Arthur Crabtree wrote:I'm not sure it looked like he was just rusty. He seemed to be trying to bowl as flat and as fast as possible.
There was a lot of responsibility resting on him too, as the main spinner on a pitch that would be expected to help him most. That wasn't the case in the summer, when his wickets felt like a bit of a bonus.
Nail on the head there, Arthur. Its one thing taking all those wickets against a side supposedly good against spin (and he took 20 in the series, which is quite significant) after the seamers have softened them up but delivering when you are expected to lead the way in spin friendly conditions and the entire focus is a different matter altogether. This is something even Nathan Lyon, one of the better spinners in the world these days, has failed at, save for the Adelaide test against India. I suppose having 2 spinners in such circumstances, taking the pressure off each other could work. England need to find options to complement/compete with Moeen. Rashid is a social media darling (and I must admit I am an unashamed lover of legspin) but George Dobell and many other journalists who have watched him on tour so far, have described him as unselectable, which is pretty damning. Although Dobell said he is actually improving after the tinkering of the action, although spinning it a bit less (but still spinning it).
