2011 was a great year for Saeed Ajmal, being the top wicket taker in Test cricket, albeit against some of the weaker nations. His seven scalps in the England first innings this week seem to prove he isn't just a flash in the pan. After all, Pakistan's ban from home series means his success can't be attributed to a knowledge of home pitches!
It's tempting to wonder why he took such a long time to shine. After all, like Graeme Swann, he made his debut very late on (aged 30 against Swann's 29) and seems to have found his niche. OK, so he's played only 18 Tests so it's too soon to rank him up there with the greats of Pakistan spinners but then who are his rivals?
The Test wicket league is topped by three legends of fast bowling, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan, but then come four spinners. It's a shame that Danish Kaneria, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed were all in their prime at more or less the same time, and when Pakistan often persevered with some fine seam attacks. Consequently none managed the longevity at the top that was enjoyed by contemporaries such as Shane Warne, Murali or Anil Kumble. Danish recently took his 1000th first-class cricket, but for Habib Bank, not his country. His 261 Test wickets make him Pakistan's most prolific slow bowler in their Test history, yet his last match was at the age of 29 and he looks unlikely to win another cap. He played only 61 games so the wicket-per-match ratio was mighty impressive, better than even Imran and Akram. Maybe his high average of nearly 35 counts against him and he wasn't on the Board's list of favourites. Mind you, who is?!
He did play in more Tests (61) than either Saqlain Mushtaq (49) or leg-spinner 'Mushie' (51). The former was once the fastest bowler to 100 ODI wickets but injury, a propensity to bowl no-balls and the arrival of Shoaib Malik and Danish nudged him out of favour and his Test career was over ridiculously early in 2004 at the age of only 27. Mushtaq Ahmed claimed only 185 Test wickets but, like Saqlain he enjoyed many successful years in county cricket and retired four years ago with more than 1,400 first-class wickets to his name, more than either Murali or Warne.
With 236 Test wickets, Abdul Qadir ranks fifth on Pakistan's all-time list. He was a novelty in the 1970s and '80s when leg breaks and googlies were rarely seen in top class cricket. He looked unconventional, too, although I believe his skipper Imran once asked him to grow a beard to add to his strange aura of mystique against England. He was also inconsistent at times, but on his day was unplayable, with five ten-wicket matches to his name. His 9-56 against Mike Gatting's men in the first innings at Lahore in 1987 remains a record.
So where does Ajmal stand at the moment. Amazingly his 90 Test wickets to date place him in his country's top 20 in history. Another 35 would place him level with Intikhab Alam, a respected off-spinner in the '60s and '70s who I recall watching on TV in his late Surrey days. Of course, cricket has changed. It used to be the fast bowlers who were expected to be loud and exuberant, while the slow bowlers were expected to exude calm and thoughtful control. These days, with the likes of Murali, Harbhajan Singh, Swann and Ajmal, the situation has apparently reversed.
Let's put aside rankings and historical comparisons. Saeed Ajmal is probably too old to become a statistical world-beater but Pakistan should relish his current form, and England for starters will have their work cut out trying to read his range of deliveries in the heat of Dubai.
