Dale Steyn's performance on the second afternoon in Johannesburg was incredible. He obliterated Mike Hussey's usually sturdy castle.  I found it difficult not to admire Steyn's sheer tenacity. There's nothing quite like watching a sportsman at the height of their powers.

Several hours later I watched another sportsman - a cricketer, in fact - perform equally well at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.  He was a 34-year-old man from Faisalabad who has only been playing international cricket for three years.

Does the name Saeed Ajmal ring a bell?

It should.  He has taken 41 wickets in six tests this year at an average of 23.41.  I like those apples.  Ajmal has taken more wickets than any other Test bowler in 2011. India's Ishant Sharma sits second on the list.  He has taken 40 wickets, but has played in four more Tests than Ajmal.

Graeme Swann - generally regarded as the best off-spinner in world cricket - has taken 14 wickets fewer than Ajmal. 

Ajmal recently helped guide his country to a one-nil series victory over Sri Lanka, taking 18 wickets in three Tests.  He has followed this up by taking 10 wickets in the first four one-day internationals.

I found his performance in the third one day international simply breathtaking.  Sri Lanka was 3-168 in the 36th over chasing Pakistan's gettable total of 257.

Ajmal then deceived Mahela Jayawardene with a doosra which straightened from around the wicket. Sarfraz Ahmed swiftly removed the bails and coaxed Ahsan Raza into going upstairs.

After several minutes of deliberation and caressing his own moustache, third umpire Richard Illingworth adjudged that Jayawardene had marginally failed to ground his right foot.

It was a cunning piece of trickery from Ajmal.  Jayawardene is a class batsman.  Yet he, like many batsmen throughout the world this calendar year, failed to read Ajmal's well-disguised doosra out of the hand.

Four overs later, Ajmal beat Dinesh Chandimal in flight, luring him into a lofted drive.  The ball ballooned to the covers, where Shoaib Malik took a composed catch. Ajmal then bowled Thisara Perera with the second-last delivery of his spell to put his country in an unassailable position.

He captured 3-42 from his ten overs, bowling with subtle variations and imparting considerable overspin on the white ball.

Ajmal has always been a solid one-day contributor.  He has played in 51 ODI matches and has taken 73 wickets at an average of 25.28.  He has done this whilst maintaining a remarkable economy rate of 4.22. Fortunately, he finally seems to have found the guile to succeed at Test level.

It's been a difficult 12 months for Pakistan.  I find it a great shame that they are still forced to play home matches in Dubai and Sharjah (a necessary shame, nonetheless).  Yet, following on from their solid performance at the World Cup, there finally appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.

Saeed Ajmal's form is perhaps reflective of a subtle regeneration which is occurring under the guidance of Misbah-ul-Haq.  Talent has never been the issue for Pakistan.  Learning how to nurture it has often proved to be the country's downfall.

World cricket needs a dominant Pakistani team.  For better or worse, no country plays the game quite as colourfully as them. Think ‘Boom-Boom'! Think ‘The Rawalpindi Express'!

One of my happiest cricketing memories involves seeing Mushtaq Ahmed utterly deceive Graham Hick with a googly in the World Cup final at the MCG in 1992.

Ajmal's delivery to Jayawardene reminded me of Mushtaq's famous ball to Hick.  Hopefully his emergence as a world-class spinner can help Pakistan recapture the magic of 1992.  Wouldn't it be great if Pakistan was the No.1 team in the world within five years?