England hope wizard can decipher Kuldeep

England will turn to their state-of-the-art bowling machine this week as they attempt to unlock the secrets of Indian wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep picked up a match-winning haul of 5-24 on Tuesday in the opening match of India's UK tour, baffling some of England's best batsmen in the first of three T20s at Old Trafford.

India's two-month long tour is barely a week old, but the fact that three of Kuldeep's victims in Manchester - Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (both dismissed without scoring) and Jos Buttler - will be key figures in the ODIs and Test matches to come has the tourists buzzing about their prospects for this tour.

And England's batsmen will this week train against their unique spin-bowling machine, known as Merlyn, which they hope will mimic the left-armer's unique variations and skill.

"One thing we can do is with Merlyn, to replicate the angle," Buttler said after he scored 69 at Old Trafford and was one of the few Englishmen to look comfortable against the Indian spinner.

"It’s a very good machine to get used to that. But it was the first time some guys have faced Kuldeep and it may take one or two games, plus video.

"It's about understanding that you shouldn't get too flustered. With spin it can all happen quickly, suddenly you have faced a few balls and aren't off the mark, so it's not allowing that to affect you.

Image Id: 73CACA2A1AEB4BFEB5D874BC372A3EE6 Image Caption: Andrew Flintoff bats against Merlyn in 2006 // Getty

"You have to get used to the (bowling) action and once you have faced them a bit more it gets easier. You have a bit more trust and might pick up a few cues."

Merlyn, the bowling "wizard" that was introduced ahead of the 2005 Ashes series and touted as being able to "bowl any ball known to man", was developed as part of England's attempt to combat Australia's spin king Shane Warne. It made little difference in that famous series, however, as the leg-spinner picked up 40 wickets in five Tests, although he couldn't prevent England securing a memorable series win.

England are far from the first side to struggle against Kuldeep since his international debut against Australia 15 months ago; the 23-year-old has quickly established himself as a key figure in India's limited-overs sides and has taken 63 wickets in 31 white-ball internationals at a combined average of 16.88 to go with nine wickets in two Tests.

He took four first-day wickets against Australia in the decisive fourth Border-Gavaskar Test in March last year, his Test debut, and his unique style of bowling has forced his opponents to think outside the box in order to combat him.

When the Aussies returned to India for a ODI series last September, they asked former local left-armer wrist spinner KK Jiyas to bowl to them in the nets ahead of the series.

"It's a chance to train against someone who bowls the same," then skipper Steve Smith said at the time.

"There's not too many (left-arm wrist spinners) around the world so it's a little bit different and it's been good to get someone who bowls a bit of that."

But training against Jiyas did little to help the Aussies as Kuldeep picked up seven wickets in four matches, including a hat-trick at Eden Gardens, as the hosts won the series 4-1.

India's captain Virat Kohli, buoyed by his side comprehensive first-up win, is already bullish about the threat his “lethal” spinner will pose for the rest of the tour. 

"He's going to be effective on any pitches we play on," Kohli said on Tuesday.

"When it turns, he's going to be even more lethal. He's very difficult to pick. I hope he can keep the batsmen guessing."

Kuldeep's four overs at Old Trafford were enough to convince former England skipper Michael Vaughan that the left-armer could play a major role in the upcoming Tests, starting in August.

India have an array of top-quality spinners to choose from for the five-Test series; finger spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have imposing Test records, while leggie Yuzvendra Chahal has formed a lethal combination with Kuldeep in limited-overs cricket.

And with the series to be played late in an unseasonably warm northern summer, when pitches are normally drier and conducive to spin bowling, Kuldeep could prove to be India's trump card with the red ball as well.

"He took three wickets in four balls today and deceived us," England skipper Eoin Morgan said after Kuldeep had bamboozled Bairstow and Root with textbook googlies at Old Trafford, dismissals that wouldn't be out of place in the Test arena.

"It wasn’t a case of chipping up in the air. He bowled well."

The second T20 is in Cardiff on Friday before the series concludes in Bristol on Sunday, with the first of three ODIs to be played next Thursday.