Bayliss believes spinners must improve tactically
Chris Stocks takes a look at England’s spin bowling options and where improvements can be made
Moeen Ali went into the second Test against Pakistan with the endorsement from captain Alastair Cook that he was England’s first-choice spinner “for this game”.
The inference was that Moeen, who was thought to be under pressure after Adil Rashid’s call-up to the squad, had one final chance to prove himself as his side’s go-to slow bowler.
Five wickets in the match, including three on the final day, has ensured he retains his No.1 status ahead of leg-spinner Rashid.
Yet, as always seems the case for Moeen, he still does not convince as a frontline spinner.
Moeen has done a job for England since Graeme Swann retired midway through the last Ashes tour of Australia in 2013-14.
Coming into the side the following summer, ostensibly as a batsman who could bowl off-spin, he has regularly picked up wickets, taking 73 in 28 Tests.
Indeed, in that first summer, Moeen exceeded expectations by taking 19 wickets at 23 to help England win their series against India.
Yet he has struggled to live up to that early form ever since.
In terms of England spinners, Moeen’s strike-rate, one wicket in 64.4 deliveries, is only bettered by Jim Laker (62.3) and Swann (60.1).
However, his average of 40.42 and performance in his only series in Asia to date (nine wickets at 48.66 against Pakistan in the UAE last year) paint a truer reflection of Moeen’s ability.
He is, for now, a better bet than the rapidly-improving Rashid, who took nine wickets at 69.50 in the UAE.
Both, though, will have to up their game come the winter, when England face seven away Tests against Bangladesh and India.
England coach Trevor Bayliss admitted after the Lord’s defeat by Pakistan, when Moeen struggled badly, that the two spinners he has at his disposal right now are the best he has.
“We’ve got to make do with what we’ve got,” was the Australian’s verdict.
Indeed, there is a severe lack of depth in the county game, where Surrey’s Gareth Batty, who will be 39 by the time the winter rolls around, appears the next best pick.
The last of Batty’s seven Tests came in 2005. It would be a stretch to imagine him receiving a call-up after an 11-year absence from international cricket.
Yet it cannot be discounted that he would get the nod as a third spinner in the squad given the past experience of Shaun Udal, called up in place of Batty for England’s 2005 tour of Pakistan at the age of 36, and the Surrey captain’s 35 Division One wickets at 26.86 this summer.
Moeen, though, will remain first choice heading into the winter whatever happens and so he will have to raise his game between now and then.
Many of his wickets, as has been the case for much of his Test career, have come from batsman error – usually caught in the deep after treating the England man with contempt.
Misbah-ul-Haq in his second innings at Lord’s and Younis Khan on the final day at Old Trafford are prime examples. But Moeen is also capable of genuine quality dismissals, witness the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez on the final day in Manchester.
Consistency is the key for Moeen and that can be difficult when batsmen attack him with such regularity.
“He bowls wicket-taking balls,” said Bayliss.
“For me, he’s got to work on his consistency to get the ball to bounce in the one spot a lot more often. He’s certainly working hard at it, so hopefully that starts to come together.”
England’s lack of a full-time spin coach since Mushtaq Ahmed’s departure in 2014 has not helped.
Saqlain Mushtaq was brought in for the Old Trafford Test and his presence was helpful. “Mo and Rash both enjoyed working with him very much,” said Bayliss. “It wasn’t necessarily a lot technically – I’m sure he mentioned one or two things – it was more tactical.
“That’s where we think both Rash and Mo need to make improvements to go ahead in the international game.”
Those improvements will be slower without a full-time spin coach and despite Bayliss intimating Saqlain will return at some point – hopefully this winter – England are unlikely to appoint anyone on a fulltime basis.
“It’s good to have someone like Saqlain come in,” said Bayliss. “People that have been top of their field in the past and are able to pass on their knowledge.
“It’s sometimes very difficult to have that knowledge in a full-time person.
“Those greats of the game very rarely get involved full-time, so you do have to bring them in series by series.”
While that is not an ideal scenario for Moeen or Rashid, it is hoped both can improve enough to carry the weight of England’s spinbowling burden this winter and beyond.
Indeed, there is a severe lack of depth of spin bowlers in the county game where Surrey’s Gareth Batty, who will be 39 this winter, appears the next best pick