Everyone knows Moeen Ali is England's best spinner after his Lord's heroics – but no one must tell him so.
Moeen was key with ball and bat to a resounding victory over South Africa in Joe Root's first Test as captain, first passing the benchmark of 100 wickets and 2,000 runs more quickly than any other England all-rounder apart from Tony Greig.
He then made the most of a spinner's pitch to run through South Africa with figures of six for 53 – completing a 10-wicket match haul – as the tourists were all out for 119 to lose by 211 runs on an astounding fourth day of the first Investec Test at HQ.
Moeen's feats have seen him shoot up the International Cricket Council rankings, nine places into the world's top 20 bowlers – while at fourth in the all-rounder's table he has moved above Ben Stokes as England's best.
England coach Trevor Bayliss describes the team's latest match-winner as a "bit of a complex character at times", though – and his chief foible, it seems, is that he needs his off-breaks to go under the radar, even if they are bringing him stacks of wickets.
For that reason, if England retain the same XI for the second Test of four at Trent Bridge on Friday, they will make clear – contrary to the statistics to hand – that Liam Dawson will be their number one spinner and Moeen's primary task will still be as a batsman at number seven.
"We'll stick with one spinner and one batter that bowls a little ... and that's important for Mo more than anything," said Bayliss.
"He wants to be in the team as a batter that bowls a bit, so we've selected him as a batter and the second spinner."
It is, of course, all something of a confidence trick as England move into A Level man-management – and, presumably, hope Moeen does not read too much press between Tests.
Bayliss added: "If he goes into the match as a batter and the second spinner, as we saw in this match, it doesn't mean he can't be the best spinner.
"It's probably more so for Mo's benefit, to take a little bit of that pressure off him.
"He does see himself as a batter number one ... his number one job ... and a spinner second."
Either way, England know if they can keep Moeen in the right frame of mind they have a bowler – as well as a a batsman – who can cash in when conditions suit.
"I hope this match is the start of things to come for him," said Bayliss, who expects Dawson's less mercurial finger spin at the other end to increasingly complement Moeen.
Dawson's pair at Lord's takes his sequence of ducks in his two Tests to date to three, following an unbeaten half-century in his first innings.
Against South Africa, his bowling improved after a sticky start and brought him match figures of four for 101.
Bayliss said: "Liam admitted himself that he was very nervous in the first innings, first Test match at home, first Test at Lord's.
"He was very honest.
"It was one of those games when it didn't quite come out for him how he would have liked in that first innings, but I thought he showed the character we know he has to come back and bowl better in the second innings - and bowl in a good partnership with Mo."
It all added up to an encouraging captaincy debut for Root, whose first-innings 190 was the only century on either side.
Bayliss was impressed.
"Before this Test match, he was a little more on edge than I've seen him before," he said.
"But he didn't try to be something he's not ... we spoke about Joe being himself, getting the message across in his way.
"He's a pro-active, confident sort of a young bloke, and I thought that came across in the way he led the team."
Root's predecessor Alastair Cook marked his return to the ranks with a valuable second-innings half-century, and Bayliss reports England's record runscorer is already feeling at home solely as a specialist opener again.
"He's loving it!" he said.
"I was having a bit of a laugh about it, just watching him in the field.
"He was out running around in the covers and things like that. He looked like he was enjoying it.
"For someone in that stage of his career, it's a good sign."
