Aussie ‘intern’ Fawad backs Swepson for debut

Australia's new spin whisperer Fawad Ahmed believes Mitch Swepson can buck Test cricket's trend towards finger-spin should Nathan Lyon need a sidekick in Pakistan.

Twelve years after he left his birth country and applied for refugee status in Australia, Fawad's career has come full circle after being signed up as a consultant for Australia's first tour of the Islamic republic in almost 25 years.

The 40-year-old was part of the Lahore Qalandars squad that won the Pakistan Super League title on Sunday and hopes to continue playing in the KFC BBL next season after a solid season with the Adelaide Strikers.

But, having counselled the likes of Tanveer Sangha and Peter Hatzoglou in the twilight of his playing career, Fawad is thinking about the future and is viewing his stint with Australia's Test squad as a spin-bowling mentor in his birth country as an "internship".

Image Id: 3A9FF9BEC8F64039ACEE885F061B66A5 Image Caption: Fawad Ahmed hopes to work as a spin consultant once his playing days are done // Getty

"What I missed out on in my career, I hope another leg-spinner doesn’t miss out on those (same) things, so I would love to help them," Fawad, who played five limited-overs matches for Australia and came close to a Test berth in the Caribbean in 2015, told cricket.com.au.

Preparing fellow wrist-spinner Swepson for a debut in a format increasingly unfriendly to their craft, even on the subcontinent, shapes as a worthy first project.

Wrist-spin has gone out of fashion in Test cricket in recent years (even as they have thrived in T20s) with Pakistani Yasir Shah the only one to have taken more than 100 Test wickets over the past decade.

Of the 18 most prolific wicket-takers in Asia over that period, Yasir is the only leg-spinner among them and even he has now fallen out of favour with Pakistan.

Pakistan’s recent Test success – they are undefeated in home series since Test cricket resumed there in 2019 and have won nine of their last 10 Tests overall – has been underpinned by their quicks and finger-spinners, Nauman Ali and Sajid Khan.

That largely mirrors the inclination for Test teams in Asia towards slow bowlers who can deliver quick, accurate side-spinners aimed the stumps. Combined with turning surfaces, that has proved a winning strategy.

"The problem here in the subcontinent is that you have to bowl into the wicket with side-spin and you have to bowl about 90kph," said Fawad, who has played at each of the three venues for the three-Test series beginning Friday.

"If you bowl slower and with overspin, it's easier to face – you don't get much support from the wicket.

"Leg spinners don't produce that pace consistently. It's easier for the finger-spinners, and you always want to have one that spins away from the right hander and one that spins towards them."

While he expects the cooler climate in Rawalpindi to tip conditions in the favour of seamers for the series opener, Fawad expects drier pitches in Karachi and Lahore to potentially open the door for a second spinner alongside Lyon.

Left-armer Ashton Agar has done that job before, most recently in Bangladesh in 2017 during his most recent Test series, but Swepson established himself as the country's second-best red-ball spinner with a breakout summer for Queensland in 2020-21 that fired the Bulls to the Sheffield Shield title.

Image Id: CC555A03C0BE45F1977CBF04D38A77A6 Image Caption: Agar, Lyon and Swepson in Bangladesh back in 2017 // Getty

Although the lack of cricket in Pakistan in recent years (the country has not hosted an Australian Test side since 1998 while it has only witnessed three Test series overall since a 2009 terrorist attack on Sri Lanka's team bus) has meant there is an element of unknown in the prevailing conditions, locals have stressed they are different from other Asian nations.

And, as Fawad notes, the cricket-starved nation also has a rich history of world-class leg-spinners (both home-grown and from abroad) having success in Pakistan.

Abdul Qadir, Mushtaq Ahmed and Danish Kaneria were lynchpins of Pakistan attacks through the 1980s, ‘90s and 2000s, while Yasir's record in the four Tests he has played in his home country (14 wickets at 36.50 in four matches) is far from dreadful even if it fails to match his dominance in the UAE (116 wickets at 24.56).

Leg-spinners topped the series wicket-taking tally on both of Australia's most recent tours to Pakistan; Shane Warne had 18 victims at 28 during Australia's 1994 three-Test series, including nine in Rawalpindi, while Stuart MacGill snared 15 scalps at 27.46 in 1998.

That, combined with Fawad's view that a Pakistan batting group led by Babar Azam are susceptible to wrist-spin, could see the 28-year-old Swepson blooded during the coming weeks.

"Swepson is a great talent, he has been bowling really well. If he gets his opportunity, I'm pretty sure he is going to do a good job," said Fawad.

"If he is playing in Karachi I think he will definitely get some assistance. Ashton Agar is a top quality cricketer as well but if Swepson plays, Pakistan batters' record against leg-spin is not that great.

"He's been playing really good first-class cricket the last few years. He's been taking wickets at tough times, he was part of a Sheffield Shield-winning team.

"Around your late-20s is the perfect time for leg-spinners to play at the top level. When you get smarter, you learn how to use your skills at the right time."

Fawad has joined the Australian team bubble in Islamabad but is unlikely to join in at training before the first Test as he completes a precautionary isolation period.

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