ENGLAND picked Adil Rashid in the hope that he would essentially do one thing: turn the ball enough against tail-end batsmen that he could run through them and thereby buy his team some valuable time. In the first innings in Abu Dhabi he hardly got the chance as Pakistan had a mountain of runs on the board before the lower-order batsmen even got to the crease, but he was given the opportunity yesterday and took it gloriously.
The last three wickets tumbled to him in the space of seven deliveries — all edged to James Anderson, the finer of two slips posted for nicks off Rashid’s leg-breaks, which spun sharply off a pitch finally yielding something to the ball.
As he had by that stage already removed Younis Khan (Pakistan’s all-time highest run-scorer, not a bad first Test scalp) and Asad Shafiq, he finished with figures of five for 64, which surely salved the pain of his first-innings return of none for 163.
From zero to hero in three days: has any Test bowler turned around his debut game in quite such amazing fashion?
Rashid has in the process a little piece of history as the first England leg-spinner to claim a five-wicket Test haul since Tommy Greenhough, of Lancashire, in 1959. Greenhough only played four Tests, all at home, in an era when defensive finger spinners were more the vogue. In all first-class cricket he took 751 wickets at 22 apiece.
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The only others who have taken five-wicket hauls since 1946 are Doug Wright, who played for Kent and England from 1932 to 1957 and took a record seven hat-tricks in first class cricket, Roly Jenkins and Eric Hollies, the man who bowled Don Bradman in his final Test match to deny him a Test average of 100.
Mushtaq Ahmed, who is now with Pakistan but formerly worked with Rashid during his time with England, said after the first innings that he had seen things that might be improved with Rashid’s bowling, but talking to television straight after play last night Rashid said he had not changed the way he had bowled since the first innings.
It appeared, though, that his arm was slightly lower at the point of release, which might have aided the amount his leg-breaks turned, also that he was going wider on the crease with the same aim.
Apart from spinning the ball he was also swerving it through the air. Misbah was nearly yorked by one such delivery and looked impressed by what the ball had done. Coming on in the tenth over, Rashid nearly had Mohammad Hafeez caught behind, replays proving inconclusive as to whether the ball had feathered the outside edge of the bat.
The umpire had originally ruled not out and England’s challenge failed to bring about a change.
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If he was boosted by the near-miss, the elation was short-lived. Hafeez hit his next delivery for six. The wicket of Younis eventually came with the first ball of his 11th over, his 265th delivery of the match. Ben Stokes, the catcher, gave Rashid an extended head-scratch by way of celebration.
Misbah ul Haq, the Pakistan captain, praised the England management for the way it had handled Rashid and said that Rashid himself had needed “a big heart and temperament” after his tough experience in the first innings.
Alastair Cook, the England captain, was delighted for Rashid. “It was fantastic. A lot of Test cricket is played in the mind and he’s obviously had a tough introduction in the first day and a half, not getting a wicket bowling on probably the worst wicket you would ever want to make your debut on as a leg-spinner when you lose the toss. But he bowled okay and was just about hanging in there. We know leg-spinners come into the game later on.
“To bowl like he did and get his rewards really sped up the game, so full credit to him for having that character and confidence in his ability to not get too down on himself. You saw the weight of the world lift off his shoulders when he got that wicket [of Younis Khan] and he really started to roll after that. But you’ve got to go through the hard yards, so full credit to him.”
Cook said Rashid had received good support in the dressing-room. “He’s got some good mates from Yorkshire in Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root and also Paul Farbrace [England’s assistant coach].
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“As a captain you always have a quiet word with players along the way but it is not down to anyone else, it’s down to him sticking it out when it’s tough, and still having the ability and confidence to rip his leg-spinner.
“He hadn’t got a wicket but I don’t think he bowled as badly as his figures suggested. We know how important a leg-spinner can be, he can change games very quickly especially at the back end.”
How close England came at the end only highlighted what a boon it would have been had they managed to take their chances in the first innings. Ian Bell grassed two chances in the slips that cost 188 runs and a Stuart Broad no-ball allowed Shoaib Malik to bat another 114 overs.