Leg spinner is Pakistan’s latest export commodity

In March 1979, Pakistan played two hard-fought Test matches in Australia. In the first Test at Melbourne, Australia was chasing a target of 382 to win, was comfortably placed at 305 for 3 with Allan Border and Kim Hughes batting at 105 and 84. At that hopeless point, Sarfraz Nawaz bowled a magical spell and took seven wickets for only one run to finish with 9 for 86 in the innings. Australians crashed to 310 all out and were beaten by 71 runs. On the first day of the Test match, March 10, a boy was born in a remote town called Merguz in Pakistan’s North Western Frontier Province. His parents named the boy Fawad Ahmed. 

In the second Test played at Perth, Australia had managed first innings lead of 50. At the end of third day, Pakistan was 19 for 1. In those days, Test matches had a rest day following the third day. Next morning, March 27, was the rest day of the Test match. Thousands miles away, back in Lahore, Pakistan, a boy was born. His parents named the newborn Mohammad Imran Tahir. Pakistan lost the Test match by seven wickets on final day and the series was squared 1-1.

More than 34 years later, the same boy born on the rest day of second Test, playing for South Africa in a Test match at Dubai, minced Pakistani batting into tiny pieces. Yes, I am talking about Imran Tahir – South Africa’s Lahore-born right-arm leg spinner. The other boy, Fawad Ahmad is also a leg break googly bowler who has started his international career for Australia earlier in the year. 

Pakistan is not a great exporting country. Traditionally it has been exporting commodities like textiles, rice, carpets, leather, sports goods and manpower. In recent years, it is exporting another commodity – right-arm leg-break googly bowlers to play cricket for other countries. Two of exported leg spinners Fawad Ahmad and Imran Tahir are playing for Australia and South Africa these days. Ironically Pakistan does not have any leg-break bowler to play for its own country since Mushtaq Ahmed got retired a decade ago.

Fawad Ahmad, who had played 10 First-class matches in Pakistan for Abbottabad and Pakistan Customs, fled to Australia in 2010 as asylum seeker. He settled in Melbourne and started playing for Victoria. Eventually he qualified to play for Australia and in the summer of 2013 played three One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 International matches for his adopted country.

Imran Tahir made his First-class debut for his home team Lahore City against Faisalabad in a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at Faisalabad in November 1996. Interestingly, that was also First-class debut match for Faisalabad off spinner Saeed Ajmal. Both were teenage boys at that time and both captured four wickets each in first innings against each other’s team.

Imran Tahir played First-class cricket for Lahore City, WAPDA, REDCO, Lahore Whites, SNGPL, Sialkot, Lahore Blues, PIA, Lahore Lions, Pakistan A and Lahore Ravi between 1996 and 2006. He moved to England in 2003 and played First-class cricket for Middlesex, Yorkshire, Hampshire and Warwickshire between 2003 and 2011. His final destination was South Africa where he started playing First-class cricket for Titans in 2007 and later played for Easterns, Dolphins and Lions before gradually moving up the ladder to be part of South African Test team.

Imran Tahir sunk Pakistani batting line for only 99 on opening day of second Test match at Dubai. He captured 5 wickets for 32 runs without help of any fielder – four clean bowled and one leg-before-wicket. He became first right-arm spin bowler to take five-for since South Africa returned to international cricket twenty years ago. Since then four bowlers Paul Harris, Robin Peterson, Nicky Boje and Paul Adams returned with five-wicket hauls and all were slow left-arm orthodox bowlers.

Last right-arm bowler to take five wickets in an innings for South Africa was Harry Bromfield, an off-spinner who did that against England in 1965. Hugh Tayfield was the most famous South African all-time spin bowler. He was an off spinner who took five-fors on 14 occasions in 1950s.

Aubrey Faulkner was South Africa’s best right-arm leg-break googly bowler in its all-time history. He played 25 Test matches between 1906 and 1924 and took 82 wickets including four five-fors. He holds the record for best bowling performance by a South African leg spinner when he took 6 for 17 against England at Leeds in 1907. He captured five-for three more times in his career. 

Before Imran Tahir, last leg-break googly bowler to take five wickets in an innings for South Africa was Bruce Mitchell against Australia at Durban in 1936. Xen Balaskas against England at Lords in 1935 and Quintin McMillan who did twice against New Zealand at Christchurch and Wellington in 1932 were the other two leg-break googly bowlers to take five wickets in an innings for South Africa. 

Imran Tahir also holds another record that no bowler cherishes – conceding most runs in a Test match without taking a wicket. Pakistan’s Khan Mohammad held that most unwanted record for 54 years who conceded 259 runs in 54 overs against West Indies at Kingston in February 1958 in the innings when Sir Garry Sobers’ smashed world record score of 365 not out. 

Imran Tahir eventually broke Khan Mohammad’s record in November 2012 against Australia at Adelaide. He conceded 260 runs without taking any wicket in only 37 overs. Zimababwe’s Ray Price and South Africa’s Nicky Boje are only two other bowlers in Test cricket’s history to concede more than 200 runs in a Test match without taking a wicket.

Imran Tahir and Fawad Ahmed, both are in action at international level. Imran Tahir became first South African leg-break googly bowler to take five wickets in a Test match innings in 77 years. It is yet to be seen that how long they can play for their adopted countries. Pakistan discarded and others embraced them. It is a question mark on the abilities of Pakistani selectors too. Notwithstanding, leg spinner is the most exciting export commodity for Pakistan these days.