Close, but no cigar for Brian as Rehan Ahmed prepared to spin past Yorkshire CCC legend into record books

Whereas Ahmed is 18 years and 126 days young, Close was a comparatively gnarled, antediluvian 18 years and 149 days when he made his debut against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1949.

It was an undistinguished bow for the keen horse racing lover - 1-39, 0-46 and a duck in his solitary innings.

Ordered by his captain, Freddie Brown, to give it some tap ahead of a declaration, Close tried for a six and “would have got it if the tallest New Zealander in the team, Geoff Rabone, hadn’t been posted at long-on,” he remembered in his autobiography.

“It was as near as that. I had hit the ball well, and this was in the days when we used the full arena at Old Trafford, not just a reduced field as they do now.”

In my day, Rehan, in my day…

Close made his Yorkshire debut earlier that year, along with a certain Frederick Sewards Trueman and Frank Lowson.

The trio were blooded at Fenner’s against Cambridge University, prompting Wisden to announce, in the mistake of the millennium, “Yorkshire gave a trial to three young players: Lowson, an opening batsman, Close, an all-rounder, and Trueman, a spin bowler.”

Trueman forgave the insult - but never forgot it.

Rehan Ahmed, a genuine spinner and a handy batsman too, had played just three first-class games before this third and final Test.

He is a splendid young prospect.

So, too, is the prospect of England potentially completing a 3-0 clean sweep.

What an achievement that would be - regardless of the limited nature of the opposition - in a country where England had only twice won a Test match prior to this trip.

Indeed, to the question “can Bazball succeed overseas?” can be returned the emphatic answer “yes”.

It has been an affirming few weeks for their attacking style of cricket.

England went into the match having won eight of their nine Tests under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, a remarkable achievement.

But it is the manner of their play, as much as their win-ratio, that has been so impressive.

Commenting on Ahmed ahead of the fixture, Stokes said: “I’ve told him to go out there and have fun.

“You only make your debut once.”

It is unlikely that Brian Close would have been given quite the same message ahead of his debut in Manchester 73 years ago, not least because captain Freddie Brown was cut from a rather different cloth.

A skilful all-rounder, Brown was not everybody’s cup of Yorkshire tea, a man variously described as “a bumptious windbag”, “a bully who preyed on weakness or quirk of character” and “a bad-mannered bigot”, among other endorsements.

The former Surrey and Northamptonshire man was said to have been extremely unsympathetic to Close when the youngster struggled on the 1950-51 Ashes tour, while Fred Trueman regarded Brown as “an ignorant snob”.

Leaving aside such glowing character references, which make out Brown to be about as popular as a dose of German measles, there is no doubt that England are enthused by Ahmed’s potential.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for us to not only look at him, but for him to come in and experience what it’s like to play international cricket,” said Stokes.

“We obviously brought him into the squad to try and get him amongst us and experience what it’s like being in this cricket team, and we’ve been very impressed with what we’ve seen.

“He’s got a lot of skill with both bat and ball, so it’s great to be able to bring someone with the talent and the excitement that he has into the squad and see what he’s got.”

Ahmed first hit the headlines at the grand old age of 11 when he dismissed Stokes and Sir Alastair Cook in the nets having been invited to bowl at the national team. He was also praised by Shane Warne when he saw him bowling in the nets at Lord’s as a youngster, Warne posting on Twitter: “That’s awesome man, really, really good. I’m going to keep a close eye on you. I think we’re going to be commentating on you really soon.”

Alas, that was not to be for the late, great, spin king, who, like Close, could be watching from above.

Stokes, who is as enthused by Ahmed’s batting as his bowling, added: “I think, being at such a young age, it’s great to see someone who has so much freedom in what they do and the way that he bats, he likes to get on with it and show what he’s about and almost – not show off – but show what he can do.

“He’s got a vast array of shots, and obviously a wrist-spinner is great to be able to have in your team, especially in these conditions.

“It’s exciting times for Rehan, and he was very excited when we gave him the nod that he was going to play.”

Bad luck, Brian, but you’ve had a good run...