is ready to resume light running and is hoping to play in Tasmania's one-day match against New South Wales on Sunday as he aims to prove himself available for Perth in a fortnight.
Krejza was a certainty against New Zealand in Adelaide until he twisted his right ankle during a fielding drill two days before the match. His former New South Wales team-mate Nathan Hauritz was rushed into the side and collected four wickets and it was a disappointing setback for Krejza, who flew home during the game.
"Once [the injury] happened I was very, very frustrated," Krejza told the Sydney Morning Herald. "It was a little thing that happened. I haven't gone over on my ankle since I was eight years old so it was very disappointing.
"But it is coming along really well. I should get a game for Tassie and I think I should be back in time [for the WACA Test]. I definitely want to be the No. 1 spin bowler in the country. I have a lot of hard work to do and lot more Tests to play to be confident in saying that."
Hauritz, meanwhile, reflected on winning his second Test cap four years after his third and hopes he won't have to wait so long for another chance. "The one thing this experience has made me realise is that there is no pecking order in cricket," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "You think you're in a certain spot and then you get a call-up. I've just got to keep playing consistent. You've got to back your ability."
Whatever happens in future for him, though, Hauritz believes he has matured as a player. "In another four years, I don't think I would be looked at, I'd be 31," he said. "I have been learning a lot about my game, and I have still got a lot more to learn. This experience [of playing in Adelaide] allowed me to learn more.
"I am just looking forward to playing a lot of cricket, and if nothing happens [further in my Test career] … I think now I am a lot better spin bowler than I was four years ago."
Although Krejza is now regarded as Australia's leading spin candidate, he has still only played one match after Ricky Ponting took an all-pace attack into the first Test at the Gabba. Despite Hauritz performing solidly in Adelaide Ponting said Krejza's remarkable debut in Nagpur, where he took match figures of 12 for 358, had earned him another opportunity.
"Jason was obviously the first-picked spinner here and taking 12 wickets on debut you've obviously got to give him another chance whenever he's fit," Ponting said after the Adelaide Test. "Hauritz did a good job out here though, I thought. Everyone was quite impressed with what he did ... Now we've got Krejza that played well in India and obviously he'll get the next chance."