Ajmal 'much better' than Hauritz - Salman Butt

The batsman Salman Butt has said Pakistan will take a spin advantage into the series against Australia, labelling offspinner Saeed Ajmal as "much better" than Nathan Hauritz. Butt's comments came on a day when Hauritz was challenged by Australia's chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch to improve his record in the final innings of Tests to help bowl Australia to victories.

Pakistan have Ajmal and Danish Kaneria to choose from in the three-Test series starting on Boxing Day, and the Melbourne and Sydney pitches are expected to suit the slow bowlers. Ajmal has confounded the Australians with his doosra in one-day cricket and Butt said he had a distinct edge over Hauritz.

"He [Hauritz] is a good offspinner," Butt said. "He's conventional. The only advantage Saeed has is he can spin the ball both ways and a bit faster than Hauritz. That makes him the best spinner. Hauritz is also good but I think Saeed Ajmal is much better."

The series could be a telling one for Hauritz, who will encounter friendly surfaces but also some of the most accomplished players of spin in the world. Hauritz has been a steady part of the attack in the past 12 months but has not taken more than three wickets in an innings and averages 49.66 in the fourth innings of games.

"In the first innings of Tests, Hauri has played a good role for us," Hilditch told the Herald Sun. "The challenge for him is to take the next step when a spinner needs to come to the fore late in Test matches. Can he win us a Test match? All I can say is that his next challenge will be to see whether he can step up to play that role.

"Hauri is a very capable bowler. But we will continue to look for that next group of spin bowlers. It is really important to us that we can develop a group of maybe four different types of spin bowlers and we can pick from that group."

For the time being, Hauritz's position is not under threat and he will be hoping to prove himself as a matchwinner over the next few months. Australia's vice-captain Michael Clarke said Hauritz was a strong character and would not be upset by Hilditch's comments.

"I think Hauri will take that on," Clarke said. "I think it's constructive criticism for Nathan and he's a pretty strong guy and a great guy also to have around. He's young, he's got a lot of talent with both bat and ball. His performances have been really good since playing all forms of the game."

Clarke is wary of Pakistan's dangerous attack, which as well as two class spinners features Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and the 17-year-old left-arm fast man Mohammad Aamer. They will be joined by Mohammad Sami, who is in form having just taken eight wickets in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final.

"He's got some pace," Clarke said of Sami. "The young left-armer looks like he's got a bit of pace as well and a couple of good spinners in their squad as well. We're going to have to be at our best. I think the conditions here and probably in Sydney as well will help Pakistan."