When touring India, it’s hardly unexpected when a visiting nation includes several spin options in its bowling arsenal. The England side will touch down on the subcontinent in January next year with four specialist spinners in the touring party.
It’s not the number of spin bowlers included that is surprising, but rather the makeup of the slow bowling options. Yes, Somerset’s Jack Leach is unsurprisingly included, with the left-armer being England’s first choice in Test matches since 2021 and ending 2022 as the international bowler with the third-most test wickets.
Compared to Leach, who has 35 Test caps and 135 wickets, the other spinners in the England squad are complete novices in the international game. Of the three, only 19-year-old Rehan Ahmed from Leicestershire has any Test experience with a single Test cap, his debut in the Third Test against Pakistan in Karachi in December 2022.
Ahmed excelled in the match when he became England’s youngest Test cricketer in history at 18 years and 126 days. After facing a baptism of fire in the Pakistan first innings, where he took 2/89 at more than four runs per over, the young right-arm leg break bowler claimed 5/48 in the second innings to help England to an eight-wicket victory and a 3-0 series whitewash.
Rehan Ahmed’s five-wicket haul made him the youngest debutant in men’s Test history to pick up five wickets in an innings. Based on this performance in subcontinental conditions, he’s potentially a wise selection for England’s upcoming Indian tour.
Despite India sitting atop the ICC Test Cricket rankings, visiting their backyard is always daunting, but maybe even more so now. When betting opens for the India-England test series starting in Hyderabad on 25 January 2024, the top apps here will likely install the home team as Test Series favourites, especially in light of the inexperience among England’s spin attack.
The success of the “Bazball” approach that England has used under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes means bettors should not discount the visitors, though. And that includes underestimating the selection of two uncapped spin bowlers in addition to Rehan Ahmed’s youthful inexperience.
Yes, neither of the other two spin options the England selectors have chosen have any Test match experience at all. The 1.93m slow left armer Tom Hartley of Lancashire joins 20-year-old offspinner Shoaib Bashir, a teammate of Leach at Somerset, as the remaining specialist spin options for England in India.
While Hartley, at 24, had a modicum of first-class experience under his belt, having played 20 matches, Bashir is a selection right out of left field. He’s only played six first-class matches for his county, taking 10 wickets at an average of 67. These statistics are hardly likely to leave the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer experiencing sleepless nights in the build-up to the series.
Although Moeen Ali has finally retired from Test cricket for good, a few more experienced spin options were available to England’s selection committee for the India tour. Yorkshire’s Adil Rashid, with 60 test wickets, is still available for selection.
Lancashire’s 30-year-old Liam Livingstone, with a first-class batting average of over 30, would provide variety with his ability to bowl right arm off spin and leg breaks. Selectors might also have considered Hampshire’s Liam Dawson, with 296 first-class and seven test wickets.
With the current spin bowling contingent, it may help that England has Joe Root and Harry Brook within its ranks. Many will regard England’s selection of spin bowlers for India as a “Bazball” tactic of the highest order. These tactics have worked very well before, but are McCullum and Stokes taking the approach to a whole new level this time?
