Two weeks ago, after Pakistan's test match against Ireland, I wrote about why Mohammad Abbas was Pakistan's new pace spearhead.

In that article, I showed that Abbas has an average, strike rate, and economy among the world's best in the past year since his debut, and that he is also Pakistan's second highest wicket taker in Tests in this period.

At Lord's, Abbas lived up to this new reputation of being Pakistan's pace spearhead, picking up the man of the match award for his 8-64, the best bowling figures by a Pakistani pacer at Lord's.
Abbas' 8 wickets at Lord's took his tally to 40 wickets after just 7 test matches at an exemplary average of 16.6.

No other bowler in the world has a better average than Abbas does in the period starting from 21 April 2017 (min 20 wickets).

He is a clear 1.4 runs per wicket ahead than the next best average. His economy rate and strike rate are also right up there.

Abbas' 40 wicket in just 7 tests is the highest tally of wickets after 7 tests among all Pakistan test bowlers.

He is miles ahead of legends like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis were and also significantly ahead of his peers, including Yasir Shah who holds the Pakistan record of being the fastest to reach 50 wickets.

Abbas' average and economy rate after 7 tests is also significantly better of all other Pakistan test bowlers at the same stage of their respective careers; while his strike rate is slightly behind only Mohammad Asif's.

While there are many bowlers who have taken more wickets in their first 7 tests, almost all of them belonged to another era.

In more recent times, only Vernon Philander with 51 wickets was ahead of where Abbas is after 7 tests.

Besides that, everyone from Glenn McGrath, to Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock Dale Steyn, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall and even the likes of Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee, Sir Ian Botham, and Dennis Lillee had fewer wickets than Abbas does after 7 wickets.

That is quite a list of name that he has bettered.

The yesteryear bowlers from another era who had many more wickets than 40 after 7 tests include the likes of Sydney Barnes, George Lohmann, Frank Tyson, Rodney Hogg, erry Alderman, Charlie Turner, Alf Valentine, and few others.

Mohammad Abbas has had a sterling start to his test career and he is forging full speed ahead as Pakistan's main pace spearhead. He has a long road ahead but with the start he has had, he is already miles ahead of all the legends that ever bowled for Pakistan.

Lords of Lord's, Lords of London, Oval Hero, have all been used in recent days and over the past 60 odd years to describe Pakistan's dominance over England, especially in tests played at Lord's, as well as, at the other ground in London - the Oval.

London has a special place in Pakistani hearts and it has truly been a significant location for a lot of cricket success that Pakistan has had over the years.

The World T20 Final in 2009 was won in London, at Lord's.

The ICC Champions Trophy Final in 2017 was won in London, at the Oval.

Pakistan won their first ever test outside the subcontinent in London in 1954, at the Oval.

Both Lord's and the Oval are part of Pakistan's cricket history and besides Australia, there is no other team in the world that has had as much success as Pakistan has had against England in London.

Here's a look at some amazing Pakistan cricket feats in London.

Test Victories at Lord's
Pakistan's win over England in the 1st test of the series was their 5th test win at Lord's. This is the second most victories for a touring team at Lord's, behind Australia's 17.

Pakistan have the second best W/L ratio and Win % at Lord's among all touring sides.

Test Victories at the Oval
Even though Pakistan's 5 wins at the Oval are behind West Indies' 6 and Australia's 7, Pakistan's W/L ratio and Win % at the Oval is the best among all visiting teams.

In fact, no other team has won more games at the Oval than they have lost, while Pakistan have a lead of 2 over England.

Test Victories in London
When it comes to test performance in London, combining the tests played at Lord's and the Oval, then there is no team that comes close to Pakistan's dominance over England.

Pakistan's W/L ratio and Win % in London tests is significantly better than all other visiting teams.

Pakistan Test Captains at Lord's
With this win over England, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed joined the likes of Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, and Misbah Ul Haq as the Pakistan captains who have led their teams to test wins at Lord's.

Leading Pacers at Lord's and London
Mohammad Aamir picked up 5 wickets in the just concluded Lord's test and his 2 wickets in 3 deliveries were crucial in scripting this historic victory for Pakistan.

Aamir's 5 wicket burst brought him into the top 10 wicket takers among visiting team pacers at Lord's. He is now the joint 6th highest wicket taking visiting pacer at Lord's with a few legends ahead of him.

Among Pakistan's bowlers, Aamir has more wickets at Lord's than any other pacer and spinner. He has surpassed the feats of Pakistan's 2 Ws, Imran Khan, and Pakistan's legendary leg spinners.

Overall, in tests played in London, Aamir is third on Pakistan's list of bowlers, very slightly behind the legends Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in terms of wickets tally.

Leading Spinners at Lord's
Yasir Shah's 10-141 at Lord's that led Pakistan to victory in 2016 is the second best match haul by a visiting spinner at Lord's, behind only off spinner Sonny Ramadhin's 11 wicket feat in 1950.

Yasir's 6-72 in the first innings of that Lord's test is also the second best innings haul by a visiting spinner at Lord's, behind off spinner Marcus North's 6-55.

Among leg spinners, Yasir's innings and match hauls are right there at the top.

Yasir's average of 14.1 and strike rate of 36.0 at Lord's are also second best among all visiting spinners.

Not many teams and individuals come close to Pakistan and its cricketers' achievements at Lord's and in overall in London.

They have faced more success than any other visiting in London and have just become the only team to win two back to back tests at Lord's in recent times.

They have won two ICC trophies in London and they will have the opportunity to win the one that they haven't when the ICC World Cup comes to London next year!

Pakistan have truly earned the tag of being the Lords of London and with the way this young team is playing right now, it seems like they will be holding on to this tag for some time to come.

I am not a fan of wicket keepers playing at 6 and a test eleven comprising 5 batsmen and 5 bowlers including a couple of allrounders.

In limited overs cricket, sure that is ideal; but in test matches, definitely not.

I am a traditionalist who believes that test cricket is a game for specialists.

6 batsmen, wicket keeper, 4 bowlers.

That is the combination to play in a test.

If some of the batsmen can bowl and some bowlers can bat then great, but essentially they need to be a force in their specialist department.

That is the combination that West Indies used to dominate world cricket for two decades. That is the combination that Australia used to rule world cricket for a decade and a half. That is the combination that Misbah's Pakistan used to remain unbeaten in the UAE and reach the number 1 ranking in test cricket.

There is no reason to change that balance.

Australia didn't do it with Adam Gilchrist, even though he could easily fit into the top 6 of any test nation.

Even England are playing this test at Lord's with this combination.

Pakistan changed it around against Ireland, pushing Sarfraz Ahmed up to 6.

I did not like it but thought maybe they can afford to against a first time test nation; however they went into this Lord's test with the same combination and I thought it was criminal.

I found it extremely strange that after losing your two best and most experienced test batsmen in Misbah and Younis, Pakistan's leadership decided to sacrifice another batsman and play an additional bowler.

One would think that an additional batsman would be required to fill the gap left open by Misbah's and Younis' departure.

Instead Pakistan have gone into tests in bowler friendly conditions with 5 batsmen, Sarfraz at 6, and 5 bowlers.

I don't like it. I feel it makes Pakistan's batting look weak. Sarfraz is not a top 6 test batsman. Some may argue that he averages 40+ in tests and he is good enough to bat at 6, but his form over the past two years has not been good and to promote him at a time like this just does not seem right.

Having said all this, seeing how Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf have batted at 7 and 8 respectively in these two tests has made me rethink my stance.

Shadab has played innings of 55, 4*, and 52 in 3 innings against Ireland and England.

Faheem has innings of 83 and 37 in these two tests.

The two came together to take Pakistan out of a precarious situation against Ireland when they were reduced to 159-6. Shadab and Faheem forged a partnership of 117 runs in quick time and ensured Pakistan got a healthy first innings total.

In the ongoing test at Lord's, they again contributed with a steady partnership of 70 odd ensuring that Pakistan did not end their first innings with only a lead of 50.

Pakistan's lead in excess of 165 is due to the way Shadab and Faheem batted.

The duos current form is covering up for Sarfraz' constant failures at 6.

The duos current form has strengthened Pakistan's batting significantly.

It also allows some batsmen to be a bit more aggressive.

It is heartening to see two young allrounders like Shadab and Faheem put on strong performances in just the first few tests, that too in foreign conditions where subcontinental teams take time to adjust.

They are taking wickets, they are scoring runs, they are fielding well - they both provide Pakistan a rare luxury of having two genuine allrounders that are good enough to play all three formats.

I am extremely impressed with the discipline Shadab has shown while batting. And I am extremely impressed by the dominance and aggression that Faheem bats with. Faheem has an amazing straight bat and I believe he is one of the best batsmen in the side.

Number 8 seems too low for someone like Faheem and I reckon he has the ability to be a long term number 6 for Pakistan in all formats.

While I am still not a fan of the combination that Pakistan is playing, I am pleased that they did as it provided all of us the chance to witness the start of two very promising careers of Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf.

On Thursday, Pakistan will take the field against England for the 15th time in a test match at Lord's, the home of cricket (16th overall with the one test they played there against Australia in 2010).

Here is a look at some Test cricket history for Pakistan at Lord's.

PAKISTAN VS ENGLAND AT LORD'S
Since 1954, Pakistan and England have squared off in 14 tests at Lord's with 4 wins apiece. Pakistan leveled the playing field by winning the most recent test played at Lord's in 2016.

PAKISTAN TEST CAPTAINS AT LORD's
Sarfraz Ahmed will become the 14th Pakistan captain to lead them in a test match at Lord's. Only Imran Khan and Intikhab Alam had captained Pakistan twice at Lord's.

PAKISTAN TEST BATSMEN ON LORD'S HONOR BOARD
7 batsmen from Pakistan have scored test centuries at Lord's with Mohammad Yousuf's epic 202 in 2006 the highest score by a Pakistani in a Lord's test.

Misbah Ul Haq's 114 at Lord's in 2016 is the most recent test century scored by a Pakistan batsman at the home of cricket.

PAKISTAN TEST BOWLERS ON LORD'S HONOR BOARD
6 bowlers from Pakistan have picked up a 5 wicket haul in an innings at Lord's and 1, Yasir Shah, is the only bowler from Pakistan with a 10 wicket match haul at Lord's, which came in the same test as Misbah's century, the last time Pakistan played at the home of cricket.

It is going to be an intriguing contest starting on Thursday. At least 6 players from Pakistan will be playing their first test at Lord's.

Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Aamir, and Rahat Ali are the only survivors in the squad from the eleven that played at Lord's just two years ago.

Azhar Ali and Mohammad Aamir were there in 2010 as well when Pakistan played at Lord's twice - against England and against Australia.

Azhar Ali in fact made his test debut at Lord's in 2010. Both he and Aamir will be playing their 4th test at Lord's joining legends like Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, Inzamam Ul Haq, and Mushtaq Mohammad, all of whom have played 4 tests at Lord's.

The most capped test cricketer at Lord's from Pakistan is Wasim Bari who has played 5 tests at Lord's.

Performing at Lord's and getting your named inked on the honors board is a dream for all cricketers. From the current squad, Aamir is already there and he would love to get his name there again.

For Azhar Ali, this might be the perfect opportunity given he is the senior most batsmen in the side and has finally found some form on tour.

Even first timers like Abbas and Imam will be geared up for this moment.

I am placing my bets on the teenage leg spinner, Shadab Khan. His performance against Ireland was impressive and with England always suspect against spin, I feel Shadab has a great chance to follow in the footsteps of Mushtaq Ahmed and Yasir Shah.

A Pakistan vs England series is always exciting and I can't wait for the action to start at Lord's this Thursday!

Fakhar Zaman finally got a match on tour and he wasted no time in showing what Pakistan had been missing.

Why he was left out of the two tour matches before the test against Ireland still remains a mystery.

With Zaman scoring a fluent 71 off 98 deliveries, Pakistan have an interesting problem at hand.

Imam is of course the in-form opener currently. Azhar Ali had woefully been out of form, however considering he is the senior most batsman in the squad, his place was never in danger. Add to that his 73 against Leicestershire and he is a sure starter against England at Lord's.

So where does Fakhar Zaman fit in?

He surely needs to play.


He is too good a batsman to be sitting on the bench and Pakistan can benefit plenty from his aggressive stroke play at the top of the order.

I will go with Fakhar and Imam opening the innings and Azhar moving down to number 3.

Asad, Babar, and Haris can follow giving a Pakistan a strong top 6.

They need to go in with 6 batsmen with Sarfraz at 7 and not the combination they went in with against Ireland.

Unfortunately Faheem may have to miss out, despite a great performance with the bat in his debut test against Ireland, as I do not see him as the third pacer. As a fourth seam option, like he was against Ireland, he is fine.

It is time for Fakhar Zaman to don the whites for Pakistan and it will be quite a moment if he is given this opportunity at the home of cricket this Thursday!

Mohammad Abbas was the pick of Pakistan's bowlers in the just concluded test match against Ireland.

He provided with the initial breakthroughs in Ireland's first innings and ended the match with career best figures of 9-110. His 5-66 in the second innings was his second 5 wicket haul in only his 6th test match.

Since Abbas' test debut in April last year against the West Indies, he has shone for Pakistan and has been the clear pace spearhead for the team, ahead of the likes of Mohammad Aamir.

During this 13 month period, Abbas has been the leading wicket taker for Pakistan among the pacers, and second overall behind only Pakistan's biggest match winner, Yasir Shah.

That average of 18.8 is phenomenal and among all test bowlers from the time of his debut, Abbas has the second best average, behind only South African's Vernon Philander (Qualification: Min: 5 Tests and 100 overs).

Abbas boasts a better average than the likes of James Anderson and Kagiso Rabada.

Abbas' economy rate during this period has also been extremely impressive, however in this area he has been out shone by Mohammad Aamir.

However, he still has the 5th best economy rate among all test bowlers since the time of his debut (Qualification: Min: 100 overs).

His strike rate is also among the best in the world during this time (Qualification: Min 25 wickets).

Since his test debut in April last year, Mohammad Abbas has been among the best test bowlers in the world. He is clearly Pakistan's pace spearhead currently and with Yasir Shah absent this summer, Pakistan will rely heavily on Abbas in the upcoming test matches against England.

At the end, Pakistan won quite comfortably by 5 wickets against Ireland, Test Cricket's newest team, but there were some jitters when Ireland had Pakistan reduced to 14-3 during their chase of 160.

It was heartening to witness two batsmen in their early 20s, one of them a debutant, put on a century partnership that steered Pakistan clear of danger and on the course of victory.

Imam Ul Haq, whose selection in the squad was heavily criticized, rose to the occasion in his very first test match and guided Pakistan home with an unbeaten 74.

He shared a 126 run partnership for the 4th wicket with Babar Azam who displayed ample responsibility during his knock of 59, which was cut short due to an unfortunate run out.

There were a couple of other notable performances from Pakistan as well.

Faheem Ashraf, another debutant in his early 20s, and Shadab Khan, still a teenager and playing only his second test, came together at the crease in Pakistan's first innings at the fall of the 6th wicket.

At 159-6, Ireland seemed to be all over Pakistan, but Faheem and Shadab had different ideas. They both batted extremely sensibly.

Faheem was aggressive and displayed a wide range of strokes, while Shadab was more circumspect and showcased immense temperament. Their games complemented each other and they put together a 117 run partnership for the 7th wicket.

Faheem, with a knock of 83 off 115 deliveries, was Pakistan's top scorer in the first innings and if it was not for his partnership with Shadab, Pakistan would have fallen well short of the 310 runs they managed in the first innings.

Undoubtedly there were a number of mistakes that Pakistan made during this test match, but that is for another post.

For now, let us all rejoice a Pakistan test win curated by 4 cricketers who are yet to turn 25!

Ireland took the field on Saturday 12th May for the first time ever for a test match. It was a historic day that marked the entry of the world's 11th test playing nation.

If it was not for rain, the historic day would have been a day earlier on 11th May, when Ireland's first ever test match, against Pakistan, was actually supposed to start.

Rain and cricket have a long standing relationship. It has been a savior for some teams, while it has played spoilsport for many others. It has left spectators wanting more, it has denied teams glory, and it has spoiled the day for TV channels, producers, and advertisers.

But I doubt that rain has ever changed the course of history books the way it did for Ireland. It moved their first steps into Test cricket forward by an entire day!

There is an interesting article on Betway about cricket and climate change, where the author discusses how climate change has impacted cricket in England over the years. Here is an infographic summarizing the contents of the article.











































Here are two incidents where rain changed the course of cricketing history.

1. Pakistan vs England, World Cup 1992
With 9 points in the group stages, Pakistan edged out Australia and the West Indies (both with 8 points, to qualify for the semifinals of the World Cup in 1992. Pakistan's 1 point more than the Aussies and the Windies was on the back of a rain interrupted match against England.

Batting first, Pakistan were blown away for 74 runs. With the form that England had displayed during the tournament, they would have chased that total down without any fuss; however due to rain only 8 overs were possible in England's innings and both teams shared a point.

It was only because of that 1 point that Pakistan qualified for the semifinals and eventually went on to win the World Cup. Had it not been for rain, 1992 may have seen a different World Cup winner.

2. South Africa vs England, Semi Final, World Cup 1992
In the second semifinal of World Cup 1992, South Africa required 22 runs off 13 deliveries when rain came pouring down the SCG. Brian McMillan and Dave Richardson were at the crease and seemed to have the target within sights before the rain interruption resulted in a farcical end.

Strangely, once the rain ended, their target off 22 runs remained the same; however instead of getting the 13 deliveries that they were supposed to, they were told that the rule required them to face only 1 more delivery.

And thus ended the most farcical match ever in the history of World Cup cricket. Rain denied a true fairy tale ending for South Africa, who were taking part in their first ever World Cup after returning to international cricket after over two decades.

Imam Ul Haq, the heavily criticized selection for Pakistan's summer tour to Ireland and England, is in line for a test debut following scores of 61 and 59* against Kent and Northamptonshire respectively.

Pakistan take on Ireland, who will be playing their first ever Test Match, starting this Friday and Imam looks well positioned to open the batting for Pakistan following his impressive scores in the tour matches.

Azhar Ali has not been able to get past 15 in the three innings he has had on tour; however given his experience and track record it goes without saying that he will be walking out to open with Imam in the upcoming test.

Sami Aslam just got 1 innings and failed to put up a score to push his case and it seems he will lose his opening spot to Imam Ul Haq.

I was quite surprised that Fakhar Zaman was not given a go in either game as he would have been my ideal candidate to open in the upcoming test matches.

I would still give Fakhar a go with Imam at the top, with Azhar Ali moving back to the crucial number three position.

This will enable Pakistan to strengthen their middle order with Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, and Sarfraz Ahmed to follow.

I hope they do not go in with Sarfraz at 6, like that did against Northamptonshire, as that leaves the batting quite brittle in my opinion. And if they do not play all three of Fakhar, Imam, and Azhar at the top then they would need to bring in Saad Ali or Usman Salahuddin at number 6 and neither of them were given a hit in the tour matches.

It has been quite a strange tactic by Pakistan to keep these youngsters away from the practice games.

The bowling line up looks more sorted than Pakistan's batting. In fact, Pakistan are actually spoiled for choices.

Shadab Khan will easily fit into Yasir Shah's shoes as he displayed in the tour game with a match winning 10 wicket haul.

The pace options are aplenty with Mohammad Aamir, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Abbas, and Faheem Ashraf.

Mohammad Abbas seems like the front runner though as he was the only one, besides Rahat Ali, who was among the wickets in Pakistan's win against Northamptonshire.

Hasan Ali and Mohammad Aamir were not able to pick many wickets, which creates some confusion in the camp. If both Abbas and Rahat get a shot then only one of Hasan and Aamir will get to play, though I am sure Sarfraz would want both of them in the XI.

It will be interesting to see what XI Pakistan field this Friday. My first choice would be:

1. Fakhar Zaman 2. Imam Ul Haq 3. Azhar Ali 4. Asad Shafiq 5. Babar Azam 6. Haris Sohail 7. Sarfraz Ahmed 8. Shadab Khan 9. Hasan Ali 10. Mohammad Aamir 11. Mohammad Abbas