The Spin Drought: England's Struggle to Turn the Tide

With Shoaib Bashir's average now north of 40, time to look elsewhere?

As all attention turns to England’s white ball side ahead of the Champions Trophy, I thought it might be fun to look at who the Test team will have as their spinner when we take on Zimbabwe at Lords on the 22nd of May. I must first warn you, I am fairly stats-driven in this piece. Not very Bazball of me I know, in the words of Rob Key; “Stats are for Prats”.

This is by no means an anti-Bashir article, he is only 21 years of age and has done a ‘fine’ job so far. However, with his bowling average surpassing 40 for the first time in his short career, his position in the side is no longer untenable. Bashir first got noticed by skipper Stokes via a video on Twitter (now X), in the video Bashir was bowling to England legend Sir Alistair Cook. He didn’t get Cook out but he did beat his edge a couple of times, enough for Stokes to reckon it was something he and Baz could work with. Before he knew it, and with 10 first class wickets to his name, he was making his test debut against India in Visakhapatnam. Quite the rollercoaster start to his journey, a man snubbed by Surrey early in his career, not often Surrey make those sort of errors. Bashir went on to average 33.35 in India, a more than promising start for the 6ft 4 lad from Woking.

Bevan’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribed

By the end of the English summer, Bashir had bowled well enough to remain England’s frontline spinner for the Pakistan series. The problem came when Somerset teammate Jack Leach returned to the side for this tour. Ironically, Bashir was England’s first choice spinner but couldn’t get a game for Somerset as his mate Leachy was number one in the West Country.

In Pakistan, Bashir did not adjust well to the bunsen burners and averaged 49.55 for his 9 wickets. His spin twin Leach took 16 wickets at 31.43. Have England backed the wrong horse?

Next stop on their winter travels was New Zealand where England would only require one spinner. They backed their new boy Bashir, once again, his returns were minimal. 8 wickets at 51.75. I concede that New Zealand is not a spinners paradise, fair enough, but an economy rate of 4.75 suggests that he was not able to do a job as a holding spinner either. The final tour to tell you about before we get into the contenders is the recent trip taken by the England Lions to Australia. Bashir was sent out under the tutelage of England great Graeme Swann. The plan was to get some experience on Aussie pitches before England head downunder next winter. Bashir finished the tour with 4 wickets from 3 games at an average of 68.5. Travis Head is already licking his lips….

However, England are all about ‘ceilings’, and they believe Bashir’s is very high. Graeme Swann, England Lion’s spin bowling consultant, was gushing over the length of Bashir’s fingers, “they are even bigger than Monty’s” he cried. So what do England do? Keep the faith or look elsewhere? Let’s take a look at the contenders.

Jack Carson, Sussex

First on the list is 24 year old Jack Carson from Northern Ireland. The tall off spinner moved to Sussex after his GCSE’s to join the academy. He made his debut in the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020, and to date has 150 wickets at an average of 32.32 in 50 games. He is also no mug with willow in hand. He has 11 first class fifties at an average of 22.59, a high score of 97. Keep an eye on this Celt, it is about time we had another Irishman don the three lions.

Liam Dawson, Hampshire

Dawson will be 35 years old by the time summer rolls around, and so any further honours seem unlikely. However, his county numbers are so good that I feel he needs some attention. He is another one of Hampshire’s ‘what if’ cricketers, alongside the likes of James Vince and to a lesser extent Nick Gubbins. Dawson has three tests to his name so far, one under Sir Alistair Cook, and two under Root. His test under Cook came in India, where a certain Karun Nair, smoked 303 runs batting at 5 as India went on to win by an innings and 75 runs. As England were swatted away like harmless flies, Dawson toiled away for 43 overs, finishing with 2-149. Not amazing, but in the context of the game, a fair return. This was enough to earn him two matches the following summer during Root’s first summer in charge. He took 5 wickets in 2 matches vs the South Africans at an average of 33.80. Dawson’s undoing was Moeen Ali being in the form of his life, finishing 2017 with 33 wickets, including his famous hat-trick at the Oval. Dawson has played a smattering of white ball games since, but in the main, has been picking up wickets for fun at Hampshire. He can also bat, a first class average of 34.91 including 15 hundreds.

Rehan Ahmed, Leicestershire

Next on the list is 20 year old leg spinner Rehan Ahmed. Included in most England tours of late across all formats, but yet to nail down a slot. He is a way off when it comes to red ball cricket, particulary at home. He currently averages 43.76 with the ball in hand with 52 wickets in his pocket. Ahmed is only 20 and so I am wary of dissecting his figures in too much depth. With trepidation I mention his 2024 first class bowling average of 60 and economy rate of near 5. County batters seem to be lining up the young international leggie, showcasing they are good enough to wack around an international bowler. Ahmed’s numbers will need to increase if he is to become more than England’s third spinner in sub continent conditions.

Jack Leach, Somerset

Last but not least is folk legend Jack Leach. Forever in our hearts for his 1* at Headingley 6 years ago. I am keeping this segment short as we all know what Leachy can do. Leach is the statistically the best spinner England have had since Swann’s retirement. He has 142 wickets at an average of 34.07 and economy of 3.08. He holds his own at test level as he showed us once again in Pakistan where he was the pick of the bowlers. At 33, he could have his best years ahead of him, as Adil Rashid is proving at the moment in the white ball side. Unfortunately for Leach, England seem to think he’s reached his ‘ceiling’.

If I was Chief Selector?

I am picking Liam Dawson. It was a toss up between Dawson and Leach but in the end I like the batting prowess that Dawson provides. Picking Dawson would allow the younger spinners a chance to further their craft playing county cricket, whilst he has a final shot at glory on the international stage. His 54 wickets at 25 in the championship are far superior in comparison to other spinners. It also ridicules the argument that you can’t bowl spin in the county championship due to conditions. Spinners should be encouraged to learn how to take wickets on tracks condusive to fast bowling. For now, let’s reward county performances and give Dawson a final chance to prove his international worth.

By Bevan Fawcett