Monday 4 May 2020 10:58, UK
Who are cricket's emerging talents? Every Wednesday, we will focus on 'the next big thing' in the sport and this week it's teenage Pakistan seamer Naseem Shah...
You never know what you are going to get with Pakistan.
Mercurial is the word often used to describe their cricket. Below-par one minute, brilliant the next, as evidenced in the previous two men's ICC global events in England.
They rallied from a crushing defeat to India in their Champions Trophy opener at Edgbaston in 2017 and went on to knock out Eoin Morgan's hosts in the semi-finals on a sticky Cardiff surface and then beat their greatest rivals India in the final at The Oval.
Then, at last summer's World Cup, they had just three points from their first five games - which included another thumping by India - before a run of four straight victories meant they only missed out on a semi-final place by dint of net run-rate, with New Zealand sneaking through instead.
It's a rollercoaster ride following Pakistan and you must expect the unexpected, though at least two things are guaranteed - stardust in the bowling department and youngsters being given a chance.
Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Amir, Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Umar Gul and Yasir Shah are just some of the bowlers to have weaved their considerable magic over the years.
Plus, of the youngest players to have figured in Test cricket, Pakistan have six in the top 10 and 11 in the top 20, headed by Test cricket's youngest-ever player, batsman Hasan Raza, who was just 14 years old when he debuted against Zimbabwe in Faisalabad in 1996.
If you're good enough, then Pakistan deem you old enough and that certainly applies to Naseem Shah, one of the country's, and pace bowling's, greatest prospects and the youngest man to take a Test hat-trick.
The right-armer, still only 17, burst onto the scene domestically at the age of 15 when, in just his second first-class match, he picked up a six-wicket haul for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
After switching to Central Punjab for the 2019-20 season, he picked up another six-for, which came amid a nine-wicket match haul, just weeks after his maiden Pakistan call-up for the series in Australia in November 2019.
It wasn't long before Australia A's batsmen were feeling his force, as Naseem - just days after the death of his mother - bowled with tremendous guts and gusto in Perth, a searing bouncer to dismiss Marcus Harris the highlight of an electric eight-over spell.
"He's very talented - and he's smart," Pakistan bowling coach Waqar said at the time. "He's got a very good action, he's got good pace. He reminds me of Dennis Lillee actually. He's not as big as Dennis - Dennis was a big guy - but when he gets it right, he's a handful."
Pakistan batsman Shan Masood was also impressed: "It's very exciting to see a 16-year old come to the fore. He's taken domestic circuit by surprise. The pitches were docile and he has been the standout bowler. I hope he plays [in the Test series against Australia]."
Masood had his wish with the paceman selected for the series opener as he became the ninth-youngest man to play Test cricket, and the youngest ever in Australia, when he debuted at 16 years and 279 days.
He impressed straightaway, not only with his pace but with his skills, temperament and his knowledge of his own bowling as well; he reads batsmen very quickly. Not many players can reach that standard that early. There are exceptions and he's one of them. Hopefully he can have a successful career.
Naseem should have made David Warner his first Test scalp when he had the opener caught behind on 56 in Brisbane - but the batsman was reprieved with the young quick having overstepped. Some 98 runs later, Naseem finally had his man - Warner out to a devilish short ball.
"He won't get a harder Test debut," Warner said of the youngster. "To keep coming back in, having to back up the overs in that heat.
"I think he kept his speed up quite a lot throughout the whole day. The back end he cramped up a little bit, but that's obviously going to happen. There's a superstar there. He's quite skiddy and he's got a nice fluent action."
Naseem was rested for the second Test in Adelaide and Pakistan were perhaps left ruing that decision as Warner racked up an unbeaten 355 to help Australia to a series sweep.
Shah has now taken 13 wickets in four Tests, racking up records against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Karachi and Rawalpindi respectively, as Pakistan's return to Test cricket on home soil started in style with series wins.
Against Sri Lanka and at the age of 16 years and 303 days, he became the youngest fast bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a Test match, taking that accolade from fellow Pakistani Amir (17 years, 257 days). Only spinner Nasim-ul-Ghani - also from Pakistan - has taken a five-wicket haul at a more nascent age.
Then, against Bangladesh, Naseem became the youngest bowler of any type to complete a Test hat-trick, when he dismissed Najmul Hossain and Taijul Islam lbw and had Mahmudullah out caught.
Naseem, whose action has also been compared to Shane Bond's, Sir Richard Hadlee's and Dominic Cork's, is set to become a fulcrum of his nation's attack, with Amir and Wahab Riaz now having quit Test cricket to focus on the white-ball forms and Hassan Ali's form dipping.
Pakistan will be hoping that recent rib and ankle injuries are not a sign of things to come for a player who also battled a back issue earlier in his career.
Concerns over his workload led to him being withdrawn from the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year but he will hopefully be on show against England if this summer's three-Test series, scheduled to begin at Lord's on July 30 but surely at risk due to the coronavirus pandemic, takes place.
Pakistan have found yet another gem.
