'Just go easy': How Australia fuelled Rauf's astonishing rise

If Haris Rauf gets the nod to make a fairytale Test debut against Australia in the coming weeks, the former tape-ball star will hold the unusual distinction of having once bowled in tandem with the opposition's entire pace attack.

It is a measure of the almost mythical nature of Rauf's uncommon express pace that those who facilitated and witnessed his incredible rise from second grade club cricket to the highest level recall his net sessions as vividly as they do his on-field feats.

And the combination of Rauf, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood bowling in the same net is the stuff of nightmares for even the most capable batters.

One Blues player who was at the SCG for that quartet's frightening union at a New South Wales training session at the start of the 2017-18 season recalls them "bowling rockets" at state players in the firing line.

More than four years on and 11,000 kilometres away, those four could once again be unleashed on the same 22 yards should Rauf get the nod to make his Test debut against a country that has been integral to his astonishing rise.

Injuries ruling key men Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf out of Friday's Test series opener on a seam-friendly Rawalpindi surface could see Rauf handed his maiden cap in his birth city and join close friend Shaheen Shah Afridi in Pakistan's pace attack to face Australia. 

Rauf would not have been in Sydney in late 2017 at all had he not made the four-and-a-half-hour drive to an open trial with Pakistan Super League side Lahore Qalandars where he was clocked at 148.5kph.

In the nets, of course.

The right-armer had never bowled with a leather ball, nor did he own a pair of bowling spikes, yet he was the one diamond uncovered among the hundreds of thousands of triallists in attendance at the Jinnah Stadium in Pakistan's north-east that was spotted and subsequently nurtured by the Qalandars.

Image Id: CAD0FD9647004DBA928047D35DE2DE82 Image Caption: Rauf took 20 wickets in his first BBL season and earnt a Pakistan call-up // Getty

"We weren't looking for ready-made players. We wanted players to show potential, and we will invest in them," Qalandars coach and former Test quick Aaqib Javed told ESPN last year. "He had the pace, but he needed two years of proper training to become a proper bowler."

Brought out to Australia for a development tour that included games against the Sydney Sixers and Thunder, Rauf turned out for Western Suburbs, initially in their second XI, for sporadic appearances over two seasons before joining Hobart side Glenorchy for the 2019-20 summer.

Image Id: 881D4A705A08425DAB46067CA39F5A53 Image Caption: Rauf played for Glenorchy in Tasmania before being called by the Stars // Glenorchy CC

By that point Javed had helped transform the lightly-built Rauf – who weighed only 71kg when he turned up for his trial – into one of the breakout talents of the 2019 PSL.

Yet even when the Melbourne Stars plucked him out of Tasmanian Premier Cricket as an eleventh-hour stand-in for boom recruit Dale Steyn, who also happened to be one of Rauf's idols, the speedster remained an unknown quantity.

"We were in desperate need of a fast bowler," Stars coach David Hussey told cricket.com.au. "The first time I actually laid eyes on him was when he came to the MCG nets.

"I said, 'Just go easy on the boys today, just get through whatever you need to today and we'll have a bigger session tomorrow'. He'd been on a plane (from Hobart that day).

"He stormed in. Nick Larkin was batting against him and he came out (from the nets) – and Nick is one of the most courageous batters going around – and he said, 'Mate, you've got a good one here'."

Rauf's success was breathtaking, snaring 20 wickets in 10 games including a hat-trick against the Sydney Thunder at the MCG, and propelled him into Pakistan's limited-overs teams.  

His basic English had, at first, limited the tactical instructions the Stars brains trust could give him. With the help of Stars team manager Russell Radhakrishnan, who speaks Hindi, coaches and captain Glenn Maxwell learnt the Urdu words for 'yorker', 'slower ball' and 'bouncer'.

When he returned for his third stint at the club earlier this summer amid a major outbreak of COVID-19 in the Stars camp that sidelined the majority of their squad, Rauf underscored his reputation as a quick learner.

"Because we weren't allowed to celebrate with each other, I encouraged all the boys to come up with their own celebrations," Hussey said, who offered a prize for whoever came up with the most creative wicket celebration in their January match against the Perth Scorchers.

Unbeknownst to the coach or his teammates, Rauf placed a surgical mask in the pocket of his playing pants and put it on his face after dismissing Kurtis Patterson, a quirky (and COVID-safe) salute complete with him miming the application of hand-sanitiser.

Rauf is now a bona fide T20 star, helping the Qalandars to the PSL title on Sunday alongside captain and Shaheen, while that pair were also the pace lynchpins of a formidable Pakistan side that was defeated by Australia in the T20 World Cup semi-final in November.

But it remains to be seen whether Rauf can translate those skills to Test cricket.

The 28-year-old has played only four first-class games and just one in the past two years, though he did take nine wickets in that match for Central Punjab, bowling 33 overs across consecutive days.

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Wasim, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood. Reserves: Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Haris

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports