The Noman Ali career arc ft. Naseem Shah

Like that least favourite child parents simply don't talk about unless they are in the running for a Nobel Prize, followers of Pakistan cricket don't really bring up Noman Ali much. He's a spinner, for one - a left armer at that. Quiet, under the radar. He's not even like those flashy lower-order batters who entertain at the crease, and so devoid of the rub of the green that blesses so many Pakistan cricketers he even found a way to run himself out as a nightwatcher the previous Test. Oh, and he doesn't really spin the ball that much. If you were conjuring up an unsexy cricketer in a lab, you would base it on Noman and then dial it down a bit.

There's always a reason not to talk about Noman, and on Thursday, Naseem Shah offered it up on a platter. Naseem is the anti-Noman. He's a fast bowler with boyish good looks, pace to compete with the best, conventional and reverse swing with frightening control, and a hairline that takes pride of place among the pantheon of Pakistan fast bowlers. He's got his whole career ahead of him, and no signs yet that he's anywhere near the best version of himself. He will grow into his body, put on a bit more muscle, and gain both experience and confidence. His fandom, boyband-like in its devotion, will grow into a legion.

But Noman is blessed with something that often eludes flashier, more talented cricketers: he understands perfectly both his role and his limitations. He only came into the side two years ago because Pakistan needed an extra spinner against South Africa, and hung around as Yasir Shah faded away, and Abrar Ahmed wasn't yet ready. It's a barren time for red-ball spin-bowling talent in Pakistan, and Noman knows when you're that hard up, anything will do. Even the drip, drip, drip from a leaky faucet.

Noman has had to do the jobs no one else will, and he'd done them without complaint, receiving little praise in return. Just three Tests ago, while New Zealand batted Pakistan out of the game across 195 dreary overs, Noman sent down 63. In 2022, on a placid pitch in Karachi against Australia, he bowled 48 for little reward. When he has got wickets, he's been easily overshadowed - by Hasan Ali on debut, by Shaheen Afridi in Zimbabwe, and by an ICC pitch rating against Australia.

This was a perfect Test match for Pakistan, but they weren't getting wickets, and who could predict the weather in Colombo on day five? Pakistan had already lost a lot of time to rain and arguably dawdled on the declaration, and Sri Lanka had laid a respectable foundation with their openers. Naseem, Shaheen and Abrar had, of course, all been tried first, but when each returned empty-handed, Babar Azam threw the ball to Noman.

Few could begrudge Nishan Madushka for falling to that first ball, in equal parts because of the quality of the delivery and the unlikeliness of the source of it. Noman found his radar immediately, drifting it in, landing it on middle, and getting it to grip just enough to beat the outside edge while still clipping the outer half of off stump. It wasn't just effective, but it was - whisper it quietly - actually sexy.

Perhaps Noman's been doing this all along, and we just haven't noticed, and maybe that says something about us just as much as it does about him. Because few will remember that ball, or the six others that helped blow the game open and ensure Pakistan didn't need to play dice with the rain gods. For, at the other end, Naseem, while going wicketless, was sending down a spell for the ages. Just after lunch, he produced four maiden overs on the trot, somehow being attacker and container all in one, even as Noman picked up wickets from the other end. The spinner has held things up for the quicker bowlers for much of his career, but in a strange inversion, the lead actor was returning the favour to his supporting cast.

Even so, as Noman picked up his fifth, sixth and seventh wickets, and whispers of ten began to echo around, the limelight still found reasons to stray away from him. Because Naseem was bowling a spell whose worth couldn't be measured in numbers. The drama rose to a crescendo in the 62nd over. By this time, Naseem was getting the ball to reverse with a mastery that takes most a career to perfect. Three times he beat bat, three times Hawkeye showed the ball was reversing too much. As Naseem sunk his face into the Colombo dirt in despair, the technology had in effect told him he was simply too good to get that wicket.

But Noman's role, remarkable as it was, had come to a conclusion. Naseem hasn't often been kept waiting for what he wants, and normal service resumed as the prince of Pakistan's fast bowling took centre stage. Noman had cleared the path for a shot at the tail, removing the charmed Ramesh Mendis who had somehow survived that over from Naseem. It took the 20-year-old all off six deliveries to wrap up the final three.

Even as Noman led the team off, the cameras showed what people really wanted to see. An extended shot of Naseem, surrounded by his team-mates as they laughed, joked, and played with his hair. The boy who got three wickets may have deserved more, but none would begrudge the man who picked up seven even a single one. Slow left-arm spin might not be glamorous, but there's no taking the sheen off figures of 7 for 70. Only one visiting cricketer has ever managed to do better in an innings in Sri Lanka.

And that, as Noman might be too modest to point out, is even rarer than a Nobel Prize.