Pakistan vs England Test Series - Spinners Review

Abdur Rehman 9/10 - 19 wickets in 3 tests for the slow left arm spinner with his canny darts and smart changes of pace and trajectory. However, he really struggled in the batting department against the off breaks of Graeme Swann who dismissed him 4 times out of 5, but he bowled extremely well that the batting utility can be overlooked. Rehman was the 2nd joint leading wicket taker in the series. When the two have bowled together in the same line up Pakistan have taken 20 wickets 9 times in 10 tests and formed a destructive partnership with their guile and accuracy. With 75 wickets in exactly 15 tests Rehman is on track to be one of the quickest to the feat of 100 wickets as the Sialkot Stallion has not only controlled the run flow, but been amongst the wickets consistently.

Saeed Ajmal 10/10 - No brainer with regards to the mark. Perfection and rightly so. Where do we start? Saeed was phenomenal and claimed 40% of Pakistan's wickets in the series. Ian Bell was indeed his bunny as Ajmal saw the back of him on 4 occasions in this series as the off spinner spun webs around him. Saeed claimed 50% of his wickets LBW which gives a clear indication of how accurate he was bowling which enabled him to attack the stumps and bring DRS into play.

The flat pace he bowled never allowed batsmen to get to him which enabled him to bowl to a plan and work over a batsmen by getting the chance to bowl many balls at him. His economy rate is a reflection of how difficult it was to rotate the strike against him with many batsmen getting stuck at one end. His action was always going to be a talking point if he performed so let's leave that one out. I think former England captain Nasser Hussain summed him up well : " The gem in that bowling attack, Saeed Ajmal can end up as one of the genuine greats of the game. Arguably the best cricketer in the world at the moment. The lad is an absolute gem both on and off the field. He is the smiling assassin like Murali."

Ajmal during the series became not only the quickest Pakistani to reach the landmark of 100 test scalps, but also the quickest spinner to get there ever. In the last 3 major test series Pakistan have contested against West Indies, Sri Lanka and England, Ajmal has concluded the series as the leading wicket taker and MOTS. He was not off colour against them by any means, but his effectiveness was less against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh where Hafeez and Younis Khan received MOTS respectively.

10 to remember

Broad to Taufeeq: It shaped in and straightened from around the wicket to shatter the furniture and clip the top of the off stump bail which is exactly what coaches’ order for fast bowlers. It was England’s 1st wicket of the series and it was a peach of a delivery to break the opening stand. It was a dream delivery from Broad.

Test 1 Day 2 Session 1 Pak 1st innings

Monty to Younis: This was bowling of the highest order as Monty was setting Younis up with arm deliveries angling in to the right hander, but he managed to get one to turn and escape through the defences at speed which Younis had no answer to as the off stump was pegged back by the Sussex man.

Test 2 Day 4 Session 2 Pak 2nd innings

Rehman to Broad: The left arm spinner bowled him through the gate as he enticed him to drive through the off side, but the ball spun back between bat and pad, handsomely, as Broad was on his way without troubling the scorers after scoring an enterprising unbeaten half century in the first innings. This was the 2nd wicket of the over as England lost their 7th and Rehman had his first 5 wicket haul at test match level after getting many 4 fors before.

Test 2 Day 5 Session 3 Eng 2nd innings

Ajmal to Bell: Ajmal had his 2nd wicket in 2 deliveries after Bell was caught behind to the perfect doosra which brought him forward, but not totally committed and turned enough to find the edge which Adnan did not spill. The length was perfect, the variation was disguised expertly and the turn was sufficient enough to do the trick as Bell, arguably England’s best player of spin was on his way back with a golden duck. What followed was an abysmal series for Bell with 3 innings without any big score as Ajmal’s uniqueness had him in screws.

Test 1 Day 1 Session 1 Eng 1st innings

Hafeez to Cook: Intelligent bowling change from Misbah to employ him into the attack early in the piece and the Professor did the trick by dismissing Cook on the 3rd delivery of the over. The first two balls were interesting as Cook got a leading edge on the first ball looking to work towards the on side and on the 2nd delivery pushed back, but just managed to get the piece of wood down in time to survive, but 3rd time lucky for Hafeez and he had his man as Cook attempted to cut but got a thin edge as Adnan ensured he held on. It was the 1st breakthrough of the series and unsurprisingly it was the professor coming on with the new ball hardness and nipping out a left hander.

Test 1 Day 1 Session 1 Eng 1st innings

Trott to Younis: Sharp seam movement from the innocuous Trott who was doing a decent job with his handy medium pacers. Trott got the prize scalp of a 6000+ test run scorer and the hosts most capped batsmen as Younis was looking in pretty sound nick but Trott brought his downfall and prevented him from going on once he got a start.

Test 1 Day 2 Session 2 Pak 1st innings

Swann to Rehman: Shoaib Akhtar who was providing his thoughts on the series on a new local TV channel said Manna could no do anything differently on this ball and I agree with him. It spun at speed angling into the stumps and turned enough away from the left hander to brush the top of the off stump bail as Rehman departed in the penultimate over of the day without troubling the scorers.

Test 2 Day 1 Session 3 Pak 1st innings

Broad to Ali: It was an attacking length inviting the drive as Ali was tempted into one, but the ball came back and found the way through to send the off stump cart wheeling as Ali departed in the 20s on a test venue where he’s had a stupendous record.

Test 2 Day 1 Session 2 Pak 1st innings

Rehman to Trott: This broke the 100+ stand for the 2nd wicket between the left hand right hand combination between Cook and Trott which looked like taking England well into the lead as Trott was castled with a sharp turner from Rehman which pitched down leg and knocked back the off stump. Trott walked off acknowledging the delivery as the 2011 ICC cricketer of the year had his stumps sent down. Rehman removed the set batsmen with an inspirational moment.

Test 2 Day 2 Session 3 England 1st innings

Rehman to Swann: It turned marginally as Rehman got his opposite number in the final session of the opening day of the series as it pitched on middle and did enough to find the way past and give Swann the long walk back. There was rare turn on that one on a pitch which was doing little.

Test 1 Day 1 Session 3 England 1st innings

Key Observations. Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in Kandy. Now Bring on The Aussies!

Pakistan beat Zimbabwe rather comprehensively as they eased to victory in Kandy by 7 wickets in a rain shorted Group A match. Pakistan now take on Australia on Saturday in Colombo in their final Group fixture. From now on in, all games will be full of pressure, tension, intensity, anticipation, challenge as the tournament really gets into serious mode. There will be no soft fixture anymore and every match will be symbolically indescribable, full of meaningfulness and of utmost importance as Pakistan look to re-live the memorable bells of 1992 in the 10th ICC Cricket World Cup jointly being hosted by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. Where Pakistan conclude in their group and who they will take on in the Quarter Final stage will be fully determined by the end of the week. It will be imperative they get much as possible going for them in order to be an ideal state and frame of mind to deliver when it matters and it does not come any better than breaking Australia's 33 match undefeated World Cup record come Saturday.

My Analysis

-Shehzad has 44 runs in 5 innings at an average of 8.8. He is really struggling for form and confidence. It will be a really brave move if they continue to persevere with him from here on in and one could not really complain about dropping him at this stage as far as form is concerned.

-Abdur Rehman averages 83 runs per wicket and just has 14 wickets to his name in 19 one day internationals . He is making his reputation clear as a really defensive average operator and is no match winner whereas we have a world class threatening match winner sitting on the bench and watching from the side lines. Do you think England will select Yardy ahead of Swann? Do you think South Africa will select Patterson ahead of Tahir? How difficult is it to select your best and most effective players? A darty left arm container who bowls on the pads or a crafty off spinner who can bamboozle batsmen, turn the screws in a match situation and attack the opposition in a unique manner? The logic behind Rehman being the main spinner is mind baffling.

-Umar Gul has notched up 10 scalps in 5 matches at an average of just 16. Arguably Pakistan's best bowler in the tournament so far? He currently stands as one of the leading wicket takers in the tournament at this point in time. He has bowled with skill, responsibility and firepower and could be a front line candidate to take the new ball as well now. He has shown he can control it and attack up front when the chance has been given which should give some significant food for thought for the skipper.

-There are areas and poor patches where Afridi's captaincy has been dysfunctional, unmanageable and negatively lacklustre. This includes the under reluctance to play a purposeful 7-4 combination, take incentive and seize the initiative by flexibility in the batting order, failing to push for Ajmal's inclusion in the starting line up, misusing the referral system unnecessarily or childishly and being incapable to control proceedings on the field when the heat is on and everything is not coming easy. This could be a front line downfall as highlighted previously before the tournament. The talisman needs to get a serious grip and share the responsibility equally with the senior men around him and utilise their highly regarded input/services as much as he possibly can or needs to because the opportunity to do well is unquestionably here and it would be rather disappointing if they fail to capitalise by being brought down within themselves.