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Pak vs Eng – Rusty Sajid inevitably finds a way to turn things around in Multan

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Pak vs Eng – Rusty Sajid inevitably finds a way to turn things around in Multan

In the heady days of early 2021, Pakistan showed a proud stride. Test cricket had returned to Pakistan. Shaheen Shah Afridi was progressing well and young Naseem Shah had taken Test cricket by storm. Even Hasan Ali, derailed for years by form and fitness problems, had celebrated his Test return by becoming the top wicket-taker in a hard-fought home series against South Africa. A series that Pakistan had won 2-0 at two top spots in Karachi and Rawalpindi.

But this pride also betrayed the appearance of moral superiority. There was a sense that Pakistan was now different from the rest of South Asia, a land where the ball seamed and swung, where fast bowlers took nine of the 10 wickets in the fourth innings on the fifth day. Their Asian neighbors may have produced dust clouds, turnaround tracks and quick friendlies, but was it really any fun? Veteran spinner Yasir Shah – perhaps Pakistan's most important player in the second half of his exile in the UAE – slowly made way for these young players, with Azhar Ali speaking of his “changing role” in the team. He would never play a home Test match again.

In the following years, Pakistan did not win another home Test match. The reputation of spicy wickets that Pakistan had tried to cultivate is in tatters. Afridi's pace has dropped to a level that no longer places him among the elite in Test cricket, while the workload on Naseem's fragile young body has resulted in him picking up injuries and requiring longer periods of rest.

Last week it all culminated in an embarrassing innings defeat that sent Pakistan down the desperate path they now took in Multan. The pace bowlers had a good run, playing four of them against Bangladesh before three Tests. In all three Tests they seemed just as likely to take 20 wickets as to grow wings and fly. What else have South Asian teams done against non-Asian opponents?

Who knew? Pakistan had made no plans for this. A wicket with a width of two strips was prepared for this test by the weekend. Much like a student realizing he's been preparing for the wrong exam all semester, Pakistan spent the weekend tearing up his notes and sneaking glances at his neighbors. They recycled the same surface, rested (sorry, rested) their seamers and lined up with three specialist spinners to go along with the three part-time spinners already in their XI. They even won the toss, batted first and had a decent score in the first innings.

But as an American political argument almost goes: Spinners don't need wickets, good spinners need wickets. And everything suggests that Pakistan doesn't rate these three spinners particularly highly. Zahid Mahmood and Noman Ali had been released from the squad for the first Test; Sajid Khan was never a part of it. It was so unlikely that they would all take part in this series, none of them had played a first-class game since January. When Bangladesh A played two warm-up exercises against their Pakistani counterparts, Sajid, Nauman and Zahid played no role.

What followed was as predictable as can be. Spinners need rhythm, otherwise their lines and lengths will falter. England is adept at clearing away shipments of rubbish. The Pakistani trio threw out a lot of them, partly because they were rusty and partly because, as their record shows, they are not quite world-class. England didn't need a second invitation to send her away.

“I’m always the first to get kicked out. From domestic cricket to club cricket to international cricket, if anyone gets kicked out, it's me. That’s why I learned to constantly fight for my place.”

Sajid Khan

Ben Duckett alone had the opportunity to sweep 29 times through his innings, a combination of Sajid and Nauman throwing the ball up and bowling a little too quickly. Pakistan may have discovered in no time that they might be able to replicate a template, but cricketers cannot be conjured out of thin air. The lack of spin bowling quality in the country was clearly evident for most of the last two sessions. Duckett had fought his way – quite literally – to three figures, and with an hour to play England had moved to double figures of 211. As the shadows lengthened and the floodlights flickered, the door seemed to close behind Pakistan and the weirdos in their last-chance saloon.

It's a feeling that Sajid doesn't like but has experienced many times. “I’m always the first one to get kicked out,” he said after the game. “From domestic cricket to club cricket to international cricket, if anyone would be left out it would be me. So I learned to constantly fight for my place.”

In this last hour, Sajid used all his experience to keep the closing door open. A mishit shot from Joe Root gave him a wicket somewhat against the run of play, but Sajid felt the pitch starting to come to life; He just had to be smart about how to use it.

“Outside the off-stump there is a slightly wider patch that created a curve, and at a certain pace. We bowled a little too fast, but if you slow it down to 67, 68 km/h you'll have a grip. When you're bowling.” There are only occasional breaks at 90+ at certain points. But there's nothing for the spinner if you bowl inside the stumps, and bowl slower, there are the cracks. That's what we want to exploit.”

It's a surprising realization to give up in the middle of a Test, but out there England seemed none the wiser. He tossed it up and landed it in the rough, taking the momentum out of Duckett's arsenal. The cover attack he tried to play wasn't nearly as assured and Agha Salman was on balance at first glance.

However, it is more likely that Harry Brook's dismissal is a harbinger for both sides' batsmen. Sajid merely followed his newfound plan and landed it around the sixth stump. Brook was slow to close the gap between bat and pad as he stepped back, perhaps understandably believing he had time to readjust to spin. The wobble of his middle stump suggested otherwise.

Noman also took advantage of Pakistan's newfound momentum to take Ben Stokes' inside edge to short leg and send his team offside during the overtaking manoeuvres. The concept of overnight advantage has psychological significance in cricket; Stumps an hour earlier would have ended the day with England completely dominating.

The purists may wonder whether this style of cricket is truly Pakistani. But in recent days they have abandoned their philosophy, dropped their best players, cobbled together a bowling attack from the changes they found on the back of the sofa and found a short-term, unsustainable way to build a positional advantage. What could be more authentically Pakistani than that?

Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000

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