England must find way to avoid squandering Rehan Ahmed’s talent

Rehan Ahmed’s journey from his fourth to fifth Test caps was an unhappy one. In the eight months since February, when he took 3-193 in the match in Rajkot, Ahmed was dropped by England from their T20 squad. Then, he took just 13 wickets at 60.7 for Leicestershire in Division Two of the County Championship. In the summer, Ahmed was even dropped in the Hundred.

And so there was a nagging fear among some in English cricket that Ahmed was at risk of joining an exasperating trend. In recent years there has been a comparative deluge of English leg-spinners. These things, of course, are relative: historically, English leg-spinners last scarcely longer than Agatha Christie’s characters. But since the start of 2014, five specialist leg-spinners have been picked by England: Scott Borthwick, Mason Crane and Matt Parkinson, to go with Ahmed and Adil Rashid. England swiftly discarded Crane and Parkinson; even with Rashid, there will always be a sense that his Test career could have been far more fulfilling.

For all his recent travails, England continue to view Ahmed as a cricketer of rare potential. Absurdly for a man thought to be suffering from sophomore syndrome, Ahmed only turned 20 in August. A combination of his early precocity and the excitement around his 16-year-old brother Farhan has made Rehan seem older than he is.

Ahmed delivered best spell yet for England

Before this tour of Pakistan, Ahmed was considered unlikely to play. Even with the unorthodox techniques adopted by groundstaff – patio heaters and giant fans to ensure a wicket offering the desired turn – there was still logic on omitting Ahmed in Rawalpindi. For all the value of wrist spin on flat pitches, on pitches that offer more turn, finger spin – which is generally more consistent, and relies more on beating batsmen off the pitch than in the air – tends to do better.

Recognising as much, Ben Stokes only gave Ahmed one of Pakistan’s first 47 overs – the last of day one – instead trusting in Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach. But with Pakistan 144-4, Ahmed was given his first extended bowl of the Test.

Seven years ago, when he was 13, Shane Warne watched Ahmed bowl in the nets and told him he would play for England. Tragically, Warne did not live to see his prophecy come true. But Warne’s impact remains detectable on Ahmed: not just on how he bowls, but on how he is used.

“When I attacked with the ball, and by that I mean used more variations – which in turn meant the possibility of some bad balls – I would defend more with the field,” Warne wrote in his autobiography No Spin. Under Stokes, Ahmed has a captain who recognises this truth. The presence of sweepers on both sides of the wicket when Ahmed started his spell on day two, then, was not a defensive move. By trying to ensure that his inevitable bad balls went for ones, not boundaries, it liberated Ahmed to settle into his rhythm.

Over the next eight overs, Ahmed proceeded to deliver perhaps his most impressive spell for England yet. Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman both succumbed LBW to Ahmed’s leg break: a delivery that does not turn much, but straightened just enough on both occasions. The googly is Ahmed’s more alluring delivery: one almost accounted for Salman, before another spun sharply back to get Aamer Jamal to play on.

Fleetingly, Ahmed’s spell of 3-24 left Pakistan in disarray. Instead, the last three wickets nearly doubled the score. By the time that Ahmed returned with another googly to wrap up the innings, ending with 4-66, the game had taken on an altogether different complexion.

Pakistan’s recovery under Saud Shakeel and Noman Ali will invite questions about why Ahmed was taken off at lunch, and did not return for another eight overs. While the question is valid, there is a simple explanation: both batsmen are left-handers. So far in his embryonic Test career, Ahmed averages 51.4 against left-handers, compared to 25.3 against right-handers.

It illustrates one of the areas in which Ahmed needs to refine his art. Together with greater consistency, turning his leg break more would also enhance his googly’s effectiveness. At times, even if they cannot pick Ahmed from the hand, batsmen can read his variations from his line: as his googly spins more, it tends to arrive well outside off stump to right-handers, whereas his leg break pitches straighter.

New possibilities could open up for Ahmed

The intriguing question is when Ahmed will next be seen in England whites, and how he will develop going forward. For now, Ahmed does not appear to be in serious contention to be picked as England’s sole spinner – a job which requires thriving in conditions unconducive for spin in the first innings. It is conceivable that England will not pick two specialist spinners in a Test again until 2027, when they next tour Asia.

Characteristic of England’s current regime, Ahmed prepared for his Test return by winning a six-hitting competition, beating Harry Brook in the final. A day later, Ahmed might have been underwhelmed to bat at number nine; he batted as high as five for Leicestershire in the Championship last summer, averaging 33.2

These all-round qualities could open up new possibilities for Ahmed. In the short-term, they have helped to ensure that he has won a limited-overs recall; he will travel to the Caribbean, for next week’s one-day international series, straight from Pakistan. Being Rashid’s long-term white-ball replacement is Ahmed’s most viable route to becoming an international regular in any format. But should Ahmed’s batting develop it could allow England to set-up their Test team in innovative ways. If Ahmed could bat at seven, below Jamie Smith at six, England could field a classically varied attack: three seamers (in addition to Stokes) and two spinners.

For now, such questions can wait. Amid all their strife in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, Ahmed’s performance provided affirmation both that England have a leg-spinner of rare talent – and that they now have a culture that can make good on his gifts.