Jimmy Anderson says the brutal nature of international cricket means England’s inexperienced spin bowlers must learn fast or face short careers at the top level.
With Ben Stokes suffering a collarbone injury on day one, Anderson and his new ball partner, Stuart Broad, have certainly met their end of the bargain during the third Test, sharing 77 overs across the first four days to take 11 wickets for 126 in the sweltering Sharjah heat.
Pakistan have been circumspect against England’s fast bowlers all series but have picked off the spinners at will, with Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and the recent addition, Samit Patel, all struggling for consistency. Overall, Alastair Cook’s slow bowlers have 20 wickets across the three Tests at 59 runs apiece, with their combined economy rate of 4.06 runs per over on this tour the worst by an English spin attack in Asia.
With six Tests against Bangladesh and India in the subcontinent next year, and few candidates sticking their hands up in county cricket, it is both a short-term concern for England’s selectors and a long-term problem for the director of cricket, Andrew Strauss. Anderson, who claimed two for 52 as Pakistan set England 284 to win, believes it is down to the incumbents to improve quickly before facing these future challenges.
“It’s a big learning curve,” said Anderson after stumps, with England’s chase on 46 for two. “They are bowling at batsmen who have grown up playing against spin; I would say some of their guys are experts at it. In international cricket you have to learn fast – if you don’t, you don’t stick around in it. So they are going to have to learn fast if they are going to improve and help us win next winter.
“We knew coming over here Pakistan’s strength is playing spin and that the seam bowlers would play a big part. We lost Ben, which has not helped us. The seam bowling unit are pretty happy with their work. It has been tough for us but myself and Stuart feel we have put in a good stint and are pretty happy. He has deserved more wickets than he’s got – he’s bowled fantastically.”
Broad will finish with match figures of five for 57 from 36 overs and is now the world’s leading Test wicket-taker in 2015 with 51 victims. Both he and Anderson have showed off their talents with the old ball in this Test and Mohammad Hafeez, who scored 151 in Pakistan’s 355 all out in the second innings, was among those impressed by the England pair, comparing them to two of his country’s greatest fast bowlers.
“To be honest, I have been playing international cricket for the last 13 years and I haven’t faced that amount of reverse swing in my career,” said the Pakistan opener. “This is something very special they have got – maybe an art or something. I am surprised to see that much reverse swing happening in the game. I watched Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis when they did it and now Anderson and Broad have got it.”
The Jekyll and Hyde nature of England’s attack was not lost on Hafeez, who is the latest Pakistan batsman to speak of his relative ease against the spinners. “Their planning [in picking three spinners in Sharjah] was right because this track is giving more assistance,” said the 35-year-old. “But we haven’t allowed them to adjust. We attacked them and they haven’t hit the right areas on a consistent level. It has worked for us.”
