Having made his debut in Australia a few months ago, Naseem Shah has quickly risen to become Pakistan's spearhead. Along with Mohammad Abbas and Shaheen Afridi, he has formed a potent pace attack, which has the potential to serve Pakistan successfully over the next many years.

Pakistan has now played this triumvirate in three consecutive tests. In the 5 innings that Abbas, Shaheen, and Naseem have bowled together, they have collectively accounted for 34 out of the 50 wickets that Pakistan has taken.

The trio have a total of 30 tests among themselves; two of them are still in their teens. So young and inexperienced, yet they have given Pakistan glimpses of the hey days of Pakistani pace.

Their numbers are quite remarkable.


Look at those averages and strike rates!

While Abbas is the workhorse who bowls tirelessly at a miserly economy, Shaheen and Naseem strike with their pace. Shaheen has consistently provided the early breakthroughs, while Naseem has provided the closing touches.

NASEEM SHAH
He is only 16 years and 4 tests old and he has already played an instrumental part in Pakistan's last two test victories.

Yesterday he became the youngest bowler to take a test hatrick and only the 4th Pakistani bowler to achieve the feat following in the footsteps of Wasim Akram, Abdul Razzaq, and Mohammad Sami.

For all of Pakistan's sake let us hope that he continues to follow in the footsteps of the former.

Naseem's 4-26 in the second innings initiated Bangladesh's collapse from 124-2 to 168 all out, setting up an innings win for Pakistan.

In his previous test, the second of the series against Sri Lanka, Naseem became the youngest bowler to pick up a five wicket haul in a test innings. His 5-31 in the second innings led Pakistan to a test and series win.

What is even more impressive about Naseem is the fact that 9 of his 13 test wickets till date have come in the opposition's second innings, which is testament to his fitness, passion, and motivation level.

MOHAMMAD ABBAS
In the period since Abbas made his test debut in April 2017, he has one of the best test bowling averages in the world. He has the best economy rate in the world in that period and he is among the only 4 bowlers in the world who have picked up a 10 wicket haul in tests in this period.


SHAHEEN AFRIDI
Shaheen is the only one among the three who has excelled across formats for Pakistan. Not only is his test average of 28 impressive, his ODI and T20I averages of 21.2 and 20.8 respectively are also top notch.

In the period starting from April 2018, when Shaheen made his international debut, he is among the top 10 wicket takers in all international cricket.


In this period, he has the second best strike rate in the world, behind only Kuldeep Yadav's. There is no pace bowler in the world who has a better strike rate than Shaheen Afridi's in the past two years!

And his international bowling average of 23.5 is bettered by only Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah.

For a 19 year old this is quite remarkable.



As a trio, Abbas-Shaheen-Naseem have worked wonders for Pakistan. Let us hope that they will continue to create the same magic for many more years!

Let us hope that Abbas will continue to deceive batsmen with his seam, Shaheen will continue to dismiss opposition openers in the first few overs, and Naseem will continue to give us fiery wicket taking spells reminiscent of the two Ws and Shoaib Akhtar.

Pakistan has always had an abundance of fast bowling resources but so many of them have disappeared into the wilderness due to mismanagement of talent and general issues within the system.

Let us hope that this does not happen to this triumvirate and that they continue to excite, enthrall, and entertain Pakistan cricket fans for a long time.

The second test between Pakistan and Australia got underway yesterday in Abu Dhabi.

Soon after the start, two bad shots and two unbelievably freaky catches later, Pakistan found themselves at 57-5.

From 57-1 to:

57-2
57-3
57-4
57-5

!!

Who would have thought that Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, and Babar Azam will all walk back to the pavilion for a duck.

It took a 147 run 6th wicket partnership between a debutant and the captain to steer Pakistan out of complete disaster.

Fakhar was unfortunate to miss out on a debut test ton, but he batted with grit and determination in his first test. His innings of 94 was unnatural, at a strike rate of 47, and showed Pakistan and the rest of the world that he can adapt his game to play at the highest level.


Pakistan will now have an interesting problem at hand when Imam is fit again.

Sarfraz Ahmed finally produced a captain's knock when it was required. Sarfraz hasn't batted the way he did yesterday in over 3 years.

He batted as if it was 2014 all over again. Without giving a damn.

He attacked, he found the gaps, he ran, and he scored 94 without even breaking a sweat.

It was a splendid captain's knock and a much needed one, not only to steady Pakistan's first innings, but also to boost his own confidence and ensure some continuity in Pakistan's top job.

The Fakhar-Sarfraz partnership and some late blows from Yasir Shah took Pakistan to 282. It is not a total Pakistan would have wanted after winning the toss, but it is good enough runs on the board following what happened in the morning session.

Pakistan ended the day on a high note with their newest superstar, Mohammad Abbas, picking up 2 Australian wickets including the key wickets of the first test's hero - Usman Khawaja.

Mohammad Abbas did not quite get to 50 test wickets in his 9th test match, which means that he will only equal, and not beat, the record created by Waqar Younis, Mohammad Asif, and Shabbir Ahmed - 50 test wickets in 10 matches, which is the quickest for Pakistani pacers.

Despite not achieving the record, Abbas has remarkable figures in a short test career.

He has 49 wickets in 9 tests at an average under 17, which is something no pacer has achieved in the last 100 years of test cricket.


In fact, Abbas is the only bowler, with at least 45 test wickets, to average under 17, since Sydney Barnes, who hung up his boots in 1914!

So what Abbas has achieved till now is something done by only 2 bowlers since the start of the 20th Century!

Remarkable is a gross understatement.

I reckon he would have got his 50th test wicket in the first test against Australia had Sarfraz gone to him immediately on the 5th morning. Instead, Abbas did not get the ball till after the 15th over of day 5.

Such a bad decision.

Anyhow, back to Abbas, and it is not only his average that is outstanding, but even his strike rate.


His strike rate of 42.1, just a bit more than 7 overs is bettered by only Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, and Shane Bond from the modern era.

Right now he is striking faster than Waqar Younis did for Pakistan, which will be quite some feat if he manages to continue with the same vigor.

The result of the first test between Pakistan and Australia might have been different had Abbas been given the ball at the start of day 5, but what is done is done and now it is time to look ahead to the second test.

Abbas will be key for Pakistan if they are to win this test series and Sarfraz must use him better than he did in the first test.

Mohammad Abbas has quickly risen to the status of Pakistan's premier pace bowler in tests.

While it was Bilal Asif who ripped through Australia in the first innings of this test, Abbas played a crucial role as well ensuring a strong lead for Pakistan.

Abbas then follow up his first innings 4-29 with another special spell in the second innings where he picked up 3 wickets in the space of 7 deliveries for no runs that left Australia reeling at 87-3.

Abbas is special and he is one wicket away from his 50th test wicket in only his 9th test.


Another wicket today and he will join Yasir Shah as the quickest to 50 wickets among Pakistan bowlers. Better than that, he will become the quickest among pacers from Pakistan, breaking the 10-test record set by Waqar Younis, Mohammad Asif, and Shabbir Ahmed.

Abbas spoke to the media yesterday and you can watch his press conference on our Facebook page. Here is a transcript of what he spoke about:

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.

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.

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