Wednesday, December 12, 2001 Anil Kumble has been the main threat to England in this series. He struggled in South Africa and couldn't seem to find his rhythm. That might have been because he was just back from injury, but now he has got his form back. He has been very successful in India - where the wickets suit him - but he has never been as effective abroad.

He is a good, tight bowler, but he isn't much of a legspinner. When I played against him I played him like a googly-and-flipper bowler. I would say that about 90% of his deliveries either come in to the right-handed batsman or go straight on. As a result he gets plenty of lbw and bat-pad decisions. He is tall and gets bounce. He is also very accurate.

If you compare him with other legspinners, he doesn't bowl many short balls. Again that is because of his height. The other difference is that Kumble bowls every delivery with virtually the same action. Shane Warne's variations, for example, are obvious — if you know what you are looking for. The main change to spot with Kumble is that he sometimes gives the ball a little more air, which means that it will turn away from the right-hander.

But I honestly do not think that Kumble knows which way the ball is going to turn. I'm sure he would say the same thing if you asked him. Shahid Afridi is similar: he comes in and bowls, some balls turn and some don't. But they both bowl with pace. This kind of bowler is very dangerous in the subcontinent because our wickets are generally so slow and low that the batsman has time to adjust. The faster you bowl, the less likely you are to turn the ball although you do give yourself a better chance of deceiving a batsman on a slow wicket.

A left-arm spinner who is accurate and pushes the ball through is probably the most effective on these wickets. That's why Ashley Giles did so well in Pakistan last year. If he can find his rhythm he will not be easy to play.

Javed Miandad, Pakistan's greatest run-maker and latterly their coach, was talking to Kamran Abbasi.

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