Hot Riaz making his mark for Pakistan

Spin was meant to be the architect of England’s downfall against Pakistan in the UAE, just as it was here in 2012.

However, it was the pace of Wahab Riaz that swung this second Test - and the series - decisively in Pakistan’s favour.

Australia will need no reminding of just how dangerous a customer the 30-year-old left-arm quick can be. Remember his brutal working over of Shane Watson in the World Cup quarter-final in Adelaide back in March? It was a spell that did for David Warner and Michael Clarke. Watson, whose body was contorted into all sorts of shapes as a fired-up Riaz sent down a series of 150kph bullets, will never forget it.

A chirp to Riaz during Pakistan’s innings lit the fuse that time. And while Watson and Australia ultimately came out on top to reach the World Cup semi-finals, no-one present will forget the ferocity of Riaz’s fast-bowling masterclass.

He was at it again on day three of this second Test in Dubai.

Quick Single: Riaz helps put Pakistan in control

England had reached the relative comfort of 3-182 by the close of the second day. Joe Root, unbeaten on 76, looked set to help guide his side somewhere close to, if not beyond, Pakistan’s first-innings total of 378.

But no-one accounted for a spell from Riaz that saw him take 3-15 in nine captivating overs. Five of those were maidens and his dismissals of Root, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler set in motion a collapse that saw England lose their final seven wickets for just 60 runs. Trailing by 136 on a wearing pitch, England will have to do something extraordinary to avoid defeat. Winning here does not appear an option, especially as the highest-successful run chase at the Dubai International Stadium is just 137.

Riaz changed the game, proof positive once more that even on slow pitches genuine pace can make all the difference.

While the surface in Dubai is quicker than the one served up for last week’s first Test in Abu Dhabi, it is still slow by global standards.

So it was remarkable to see Riaz consistently getting the ball to talk at around 145kph for nine strength-sapping overs.

To put his efforts into context, Saturday was a hot one even by Dubai standards at this time of year, the mercury touching close to 40 degrees Celsius in the shade.

It really was a remarkable effort of stamina and skill.

The ball that dismissed Root early on was clocked at dead on 145kph. The one Stokes edged behind was even quicker – 145.8kph.

Buttler’s demise was as inevitable as it was disappointing, the hopelessly out-of-form wicketkeeper leaden footed as he offered another chance to Pakistan gloveman Sarfraz Ahmed to a delivery that was slower at 140kph but swung in to find the edge.

Once Riaz had dismembered England’s middle order, leg-spinner Yasir Shah mopped up the tail. There was no doubting, though, that Riaz’s spell had proved the difference for his team.

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Brought in for his Test debut in 2010, Riaz’s international career has been a strange one. He took 5-63 on debut against England at The Oval in August of that year.

It was a tour that will forever be remembered for the spot-fixing scandal involving Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. All three would later be jailed for their part in the plot to bowl no-balls to order.

Riaz, an old friend of Butt after growing up with the former Pakistan captain in Lahore, was unwittingly linked to the scandal when the agent at the centre of the plot borrowed the bowler’s leather jacket to transport a £10,000 bribe from an undercover reporter.

Riaz was later cleared of any wrongdoing whatsoever. But it was an unsettling start to life in international cricket, both on and off the field, Riaz’s encouraging debut forgotten when he took 1-92 in the next match at Lord’s, where he struggled with the famous slope.

Riaz has played just 12 Tests since, including this one currently going on in Dubai. His overall return of 42 wickets at just over 31 is decent.

However, the quality he shows at times suggests a fast bowler who could, in time, achieve so much more.

If Riaz needs any encouragement to kick on he should look to another left-arm quick in Australia’s Mitchell Johnson, whose spectacular renaissance in his early thirties should act as an inspiration.

England will hope Riaz remains an enigma and fails to find the consistency that saw Johnson rip them apart during Australia’s 2013-14 Ashes whitewash, especially as Pakistan visit the UK next (Northern Hemisphere) summer, where quicker, livelier pitches could make Riaz close to unplayable if he bowls anything like he did today.