Is the English weather eroding the "Art of Spin"?

find out how can climate change can be threatening for spin bowling

Pakistan could be battling the elements as well as England in their Test series. The Green Army have already faced Ireland on their tour and managed to edge their way to a five-wicket win. However, the challenge will only increase with the factor of playing Joe Root’s men desperate to atone for their disappointing winter tours of Australia and New Zealand.

The weather has not been great at the start of the English season, with the Specsavers County Championship seeing rounds of matches heavily affected by the rain. It has developed a worrying trend that climate change is beginning to play a role in cricket and the way it is played in the Northern Hemisphere.



A study by the UK Climate Coalition has highlighted that over 175 days of cricket have been lost in the County Championship, with six of the seven wettest years in UK history being recorded since 2000. Due to the climate change, many cricket stadiums in the UK renovate their outfields in order to protect them from the damp weather.

Steve Birks, head groundman of Trent Bridge spoke to Adam Drury, cricket correspondent for Betway Insider about the recent renovation, which costs more than £600,000. He articulates, "In the past, it was just a clay-based outfield with land drains in. At present, the outfield enfolds a rootzone up to 150mm, drains every five metres and is equipped with pop-up sprinklers in between drainage."



It is a worrying statistic for a game, which relies on good weather conditions. It does have a significant role in the development of competitive playing surfaces. Seamers will always thrive in England due to the moisture in the air and the pitch that allows the bowl off the straight. However, the art of spin requires deterioration in the surface over a period of time.

As a result of this scenario, the Times Report affirmed that English game is lacking top quality talented players who can deliver productive results. Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan were world-class operators and were able to get tune out of any pitch due to their immense talent. However, the lack of exposure to the elements has led to mixed results, especially on Pakistan’s tour of England in 2016.

Struggles of Shah

In the 2015 series, when England played in the United Arab Emirates, Shah tormented the Three Lions. Shah took 15 matches in two Tests at an average of 21.53 and a strike rate of 49.6. However, his form could not translate to English conditions in the series almost a year later.

The arid conditions of the sub-continent allowed the pitch to crack and played into the hands of the spinner. In England due to the wet conditions, groundsmen were forced to cover the wickets, leading to little or no deterioration.



In 2016 he played all four matches and eight innings, but took only 19 wickets at an average of 40.73 and a strike rate of 75.1; failing to generate the same turn off the English wickets. The struggles of Shah are foreboding for the next man to take centre stage for Pakistan.

Shah will miss the series due to injury, leaving Shadab Khan to take his place. It's a forewarning for Khan and other spinners that because of the climate change, England is becoming an impossible place to bowl quality spin.

Will Khan rise to the challenge?

Khan has been impressive at the tender age of 19. He scored a half-century with the bat and took four wickets with the ball against Ireland in his side’s five-wicket victory at Malahide. Its unclear whether he will be able to deliver under pressure at Lord’s. It is yet to be seen if at Headingley, he will rely on nous rather than the quality batsmen on track, who may not be conducive to spin.

Khan managed to turn the ball off the straight against Northamptonshire, taking 10 wickets in the match, including figures of 6/77 in the first innings. This suggests that his performance may be good enough to make inroads into England’s line-up, which has shown fragilities in recent history.



England has experienced torrential rain in the early stages of 2018, highlighted by the fact that myriad matches in April were wiped out by the weather. This isn’t a good sign for the groundsmen, since they require time to develop the pitches. Leaving them uncovered will lead to grass deterioration.

A good pitch should have 32% of moisture according to Nottinghamshire groundsman Steve Birk. The level can get escalated due to the showery weather and if that results, it would be unfavorable for Khan and Pakistan. Therefore, the young spinner will face a challenge to thrive in the series, especially at this early stage of the campaign where the wickets won’t be exposed to ample sunlight.