The Joy of Six 1397

"I asked the Appellant why, in the light of this citation of non-existent authorities, the Court should not of its own motion strike out the grounds of appeal in this case, as being an abuse of the process of the Court. His answer was as follows. He claimed that the substance of the points which were being put forward in the grounds of appeal were sound, even if the authority which was being cited for those points did not exist." Matthew Lee looks at the problems the increasing use of AI are causing the judicial system.

Paul Kirkley fears British stories are in danger of vanishing from our TV screens: "ITV managing director Kevin Lygo has admitted it probably wouldn’t get commissioned now. Why? Because a miscarriage of justice against British postmasters doesn’t have sufficient global appeal to attract the foreign investment and international sales that are increasingly the topline requirements of any UK drama."

Kathryn Rix looks back to the Pontefract by-election of 1872, which was the first British parliamentary election to use the secret ballot: "In contrast with the unruly behaviour which had often marred previous elections, seasoned observers declared that 'they never saw a contested election in which less intoxicating liquor was drunk' and there were no allegations of bribery or other corrupt practices. So quiet and orderly was the town that 'it hardly seemed like an election'."

Teaching philosophy in prison is a rowdy, honest and hopeful provocation, says Jay Miller.

Koraljka Suton celebrates Quentin Tarantino's postmodern masterpiece: "One of the many reasons why Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as a postmodern classic, lies in the brilliance of its screenplay. In true postmodern fashion, Pulp Fiction plays with narrative structure, presenting us with three interconnected storylines told out of chronological order and centering on a different protagonist each."

"Ahmed is a technicolour player, an energy bath bomb with a textbook technique. The Spin has been lucky enough to watch him razzle-dazzle two hundreds in the flesh this year – both against Lancashire, one at Old Trafford, one at Grace Road, opponent-draining, sparkling innings so much better than the previous blind boundary biffing. He added another against Kent, another against Glamorgan and became the first Englishman to take 13 wickets and score a century in a first-class game since Ian Botham in the Jubilee Test of 1980, after taking Derbyshire to the cleaners with both bat and ball." Tanya Aldred argues that Leicestershire's Rehan Ahmed deservers a place in England's Ashes squad this winter.

Shane Warne watches a 13-year-old Rehan Ahmed bowl

Leicestershire's Rehan Ahmed was England's most economical bowler in today's 50-over international against the West Indies, with 2-40 off his 10 overs. As I write, Brook and Buttler are knocking off the runs after an earlier wobble, but who knows with England at the moment?

Ahmed was bowling in the nets to England batsmen when he was 12. This video shows Shane Warne watching him the following summer year and being impressed.

One notable thing about Ahmed is that, like Warne and unlike many other wrist spinners, he has a simple and classical bowling action. Here's to the future.

Rehan Ahmed was first featured on this blog in 2017

Today, having already broken the record for the youngest English test player, Rehan Ahmed took five second-innings wickets to put England in a winning position against Pakistan.

In the process, he also set back the England and Wales Cricket Board's plans to get rid off Leicestershire as a first-class county.

An ECB spokesperson responds: "And we would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for that meddling kid."

Rehman Ahmed first featured on this blog in September 2017, when the media got excited about his abilities after he was used as a net bowler by the England team.

As I remarked at the time,

Like chess prodigies, England spin prospects get younger and younger.

And I quoted Elizabeth Ammon in The Times:

Rehan Ahmed is considered such an outstanding prospect that he has now bowled at England batsmen two years in a row. Ahmed, who is attached to Nottinghamshire and has already played for their under-17s, also helped England’s batsmen before the Lord’s Test against Pakistan last year, when he bowled Ben Stokes in the nets. 

Yesterday he was back among the finest Test players in England, holding his own comfortably. His father, Naeem, who took his son to a trial at Nottinghamshire at the age of eight, told Cricinfo: "Mushtaq Ahmed [the former England spin bowling coach] was just walking past the nets last summer and when he saw Rehan bowl, he stopped in his tracks. He came to watch and was obviously very impressed." 

I did offer warnings about what a growth spurt at puberty can do to young spin bowlers, quoting Nasser Hussain:

"I went from bowling out Graham Gooch in the indoor school with everyone watching to hitting the roof or bowling triple-bouncers in deadly silence." 

But as Rehan Ahmed has negotiated that hurdle, I shall just claim to have spotted his potential years ago.

Leicestershire leg spinner Rehan Ahmed called up by England after three first-class games

The 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has been called up to England's squad for the series against Pakistan after just three first-class games for Leicestershire.

As the Guardian points out, if he is selected for one of the three tests he will beat Brian Close's record to become the youngest ever England test player and also become the first Leicestershire player given an England test cap since James Taylor in 2011.

The paper also quotes the England coach Brendon McCullum:

"We know he’s not the finished article and has raw potential, but Ben, myself and the rest of the coaches like how he approaches his game. The experience of being part of the squad in Pakistan will be hugely beneficial for him, and he will add to the makeup of our squad."

McCullum's caution was being justified as he spoke. Ahmed recorded figures of none for 73 off eight overs today as England posted 501 for 7 against England Lions off only 79 overs. And older readers will remember Ian Salisbury being called up to the team unsuccessfully after joining the England party as a net bowler.

Still, it's easy to see what England like about Ahmed. He had a successful under-19 world cup, is quicker through the air than Matt Parkinson and scored a century in his third county championship game.

Sooner or later England will need a white-ball replacement for Adil Rashid, and it may be that role which Ahmed is really auditioning for this winter. You can see him in T20 action in the video above.

I wish him well, and like Adil Rashid and Mason Crane, he now has a label on this blog. I hope it will see many posts.

Now the papers are talking up a 13-year-old England cricket prospect

Like chess prodigies, England spin prospects get younger and younger.

A few days ago the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and The Times got excited about 13-year-old Rehan Ahmed.

Here is Elizabeth Ammon in The Times:

Rehan Ahmed is considered such an outstanding prospect that he has now bowled at England batsmen two years in a row. Ahmed, who is attached to Nottinghamshire and has already played for their under-17s, also helped England’s batsmen before the Lord’s Test against Pakistan last year, when he bowled Ben Stokes in the nets. 

Yesterday he was back among the finest Test players in England, holding his own comfortably. His father, Naeem, who took his son to a trial at Nottinghamshire at the age of eight, told Cricinfo: "Mushtaq Ahmed [the former England spin bowling coach] was just walking past the nets last summer and when he saw Rehan bowl, he stopped in his tracks. He came to watch and was obviously very impressed." 

England hope Ahmed will develop into a top-class professional. 

I wish him well, but a growth spurt can do terrible things to a young leg spinner.

Take the experience of the former England captain Nasser Hussain:

At eight, he was bowling leg-breaks for Essex Schools Under-11s, and at 12 for their Under-15s. Born five days apart, Hussain and Mike Atherton soon found their careers progressing in parallel as they captained, batted and bowled legspin for England age-group teams, while also passing enough exams to go to a leading university. 

In his mid-teens, however, Hussain "grew a foot in a winter" and the trajectory of his bowling was altered: "I went from bowling out Graham Gooch in the indoor school with everyone watching to hitting the roof or bowling triple-bouncers in deadly silence." 

His father remembers him crying in bed at the loss of his legbreak; the son felt he was letting his father down. He was also anxious not to be left behind by his peers, boys like Atherton, Trevor Ward, Martin Bicknell and Chris Lewis. So he made himself into a batsman, moving up the order from tail-end to opening or No. 3, and becoming the first boy at Forest to score 1000 runs in a season since 1901. 

Vestiges of this manufacturing process remain in his technique: he bats with little left elbow and plenty of bottom hand, and backs up with the bat in his right hand (not that Duncan Fletcher minds). In general, his runs seem to be scored as much by an exceptional effort of will as through natural talent.