Now he is back in the team and back in Rawalpindi, where on his last visit he took what he considers "probably my favourite wicket" to win the first Test of the 2022 series against Pakistan, and where in the buildup to Thursday's series decider, ground staff are busy cooking up a pitch they hope will suit their own spinners but might just help their opponents' too.
In between he had one of his best English summers, taking 45 wickets at 22.77 in the County Championship. "It was just getting back to remembering what I'm about and being happy with that," he said. "When I first came into the England team, it's great and then you kind of think: 'What do I need to do to be better?' It's quite a fine line between trying to get better and trying to change. Sometimes I was guilty of trying to change, and then you forget what your main strengths are. This summer provided a really good opportunity to simplify everything: just do what I'm good at."
This story is from the October 22, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the October 22, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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