Spin Begins its Reign In The Realm Of Pace
Spin has rarely been given the importance it deserves in Pakistan Cricket. From the time when that most wily of operators, Sarfraz Nawaz, discovered the “dark art” of reverse swing, fast bowling has ruled the roost in this speed-obsessed part of the world. Everyone from the determined club cricketer to the eight-year old just starting to fall obsessively in love with the game wants to do one thing and one thing alone…bowl FAST!
Imran’s rise as the brand ambassador of the Pakistan School of Pace coupled with the advent of the two W’s, meant that spin always played second fiddle to the dazzling powers of pace. It was not as though Pakistan suffered from a dearth of spinners; this, after all, is the land that gave birth to Abdul Qadir, mentor to none other than the great Shane Warne. It is home to Mushtaq Ahmed, a World Cup winning leggie and Wisden Cricketer of the year at a time when both Murali and Warne were in their prime, and who can leave out the creative genius of Saqlain Mushtaq, the man who revolutionized off-spin with a simple flick of his wrist. These are all masters of their trade, yet don’t get nearly the same amount of mention as some of their fast-bowling compatriots. The reasons are many and open for debate, but what is certain is the rapidity of the turning tide in favor of oft-forgotten spin. Gone are the days when spin was looked on as only a second resort, for off late it has proven to be the most potent weapon in the Pakistani bowling arsenal.
Mohammad Hafeez became the first spinner in the history of Pakistan Test Cricket to open the bowling earlier this year, capping off what has been a remarkable year for Pakistani spinners. Three of them- Ajmal, Afridi and Hafeez- find themselves in the top ten ODI bowlers’ list, with Ajmal also leading the Test wicket-takers’ tally in 2011. Nobody expected such a massive turnaround after the Lords 2010 debacle, when in the form of Mohammads Asif and Amir, Pakistan lost the core of its bowling unit. In the aftermath of that loss, many would have understandably assumed the bowling unit to be devoid of a strike force. However, to do so would have been to ignore the sheer resilience and guile buttressing the ranks of Pakistan’s spin department.
The numbers make for some startling reading: In the 24 ODI games where the trio of Hafeez, Afridi and Ajmal have taken the field together, Pakistan has come out on top 15 times. Over the same period, the spinners have taken over 70% of the scalps and bowled nearly 60% of the overs. More importantly, they have achieved all this at a click under 4.0 RPO, with Hafeez bowling at a miserly 3.46.
Moving from colors to whites and replacing Afridi with Rehman, the numbers continue to be striking. Pakistan has only lost one out of the six tests when all three spinners have played. Even in that solitary loss, the spinners averaged an eye-catching 13. Overall in these battles, the slower bowlers have shared nearly 80% of the spoils and collectively averaged around the 23 mark. Contrast this with Umar Gul’s unenviable average of 42 in the same games, and it puts Pakistan’s reliance on spin into even harsher perspective.
Of course, playing predominantly on slow surfaces during this time frame has meant less assistance to the seamers, but that should not detract from the achievements of the spinners. The beauty of the current Pakistani spin set lies in its effectiveness regardless of conditions.
In Ajmal, Pakistan possesses quite simply the best spinner in the world. With his unrelenting variation and ability to befuddle even the likes of India, there are few that could disagree with that tag. Mohammad Hafeez is a cunning campaigner, whose deadly drift into the left-handers, accuracy in drying up the runs, and versatility to both open and close the bowling, make him an invaluable part of the side. It should surprise no one that since his return to Pakistan colors, in games where he has been allowed to bowl out his full quota of 10, the team has won a mind boggling 12 out of 14 ODIs.
Then there is of course, Shahid Afridi, consistently Pakistan’s best-limited overs bowler over the past three years. His ascent as a bowler after spending some fruitful time in the tutelage of Qadir in early 2008 has been meteoric. A spinner reborn, he has since bowled with a confidence befitting his magnetic personality. With Afridi’s rise and star-spangled celebration has come a fan following never witnessed by a Pakistani spinner. He was, to put it in celebrity terms, “big” before, but pundits would have been justified in questioning whether his performance merited the fanfare. No such questions can be raised now, as Afridi deploys his skiddy sliders and fast leg-breaks to repeatedly bamboozle his opponents into cutting and chopping themselves to their own demise.
In some ways, the duo of Younis Khan and Intikhab Alam (the latter a pretty handy orthodox spinner himself) are to be thanked for this resurgence in spin. It was under their management that the seeds were first sown for the spin-strangulation strategy that we see applied so efficiently by the team today. The triumph at the T20 World Cup in England should have been followed by a successful run, were it not for some crucial dropped chances at the Champions Trophy; it did, however, see the Pakistani spinners come into their own.
The recent powerplay rule change and a switch to using two new-balls, have both played their part as well. With extra fielders inside the inner ring, and a newish ball that suits both Hafeez and Afridi’s styles of bowling, the Pakistani spinners have been allowed to exert a stranglehold on opposition batsmen. Ones and twos, easily available previously due to a lack of a captain making aggressive field placements, have been converted to valuable dots. This in turn has led to pressure building up, with the subsequent poor shot selection, delivering those crucial breakthroughs that have become the hallmark of Pakistan’s limited-overs game. No longer is the middle period just a transition between the wearing new ball and the onslaught at the death. The Pakistani slow bowlers have transformed it into an action-packed segment of the match, where the contest is either tantalizingly set-up or most often just finished off.
The fact that current Pakistani supporters would much rather lick their lips at the prospect of an Ajmal or Afridi spell, compared to say an opening burst by Gul, is evidence enough of how the spinners have captured the fans’ fancy. Given the aggressive nature of the spin trifecta, the sheer aura of Afridi and the weaving magic of Ajmal, it wouldn’t be surprising if that eight-year old were to pick up a ball today and give it a real rip for a change.
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Nice piece Shoaib. One wonders though if the spinners would get their due if both Aamir and Asif were still around. Or in fact if they would still stand out..
A correction as well. The late Terry Jenner was Warne’s mentor. Warne acknowledges meeting Qadir during the 94 tour and as Warne says in his book ‘ sat on a carpet spinning leg breaks to each other ‘ but Qadir wasn’t Warne’s mentor.
Thanks for reading and commenting….Definitely it would have been a case where Asif and Amir would have been preferred, which given their talent wouldn’t have been the worst of options. I do think though that given Pakistan’s FTP assignments since then two specialist spinners (not that Hafeez is not a specialist, but would have just played as opener) would have always been in the reckoning. Amir although an extremely talented bowler still had to learn to bowl on placid tracks, and i am sure he would have learnt quickly…but seeing Junaid Khan against the Sri Lankans i am of the opinion that he is a better bowler on flat tracks and knows how to use the old ball batter (just some thing that comes to him a bit more naturally). Asif, the best Test bowler in my mind at the time of the scandal and deprature was of course an artist with the ball irrespective of conditions. I think we would have seen Gul being sidelined more and more (Cheema would not have made it, although he is not a bad find either) if those two were still around but the spinners on these tracks would have still found a place.
I completely agree that Terry Jenner was Warne’s original mentor and coach but he also learnt a lot from Qadir, i think it was specifically the googly he worked on with him….although out of all the great leg spinners it is a bit surprising that Warne’s googly had the least bite..i think it was due to his simple (unorthodox for a legspinner) action more suited for the slider and the stock delivery. Many young leg spinners in club cricket and beyond are faltering because they try to emulate Warne, who is not the best of models for a leg spinner. He had a freakishly strong and dynamic wrist and shoulder that allowed him to bowl a lot of variations with out changing the point of delivery shoulder length wise, but that’s getting too much in the technicalities of things
Thanks again for reaading
Nicely done Shoaib!
This is team is gelling together very very nicely and under the leadership of Misbah we have achieved remarkable consistency which has been unprecedented in Pakistan cricket of long. Too early to think about it, and things might change in massive proportions by then, but what do you see the prospects of the 2015 cricket WC in Aus/Nz? Any chances of the current crop of un-legendary but brutally effective players being there?
I can definitely see Misbah still being there. I know he is really old in terms of the usual Cricket standard but he is extremely extremely fit, probably the fittest in the team right now so I can see him being there in 2015. Younis Khan in my mind doesn’t have a place in the ODI team and needs to make room now for youngsters (Hammad Azam in, UAk to shift up to 3) and just stick to tests. As far as doing well or winning a WC is concerned, a shift in mentality is needed. Beating easy opponents and plundering runs on flat tracks is all well and good but to become a WC winning side they currently lack an aggressive streak. The batting is fragile mentally and i don’t see them coming out trumps in crunch situations as we saw in Mohali sadly. They are geling well and have the capability but have to correct some flaws….piece on this coming out soon….will post a link here
Ajmal has sufficient nous and performances to be touted as the best spinner in the world, and in my opinion, he is. The fact that Indians, who actually got a reasonable measure of Murali, and after the initial series of Mendis and basically are classified as best players of spin, still had trouble with Ajmal speaks volumes of his abilities. The spinner (who shall remain nameless but has issues with cats) can’t really hold a candle to Ajmal’s abilities. I do think Ajmal would have still stood out even if Asif and Aamer were around. Of course in ODIs, Afridi has come on leaps and bounds but even there, Ajmal is my man.
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i dont disagree although there are a few concerns. the oppositions in this time frame that you have mentioned havent been all that exciting. it will be interesting to see if you take out zimbabwe, ireland and bangladesh matches from this. the result might be different. then there was west indies with their fragile batting. we did well against sri lanka in UAE, managed england well in the test series in favorable conditions.
asia cup will be a test with relatively flatter wickets and indian batting. our spinners are good and we should be able to give a tough time to the opposition but it won’t be as simple as it has been so far. but then again, spinners are the only bet we have these days. no reliable quick bowler any way.
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