Nathan Hauritz

Nathan Hauritz was touted as a potential superstar right from his U19 days when he was also captain of the side. An off-spinner who could also bat a fair bit, Hauritz international debut came very early in 2002 at the age of 20. It was at a time when the Australian selectors were looking towards youth to mark a transition in their 50-over squad. Among the several fresh faces, Hauritz was one of those picked and seemed to ease into the role. He wasn't a spinner who would threaten to get the batsman out, instead relied on the patience game and accuracy to stifle his prey. The initial progress was at a neat clip, so much so that he earned his first Test call up just a couple of years later. It was during the tour of India in 2004 where he made his debut, after having made the squad in place of the more renowned Stuart MacGill.

Hauritz Test debut was memorable as he was able to pick up accomplished scalps like Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. There was a lot of promise in the way he went about his job during that game. However, form deserted him drastically in the home summer that followed and it resulted in his exclusion from the side. What was expected to be a short hiatus turned into a four-year exile before he was surprisingly picked in the 2008-09 season. MacGill had retired the same year and Hauritz was picked for the home series against New Zealand. By now, his game had also considerably improved as far as the longest format was concerned. The major part of his brief Test career came about in the 2008-2010 phase with Australia desperately searching for someone to fill the spinner's slot that had been left vacant by Warne and MacGill.

In comparison to his Test career, Hauritz was a more frequent starter in the team when it came to ODIs although he could never really cement his spot. There wasn't much mystery to Hauritz' modus operandi as a spinner. He liked to use the tradition offie's outside off stump line with a bit of flight as well to entice the batsman. He believed that building pressure would give him the rewards and there were times when it worked, even against sub-continental teams. Just when it seemed like his career was on track, he was dropped for the 2010-11 Ashes series at home and never played the format again.

Hauritz did hope to play the 2011 World Cup but fate denied him in the form of a shoulder injury. The rehab took longer than he expected and the emergence of Nathan Lyon meant that Haurtiz's time was up in international cricket. He continued to play domestic cricket and the BBL although injuries did continue to plague him. Eventually in 2016, he decided to put an end to his cricketing career. It was the BBL

season that year which forced him to take the decision as he felt that there didn't seem to be any fuel left in the tank for him to go on.