Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid suffered the most unrewarding innings in Test history for a spin bowling combination as Pakistan milked them unforgivingly on a placid surface
Andrew McGlashan14-Oct-20151:27
‘Rashid was never going to be a holding bowler’
In the 144th over of Pakistan’s innings, as tea approached on the second day, Ben Stokes marked out his run. But it wasn’t his normal run. He briefly tossed the ball from hand to hand, pointed a few fielders in various directions and sent down an over of offspin – just his second in first-class cricket.He was the fourth spinner used by England. While not quite a white flag, it certainly was not the Plan A, B or even C that England had spoken about before the series. Stokes has worked on his offspin in the nets from time to time – “mucking around more than anything,” he said – but he can hardly have envisaged needing it on the second day of a Test match.When Misbah-ul-Haq declared on 523 for 8 – after Stokes had collected three quick wickets with his normal style of seam-up – England’s spin attack of Rashid, Moeen Ali , Joe Root and Stokes solitary over had collective figures of none for 302. Quite how to measure the worst of something in cricket is often up for debate, but this was the most expensive wicketless analysis for a spin attack in an innings in Test history, beating South Africa’s none for 273 against Sri Lanka, in Colombo, in 2006.In mitigation, spin in the first innings when Australia and New Zealand bowled here last year amounted to 3 for 585. It might also be wise to hold full judgement until Pakistan – minus Yasir Shah – have tried to bowl out England with Zulfiqar Babar and Shoaib Malik their spinners. Still, the innings was as barren for England’s slow bowlers as the landscape that stretches towards the horizon in this region.Feeling the pain the most was Adil Rashid as he finished with none for 163, the most expensive figures by a bowler who’s gone wicketless on debut. At least the man he knocked off the top spot will understand the feeling. Bryce McGain, the Australian legspinner, ended with 18-2-149-0 in his only innings against South Africa, at Cape Town, in 2009.Rashid, whether in this match or in the subsequent matches, should get another chance at least to open his wicket account, but as far as the first innings was concerned this was another chapter in a tough history for English legspin.Since Eric Hollies, the man who removed Don Bradman for the most famous duck in history, finished his 13-Test career (which was interrupted by World War 2) with 44 wickets at 30.27 – relative riches for English legspin – a varied cast have tried without much success or longevity.Moeen Ali was part of a spin attack that set an unwanted record•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesPeter Smith played four Tests, Roly Jenkins nine, Tommy Greenhough four. Robin Hobbs had seven matches and then it was a 21-year gap to Ian Salisbury followed by the fleeting appearances of Chris Schofield and Scott Borthwick.Now there is Rashid. Twice he has come close to a Test debut. Against West Indies, in Barbados, the selectors weren’t confident to throw him in on a pitch that demanded two spinners (even though Moeen was struggling) and then at Lord’s, against Australia, there was a finger injury that has never quite been satisfactorily explained when, again, there was some doubt over Moeen. This sort of debut performance may have happened in either of those two matches, but the odds would have been slightly more in Rashid’s favour.Stokes backs level-headed Rashid
Ben Stokes has backed Adil Rashid to bounce back from the most expensive debut in Test history, praising his laid-back approach to the game which he believes will serve him well.
Rashid finished with none for 163 off 34 overs – without a maiden over – but Stokes said he was a cricketer who did not get carried away with emotion in good days or bad.
“He doesn’t seem to get down too much, or get too high,” Stokes said. “I’ve played a bit of one-day cricket with him and when he’s done well he hasn’t got outside of his box or celebrated over the top. I think he’s a pretty level-minded cricketer, and I think he’ll be able to put this behind him.”
“It hasn’t gone the way he would have wanted it to, but I heard Asad [Shafiq] say they looked to target him so it could easily have gone the other way as well. We’ve been here for two weeks and know how well he’s been bowling in practice. Next time he has the ball in hand hopefully he can deliver something big. Legspinners can go for runs but they can also change games.”
On his own brief foray into the spin department – one over of offspin before tea – Stokes said it could be a way to not have to keep up his back-breaking role of fast bowling in these conditions even though he managed to chip out four wickets in his day job.
“If Cooky gives me the ball again to bowl some offspin hopefully I can do a better job than that because if there’s any way of getting out of bowling seam around here it’s bowling off spin.”
Given the dominance of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, Rashid was only the sixth spinner of any variety to debut for England since 2008 after James Tredwell, Samit Patel, Borthwick, Simon Kerrigan and Moeen. Tredwell could always land it on a length, Patel was there as a third spinner, Borthwick took some tap but at least claimed four wickets and Moeen had a stellar first season.For Kerrigan and Rashid their debuts have been painful, but whereas Kerrigan’s was ended by a brutal onslaught from Shane Watson at The Oval in 2013, Rashid had to face the unrelenting accumulation of three Pakistan batsmen. A little like pulling of a plaster off slowly rather than ripping it away.Was it as bad as it looks on the scorecard? It is difficult to pick too many positives from his 34 overs, but there was a spell on the second day when he switched to around the wicket and started to pose a few questions for Pakistan’s batsmen to suggest he could be a threat with a little more in his favour.He made one bounce on Asad Shafiq and the glove fell short of slip. Another zipped past the shoulder of the bat and two balls later Shoaib Malik received a similar delivery. But he could not open that wicket tally. Salisbury’s final Test wicket was a slog to deep midwicket by Inzamam-ul-Haq in Faisalabad in 2000; Rashid would have taken that.Pakistan played him very shrewdly, as you would have expected, to put pressure on him. On the opening day Mohammad Hafeez quickly used his feet; neither him nor Shoaib Malik missed out on the full toss and all the batsmen were sharp to pick his length, using his slowness through the air – averaging under 50mph – to despatch him regularly off the back foot.”It was his debut so we didn’t want him to get settled,” Shafiq said. “We started off with singles and then hit the odd boundaries so that he couldn’t.”It really was a baptism of fire in the sweltering heat. More than once Rashid would stand there in his follow through, hands on hips and let out a sharp intake of breath. There was one moment where he almost slumped in the crease as Malik, having taken consecutive balls for four and six to push Rashid’s tally beyond McGain, lofted one just out of reach of Jonny Bairstow at mid-off.The difficulty for Cook was compounded by Moeen, his senior spinner, conceding four an over against masters of milking spin. Control only came from the quicks, who were impressive in the conditions, taking 8 for 196 between them, but if two spinners are not taking wickets on pitches such as these – and Rashid’s role was never going to be one of economy – it is a major problem if they both go at over four runs.The last time England went through a similar era of trying to find a spinner, at the turn of the millennium, post Phil Tufnell and pre Swann and Panesar, they turned to Ashley Giles. He did a superb job for five years, not least on the 2000-01 tour of Pakistan when he gave Nasser Hussain priceless economy while chipping out vital wickets – none more so than Inzamam on the penultimate day in Karachi. It is not exciting to call for a spinner who can provide control, but it is practical.The ECB are trying to do something about the situation. It will take time. There could be more innings like this, even in the next couple of weeks. Talk of playing some county cricket in the UAE is, in part, designed to encourage spin development. Performance squads have been based in India, Sri Lanka and next month in Dubai.Daniel Vettori, a template for a spinner who had no special tricks but was brilliant at his job, will work with the young spinners who are hoped to be part of a brighter spin future for England. Rashid can still be part of that future, but this has been a chastening start.