IANS

London, Jul 18: India's Zaheer Khan is one of the most rhythmical bowlers on the world stage, with brilliant variations of pace, and the rare ability to swing the ball both ways.

But Zaheer, who leads India's bowling attack in the Test series against England, may have been on the international scrap heap by now but for a brilliant season with Worcestershire in 2006, BBC writes on its website.

The arrival of Zaheer was a barn storming one.

Indian cricket was shocked from its slumber at the ICC Knockout Trophy in October 2000 when a left-arm seamer - already tall and well built - produced a series of stirring performances.

But after an excellent 2003 World Cup, Zaheer picked up a hamstring injury in the Brisbane Test and it took him almost a year to fully recover.

Worryingly, some of the Zaheer zip had gone, and a new wave of fast bowlers such as Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel meant he was not a Team India regular any more.

There was only one thing for it - a spell in county cricket to rekindle his appetite for wickets and remind the selectors of his ability.

Worcestershire captain Vikram Solanki says the relationship between the player and county was symbiotic from the start.

"For him to be so committed and driven to perform was obviously going to benefit both parties," Solanki told BBC Sport.

"He was fortunate enough to get off to a good start and took it from there - there weren't very many games when he didn't get at least five wickets.

"He's a very gifted bowler with an ability to swing the ball both ways. But I think his greatest attribute is that he very quickly assesses pitches and batsmen and then bowls accordingly.

"Within a couple of overs you could see him set the way he was going to bowl for that game, on that pitch and against the line-up he was facing."

Worcestershire got full value out of Zaheer, who played in all 16 Championship matches.

Of his 78 wickets, nine came in a single innings against Essex at Chelmsford when - out of nowhere - he found vicious reverse swing on a flat wicket.

But for Steve Davies dropping a tough catch, he would have had all 10.

Zaheer's success at Worcester had its desired effect - he is now likely to share the new ball at Lord's with Sreesanth.

England's batsmen should certainly face a more testing examination from Zaheer than they did from any of the West Indies bowlers.

"If he's in decent form he'll be a force to contend with in the Tests," said Solanki.

"The season he spent here has made him aware of the conditions so he'll know what to expect at the grounds."