Pakistan yesterday recorded a resounding Test victory over England at Lord’s, a performance which confirms they will offer a major challenge in Australia this summer.
England’s brittle batting line-up twice was rolled cheaply by the multi-faceted Pakistan attack on a Lord’s deck which offered little to the bowlers for most of the Test.
Legspinner Yasir Shah finished the match with ten wickets, announcing himself as a bonafide superstar of the format.
With the world’s best spinner in Shah, a dynamic pace attack and prolific batsmen from three to seven in their order, Pakistan are well equipped to push the Australians. Particularly if the Australian pitches are again tailored for corporate interests, drained of any pace or bounce.
The slow, low Lord’s pitch on which Pakistan beat England by 75 runs was not dissimilar to the sleepy Test decks which have marred the past two Australian home seasons. Two summers ago, the touring Indian batsmen made merry on dry and utterly unresponsive Australian pitches.
This run hoarding was not capitalised on because of the limited talents of the Indian bowling attack, which so very rarely is effective on anything but dusty home decks. India do not have a single quality paceman, and their spinners Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja are kings at home and paupers on the road.
While there was not one bowler in that Indian attack who had the ability to dictate the result of a Test in Australian conditions, Pakistan have two such bowlers. In Shah and left arm spearhead Mohammad Amir, Pakistan own two ballistic weapons.
We have already seen what Amir can do in Australian conditions. He was only 17 years old when he snared five wickets in the second dig of the 2009 Boxing Day Test, dismissing Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North and Brad Haddin.
Amir loves seaming conditions, as his wonderful Test record of 32 wickets at 21 in England suggests. He shapes as a nightmare opponent for the Australian batsmen in this summer’s day-night Test, which is expected to again feature a juicy green deck to help protect the fragile pink Kookaburra.
And Amir is not the kind of paceman who will be neutralised by lifeless decks. This is due to his unsettling pace, skill to swing the new and old ball in both directions, and ability to bowl equally well from over or around the wicket.
Yet it is Yasir, not Amir, who is the key to Pakistan’s chances of pushing Australia. He has the tricks and temperament to become the first spinner in many years to succeed in Australia.
Over the past three summers, decent opponents in New Zealand, India and England have been smashed in Australia. Each time, the touring spinners were treated with disdain by the Australian batsmen. It was a key element of Australia’s strategy each summer – to target the opposition spinner.
Last summer, Kiwi offie Mark Craig was so heavily scored against that it derailed New Zealand’s bowling plans and allowed their pacemen much less rest than they would have wished for. The same fate was met by former England tweaker Graeme Swann in 2013-14 and that, too, left England’s attack poorly balanced.
In these two series, Australia recognised the major threat was posed by their opponent’s pace battery. So hitting the spinner out of the attack caused those threatening bowlers to have return to the crease before they had recharged their batteries, rendering them less effective.
Australia will hope to do the same this summer, to try to exhaust the likes of Amir and fellow left armers Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz. The key difference is that Yasir is a wrist spinner, not an off spinner like Swann and Craig.
Visiting finger spinners have a horrendous record in Australia. Even the great Muttiah Muralitharan was cannon fodder down under. Because of the lack of turn or variable bounce offered by Australian pitches, spinners typically must be able to get a huge amount of work on the ball to be successful.
That is why wrist spinners, with their high revolutions, are better suited. Yasir gives the ball a serious rip, coaxing his deliveries to loop, drift and drop.
He ran amok against Australia in the UAE late in 2014, taking 12 wickets at 17 as the tourists were butchered 2-0. That was Yasir’s debut Test series. He now owns an utterly astonishing Test record of 86 wickets at 23 from a measly 13 Tests.
That is 6.6 wickets per Test. This extraordinary strike rate has him on target to potentially break George Lohmann’s 120-year-old record as the fastest bowler to 100 Test wickets, from just 16 matches. Despite these incredible figures, Yasir had not yet completely won over the cricket world prior to this series in England.
Many pundits and fans wanted to see how he would fare outside Asia, for the first time, before making a definitive call on his ability. It took just four days at Lord’s for Yasir to let the whole cricket world know that he is, without a doubt, the best spinner in Test cricket.
Never in history had a spinner from Asia taken ten wickets in a Test at Lord’s. And they were big wickets too, with eight of them being top seven batsmen. In the first innings, the ball barely turned for Shah yet he snared six wickets.
The very best spinners do not need assistance from the pitch as they already have defeated the batsman before the ball lands. So it was for Shah. Again and again. He is a wonderful bowler and a gigantic threat to Australia this summer.
United under the steady yet jovial leadership of Misbah ul-Haq, Pakistan look to be the real deal. They may stumble on seaming decks later in this series in England. But that will have little bearing on their chances of causing some upsets in Australia this summer.
ak
Roar Guru
Shane Warne is too good in spotting future gems. Misbah ul Haq is fabulous at 42.
matth
Guest
"The fast tracks with the bounce may undo them". Only if we don't get the same CEO wickets that we've got for the last few years. As this week showed, you can have a great test that still ends in 4 days.
Niranjan Deodhar
Roar Pro
No doubt Pakistan played brilliantly and what made the victory even more special was the fact that it was also Pakistan's first Test away from the sub-continent in nearly three years. Misbah, the old warrior stood tall when it mattered, Yasir's leg spin was a joy to watch, Mohammed Amir is getting back where he belonged to. Overall, it was a memorable victory for Pakistan and a huge success for Yasir Shah, in particular, but don't create too much hype around him. After all, don't judge him just after one match, he would find the going tough as the series goes on, even the English batsman would start picking him up and then his real challenge begins. It would be quite interesting to see how England would bounce back in the series and not to forget, though England have a fragile middle order, their line-up will be bolstered by the addition of Anderson and Stokes and hence Pakistan too should look to tighten up their screws with their top-order, especially their openers Hafeez and Masood. As a cricket fan, it was wonderful to watch an absorbing Test match with crowd getting right behind their respective teams and if both the teams play to their full potential, we could be in for a fulfilling summer of Test Cricket much similar to what we had during the Ashes in 2005.
Helen
Guest
The betting scandals may have had a bit to do with it too, that tainted Sydney Test immediately springs to mind. CA may have been a bit gun-shy to send an invite.
spruce moose
Guest
I agree. Then shame on the ill informed narrow minded 'fan' then....the James Brayshaw's of the fan-sphere. Those of us who recognise cricket is played outside Australia deserve a good summer.
Jake
Guest
Let's hope so. South Africa and Pakistan will be the strongest teams to tour here for quite a while. Will be a nice change from the lie down and give up sides India and england continually send over.
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
Not the way it is now in regards to shamelessly rolling cynical roads In the process betraying the proud heritage and identity of Aussie pitches
Rellum
Roar Guru
"I am glad you have noted the doctored nature of the Aussie pitches of late" Was that not common knowledge?
Rellum
Roar Guru
Aus cricket has always looked down on finger spinners and look favorable on wrist spinners. Rightly I think because of the extra work they get on the ball, the above figures just highlight that line of thinking.
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
I am glad you have noted the doctored nature of the Aussie pitches of late with them being shameful. Particularly Perth last year that was a cricketing tragedy at a venue that had such a proud heritage for its unique pitch and the compelling cricket it facilitates.If they follow suit it will fall into Pakistan's hands. As you already note, their bowlers are used to relying on their skill due to the predominantly dead pitches they bowl on. The Yasir factor will be huge, a quality leggie coming up against an Aussie batting line up that outside of Smith is not too clever against spin. How they fare against the Lankan spinners on what is likely to be turning decks will show a lot in regards to whether they can show the necessary temperament. The other thing about Pakistan is they play old style test cricket with conservative mindsets. Particularly their batting which is from a historical sense very 'Un-Pakistani'- gone is their want for flair with it replaced by resolve and dourness. The likes of Azhar, YK and Misbah know little of 'run rate' and are driven by 'price on wicket' meaning you have to get them out. They have a fine player in Ahmed Shahzad to come back into their line up at the top as well. As for the series, it is a bit like NZ last year. There is every reason to think Pakistan can cause an upset but Australia are very suited at home and have a potentially devastating bowling line up. The trio of Hazelwood, Starc and Pattinson if they are fit and firing is top shelf supported by the wily Lyon and M Marsh ( if he survives this long ) vastly underrated medium pace
Alex L
Roar Rookie
No need to worry about the pitches being docile this summer mate, there's no Indian TV rights to worry about so we shouldn't see the pitches rolled flat and doused with napalm daily to keep the grass down...
jameswm
Roar Guru
Best left arm quick? It's Boult, if you ask a Kiwi.
jameswm
Roar Guru
He'll do both Spruce. He won't rely solely on half volleys and yorkers.
Tanmoy Kar
Guest
Absence of Jimmy Anderson & Ben Stokes, also brittle middle-order, absence of quality spin bowlers are the main reasons of England losing the First Test match. Though Chris Woakes performed beyond his capacity, taken 11 wickets & batted well in both the innings.
Tanmoy Kar
Guest
Pakistan's pacers may not be effective in Australia's docile pitches, but spinners like Yasir Shah & Zulfiqar Babar could be dangerous. Pacers will be effective in Pink-balls Day-Night Test.
Brian
Guest
England were without Anderson and a win under 00 runs is hardly "resounding". Likewise New Zealand were hardly "smashed" here. If the 3rd umpire knew how to review Lyon's decision properly it would have been 1-1. On Pakistan its not that surprising they would have won in Sydney last time if their keeper was trying on the last day. However the wickets won't be slow and I can't see Younis and Mishbah making more then a 50 between them. Unfortunately that means they will be reliant on the likes of Umar Akmal and Shafiq. Both talented enough but for some reason most Pakistani batsman need to get to about 30 years old before they start applying a proper Test Cricket technique. Australia 2-1 with Pakistan to win one test when they bowl Australia out for 100 in the first morning
Nudge
Guest
Another player who could/should tour Australia Ronan who could have as big a influence as anyone is Mohammed Irfan. At 7 foot 1 or 2 he could be absolutely devastating here. Not sure why he's not in England but he has had some injuries of late. Imagine an attack of Aamir, Riaz, Irfan, and Shah. I still think Australia will be too strong. I can see Misbah, and Younis really struggling here with their age. The fast tracks with the bounce may undo them. If those 2 fail, and with 2 shakey openers it could be tough. They also have 4 no 11's. Can't wait though for all 6 tests
VRcric
Guest
Amir vs Starc ,by the way, who is the best in the world ?
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"I don’t think touring leg spinners have any better record than offies Ronan." Not so. The good leg spinners who have toured Australia in the modern era have taken plenty of wickets, much more so than the elite off spinners. Mushtaq Ahmed ... 22 wickets from 4 Tests....average of 33. Kumble ................. 49 wickets from 10 Tests....average of 37. Kaneria..................24 wickets from 5 Tests......average of 40. They are the only 3 highly-rated leggies to have toured Australia in the past 20 years or so and they each averaged about 5 wickets per Test. Compare that to the leading off-spinners to have visited Australia - Murali averaged 75, Harbhajan 73, Swann 55, Ashwin 51, Ajmal 111. It's clear cut.
ChrisB
Guest
Do we deserve a good summer. Surely the reason the likes of Pakistan don't get invited more often is the poor crowd/TV support. Unless the more casual fan realises we can't have the Ashes or the World Cup here every season the international cricket fare will be pretty moribund (outside day-night tests perhaps)