Ajmal’s performance in the first Test was not the first time England had been left in a spin

Qadir, the fiery leg-spinner, returned 13-101 in the corresponding game of the 1987-88 series.

He took 9-56 in the first innings – the best figures by a Pakistani in Test cricket and the best against England. And he followed up with 4-45 in the second as England lost by an innings and 87 runs at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

It was a sensational series for the irrepressible Qadir – he of the bounding run-up and endless variations. He claimed seven wickets in the second Test at Faisalabad and 10 in the third and final game at Karachi, both of which were drawn, to finish with 30 wickets at 14.56.

But it was his performance at Lahore that really caught the eye and cemented his place in cricketing folklore.

Not even the aid of some dubious umpiring decisions during a series plagued by controversy took the gloss off a stunning performance.

After England decided to bat on a pitch under-prepared to favour spinners, Qadir was quickly into his stride.

He bowled opening batsman Graham Gooch for 12 and then sent back Tim Robinson and Mike Gatting in the space of three balls as England slipped to 36-3.

Qadir captured his fourth wicket when former Yorkshire batsman Bill Athey was trapped lbw before off-spinner Tauseef Ahmed removed David Capel.

England then plunged to 94-8 when Qadir dismissed Phil DeFreitas, John Emburey and Chris Broad, the latter having resisted for more than three hours for a top score of 41.

Qadir and Pakistan were held up by the ninth-wicket pair of Neil Foster and Bruce French, who added 57 before Qadir sent back Foster lbw. The wrist-spinner then rounded off the innings by removing Nick Cook as England were all-out for 175 in 83 overs.

When Pakistan replied, England’s spinners, Cook and Emburey, failed to replicate Qadir’s heroics.

They managed only three wickets apiece as Pakistan made 392, Mudassar Nazar top-scoring with 120 and Javed Miandad contributing 65.

A first-innings deficit of 217 proved well beyond England, who folded to 130 second time around. Emburey top-scored with an unbeaten 38 after Qadir ripped the heart out of the innings by removing Robinson, French, Capel and Gatting.

England’s second innings was marred by an unsavoury incident involving opener Broad, who refused to walk when given out by umpire Shakeel Khan.

Almost a minute went by before Gooch persuaded Broad to leave the crease after he was adjudged caught behind off left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim.

“Broad was later severely reprimanded by the tour manager (Peter Lush), and many observers considered him fortunate to escape a heavy fine,” reported Wisden.

“Mr Lush criticised the umpiring at the same time, and after the game Gatting was even more severe in his comments.

“Mr (Micky) Stewart, the team manager, was also upset. However, although England undoubtedly received a raw deal, not one of the three appeared to acknowledge that the batting had been woefully sub-standard.”

Whatever the failings of England’s batsmen or the Pakistan umpires, nothing could detract from Qadir’s display.

It was a masterly exhibition of wrist-spin bowling, accompanied by all manner of impassioned appeals and theatrical gestures.

As former Wisden editor Scyld Berry would later observe: “It is impossible to believe that wrist-spin has ever been bowled better than Qadir did in his home city of Lahore in 1987-88, when he took 9-56 against England.

“Graham Gooch, who faced him that day, said Qadir was even finer than Shane Warne, to whom he passed on the candle.”

The umpiring attracted even more criticism in the second Test at Faisalabad, where Gatting and Shakoor Rana had their famous set-to, and where the whole tour was almost called off as a result.

Gatting was forced to apologise for swearing at Shakoor after the official complained the England captain had unfairly moved a fielder behind the batsman’s back – a row that left a bitter taste.

Qadir – no stranger to controversy himself throughout a turbulent career – went on to play 67 Tests, which brought him 236 wickets at 32.80.

He near single-handed flew the flag for leg-spin in the 70s and 80s before Warne brought it back into fashion in the 90s. Qadir always said one of his greatest tributes came from Warne. The message read simply: “To the best. Thanks for everything.”