Eng vs Pak, 3rd Test - All-round Saim Ayub in line for Test comeback as Pakistan ponder XI

On the day England were wrapping up a crushing win over Pakistan at Headingley, Saim Ayub was in St Lucia. The day Pakistan won the toss at Lord’s, Ayub found himself in St Kitts and Nevis, smashing a 58-ball 102 to secure victory for Jamaica Kingsmen. Two days later, as England batted Pakistan out of the second Test, Ayub had freshly arrived in Trinidad, finishing off another clinical win for Kingsmen with a breezy unbeaten cameo.

Barely a week later, Ayub was shivering in a jumper in overcast Birmingham, before taking it off and sending down ball after ball on the Edgbaston training pitches under the watchful eye of Ashley Noffke. The temperature on Tuesday morning was down to 12 degrees, and will slip into single digits overnight. A lot can change in a week.

And for Pakistan, a lot has changed, in many ways. The players, primarily. Ayub was one of those called in after the PCB’s panicked reshuffle following their humbling at Lord’s, and though the CPL may not be the best nursery for a Test in England, Ayub was by far the most experienced of those brought in. The seven players that joined Pakistan had combined to play ten Tests between them; Ayub is responsible for eight of them on this own.

With Mike Hesson and Noffke, who also arrived in the wake of Lord’s, the stars may have aligned for Ayub. Hesson’s white-ball stint with Pakistan has demonstrated his partiality to allrounders to shore up batting depth, which makes Ayub quite valuable. In addition, his flamboyant shotmaking perhaps offers a point of difference for a Pakistan top order that has been short on both runs and flair this tour.

But Ayub wasn’t the only bowler who trained during the afternoon before the third Test, or the only potential inclusion for Pakistan as they look to salvage some pride in Birmingham. Razaullah and Ubaid Shah bowled in the nets over the weekend for extended periods, and are among the leading contenders to make Pakistan’s starting XI on Wednesday. However, given the PCB wanted seven players in England so desperately it flew them in for a dead rubber, just about anyone could be a contender.

However, Pakistan appear to be moving closer to a final decision. Captain Babar Azam said at the pre-match press conference his side had “almost finalised a final 12”. Some of the uncertainty revolves around playing a specialist spinner, with the surprise release of Ali Usman, as well as Ayub’s bowling workload in the nets, meaning a four-pronged pace attack remains a realistic possibility.

Among the quicker bowling options, the only one to to have seen any kind of Test action is Ubaid. The entirety of his Test career is one match in the Caribbean in August, but it’s still more than anyone else managed. Ubaid was a bit loose and wayward in some of his spells, though demonstrated the ability to push up to 87mph/140kph on occasion, and the move the ball back in sharply. Noffke was particularly complimentary of the speed of his development on Monday.

“He’s highly skilled,” he said. “With a lot of skill, it’s hard to control at times for a young fast bowler. But he’s getting better and better in that phase.”

But some of Pakistan’s complete unknowns are also set to see action. Razaullah is someone the PCB believe has a high ceiling, as well as an unusual action. Joe Root admitted England had virtually no idea about a number of players Pakistan brought in, with Pakistan understood to fancy using that relative anonymity and X-factor to their advantage.

That would give them an attack which comprises Mohammad Abbas – the one certainty in their side – Ubaid and Razaullah. Should they turn to spin, they have the experience of Sajid Khan, part of the tour all along, and Arafat Minhas, who would be a Test debutant, but can complement his left-arm orthodox spin with handy lower order batting.

With a wet morning followed by watery sunshine on the eve of the game, conditions remain something of an enigma, though that three-seamers, two-spinners attack offers Pakistan an attractive mix of batting and bowling depth as well as pace and accuracy. Conversely, should they require a fourth seamer, Mohammad Ali remains part of the squad, and while Imran Randhawa and Mohammad Imran Jnr are also with the touring party, their inclusion may add too much inexperience to their bowling stocks.

There is scarcely more certainty to be found in the batting line-up, particularly one whose middle-order the PCB took a bite out of when discarding Salman Agha and Mohammad Rizwan. Already opener-heavy, the inclusion of Ayub and Abdullah Fazal in the squad means Pakistan now have six top-order batters effectively competing for three slots, and at least one more player batting out of position in the middle order. Pakistan’s captain and best batter Babar Azam appears set to move down a position to No. 5 with Azan Awais, Ayub, Abdullah Fazal, Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique all jostling for position. Masood, for whom this will be a 50th Test should he play, is expected to move back to No. 3, which would likely leave Awais opening with Ayub, and Shafique moving to four.

That trickle-down should see Saud Shakeel move down to No. 6, and Ghazi Ghori, Rizwan’s replacement at wicketkeeper, coming in at No. 7. There is a possibility, if remote, of Pakistan going in with yet another bowling option rather than the sixth batter, though it would leave them sacrificing batting depth for more bowling. Given they have yet to score 200 in any of their four innings, it appears especially unlikely, and is what makes Ayub’s inclusion seem bullet-proof.

There is little statistical solace for Pakistan to find, with much of what they will attempt to do virtually unprecedented. Babar might have had white-ball success here, with two hundreds in four ODI innings, but none of this Pakistan side have ever played a Test at Edgbaston, the inexperience further amplified by the pressure the PCB, as well as poor results, has placed upon them.

Over the past week, Pakistan cricket threw something at the wall. Tomorrow, they will find out if it sticks.

Danyal Rasool is Cricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000

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