Peter Williams: Bizarre move over spinner

You know there's far too much money sloshing around in cricket, not to mention some very weird thinking, when a 19-year-old from the Kent 2nd XI is flown by the New Zealand team halfway round the world to be a net bowler.

Apparently Maurice Holmes is such a good exponent of the doosra, the leg spinner bowled with the off-spinner's action, that he was worth bringing from England to Sri Lanka to bowl at New Zealand batsmen during practice at the start of the tour.

He's so good he hasn't even played first class cricket.

Considering England is not exactly a hot bed of spin bowling talent (don't they have anybody better than Graeme Swann?) you would think that, if this guy was the real deal, he might have played some county matches.

Holmes has played five matches for the Kent second XI this season, bowled in four of them and taken 10 wickets at 53 runs each. That's the level of player New Zealand Cricket flew 10,000km to get ready to face the greatest wicket taker in test history - Muttiah Muralitharan and his brilliant young successor Ajantha Mendis.

A few things are rather worrying about this bizarre episode. Isn't a bit too much emphasis being put on the Sri Lankan spinners? Sure, they'll be a challenge in the test matches, although Muralitharan missed the recent series against Pakistan and the top Sri Lankan spinner in those games was Rangana Herath, a Daniel Vettori type left armer.

Then remember that, as well as young Master Holmes, NZC is already shelling out a considerable number of US dollars to pay the doosra's inventor, Saqlain Mushtaq, to act as a consultant to the New Zealand team for the very purpose of preparing them to face the mystery ball.

But since when did we start using a bowler as a batting coach? Usually the last thing a bowler would do is divulge ways to counteract his special deliveries.

Wouldn't the best teacher of methods to overcome top spin bowlers and their mysteries be someone who's had success doing it in the past? Like Stephen Fleming. Or is that a bridge too far for the current crop of New Zealand players?

Now if the New Zealand batsmen get in and score 500 against Sri Lanka in the first innings of the first test this week, then the employment of Saqlain and young Holmes can be regarded as a masterstroke.

But it might set a worrying precedent. Before the Aussies come here next summer can we find a raw-boned youth who'll run in hard and bowl fast, swinging yorkers to prepare the New Zealanders for when Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus tickle them up next February and March?

The huge infusion of Indian money into cricket has given players at all levels far more security of income. But it's also created a burgeoning industry in support staff. Look at pictures of the players' area during matches and you'll invariably see numerous unfamiliar faces bedecked in the team track suit.

When you have a team coach, a batting coach, a bowling coach, a fielding coach, a physio and a video analyst, not forgetting the actual team manager, (did I forget the mental skills man?) and then the specialist ring-ins like Saqlain, don't you just think that just maybe this game is getting a bit too complicated?

New Zealand Cricket is far from the worst offender in this regard, but it would be nice if the results improved in proportion to the increase in job opportunities they've provided.

At least when Maurice Holmes makes his debut as England's first doosra spinner, our batsmen won't have any problem seeing him off.