Nathan Hauritz’s first five-for in a first-class match yesterday could be the turning point for a mocked man with a maligned career.

The off-spinner did what he had previously not managed, bowling his side to victory in the fourth innings, to mark the most important occasion of his 11-Test career.

‘’What players like him need is just that breakout performance,’’ skipper Ricky Ponting said after Australia’s 170-run MCG win, steered home by Hauritz’s second-innings effort of 5-101.