"In other words, submission. Because, finally, what Pakistan are doing in these moments is asking you to submit. They are asking you, opponent and spectator, to submit to their reality, their chaos, their unplanning, their spur of the moment, their pox, their talent, their wretchedness, their beauty, their spirit." - Osman Samiuddin

Last night's second one day international between Pakistan and South Africa was an unbelievable game of cricket.

It was a game that reminded the Pakistani fans of their wins in the 90s when Wasim and Waqar would bring the team back from no where.

It was a game that reminded the Pakistani fans to believe again.

It was a game that made the Pakistani fans fall in love with their cricketers again.

To beat South Africa in South Africa in any form of the game is an achievement. To beat them in a series is a bigger achievement. And then to think that you have become the first ever team from the subcontinent to win a series in South Africa, is just overwhelming!

That is an achievement and a half for this Pakistan team, which not very long ago was being thrashed by South Africa in ODIs and T20s.

It has been an amazing comeback for the Boys in Green!

Everything worked yesterday for Pakistan.

A century partnership between Ahmed Shehzad and Sohaib Maqsood at a run rate of almost 6 per over provided them with a platform to fire from. Umar Akmal and Bilawal Bhatti, who very soon will move above Afridi in the batting order, finished the innings perfectly.

262 in 45 overs was a daunting target. It was going to be difficult for South Africa, especially considering that they were up against an in form bowling unit.

Junaid Khan gave Pakistan the perfect start, removing Smith early and keep the run rate in check. Even though Amla and De Kock kept it together for South Africa, their scoring rate of 4-4.5 an over never threatened Pakistan.

When Afridi came on to bowl, Amla and De Kock were well settled but the required run rate was steadily creeping towards 7 an over. Afridi, who has been superb with the ball against South Africa, applied more pressure and accounted for De Kock and Kallis in quick succession.

119-3 in 26. 144 required in 19 overs at 7.58. Game Over?

It looked like it, but AB De Villiers had different things in mind.

ABD went about his job and made the chase look like a cake walk.

The only time South Africa looked like they were in the hunt was when ABD was out there in the middle.

He smashed the bowling around, toyed with Pakistan's premier spinner, hit out against Pakistan's most economical bowler, and looked to take the game away from the Greens.

During the course of his innings, ABD brought down the run rate from over 7.5 to below 5.5.

It was a crushing match winning knock by the South African captain. But only just.

When ABD fell to a good catch by Afridi on the boundary, South Africa were left with only 36 runs to get from 38 deliveries with 6 wickets in hand. Amla was batting on 86 and JP Duminy was walking out to the crease.

It should have been like a walk in the park for South Africa. And it seemed it would be as Amla and Duminy went about their business with ease.

The match seemed lost for Pakistan.

35 from 36, 31 from 30, 26 from 24, 20 from 18, 11 from 12.

Just when it looked like it was game over for Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal delivered a counter punch like no other in the penultimate over of the match.

Amla and Duminy managed only two singles off the first 3 deliveries, and then Ajmal bowled two dot balls.

9 needed from 7. Pressure on South Africa. Ajmal had bowled beautifully.

Off Ajmal's final delivery, Amla went for the big one towards mid wicket. The ball was in the air and two Pakistani fielders were charging towards it. Misbah looked anxiously as Hafeez positioned himself to take the catch, which he held on to. It was a difficult one, but Hafeez remained calm and sent Amla back for a well made 98.

9 needed from the final over of the match.

Junaid Khan had the ball. David Miller was on strike. Duminy at the other end.

Now, it was any body's game.

Miller managed a single of the first delivery and then Duminy heaved the second ball towards mid wicket in the hope of getting a big one early in the over.

Umar Amin ran towards the ball and dived to take a catch inches from the ground. It was a superb effort to catch that in a pressure situation. I know the scorecard says Anwar Ali, even the commentators said Anwar Ali, but it was Umar Amin who caught that ball to send Duminy back.

8 from 4. Pakistan were truly and surely back in it.

Junaid Khan bowled a beautiful final over. His yorkers were spot on and he gave the batsmen no space at all. Reminded me of Wasim bhai. The Pakistani fielders were prowling the boundaries and the square like tigers. The catching was immaculate.

Junaid gave nothing away and Pakistan scraped home with a 1 run win!

A 1 run margin does justice to the sort of cricket that was played last night. But it doesn't do justice to the magical final over bowled by Junaid Khan. The final delivery went for 4 byes, which is why the end result was a 1 run victory.
The last two overs was what Osman Samiuddin has termed "The Haal of Pakistan". According to Osman, the Haal of Pakistan is described in the following words:

"In other words, submission. Because, finally, what Pakistan are doing in these moments is asking you to submit. They are asking you, opponent and spectator, to submit to their reality, their chaos, their unplanning, their spur of the moment, their pox, their talent, their wretchedness, their beauty, their spirit."

It was truly unbelievable. Pakistan pulled of an amazing win. One that should have been easier had it not been for some superlative batting by AB De Villiers.

In either case, it was a magical victory for Pakistan who became the first ever team from the subcontinent to win a series in South Africa.

Reliving the events from last night, and it still feels like pure magic.

Maza aa gaya Pakistaaaan!

It has been 17 years since Shahid Afridi made his ODI debut for Pakistan.

It has been 12 hours since Pakistan defeated South Africa in the first test of the two match series in Abu Dhabi, and the feeling that what a great achievement the win is for Pakistan has started to sink in.

There could not have been a more stark contrast between the test record of the two teams coming into this match.

South Africa - undefeated in 15 tests prior to this one, ranked world number 1, and boasting the presence of the top two ranked test batsmen and the top two ranked test bowlers in their XI.

Pakistan - 1 test win in their last 8 tests that too against lowly ranked Zimbabwe, ranked number 6, and coming fresh of a test defeat to Zimbabwe.

South Africa were clear favourites. No one really gave Pakistan a chance.

Except for those quietly confident eternally optimistic fans who believed that the UAE always brings about special performances from Pakistan.

It was just last year, in the UAE, that Pakistan had clean swept the then world number 1 test team - England. However, since then Pakistan had been poor in tests. They had lost a series to Sri Lanka, were whitewashed in South Africa, and drew a series 1-1 in Zimbabwe.

Pakistan, who had risen to number 4 in the test rankings, had fallen to 6 this year.

The slide was unfathomable for the fans.

Yet for the quietly confident eternally optimistic fans, it was just a matter of time before those fortunes swung again.

Pakistan might have become poor travellers, but they are a super power at home. They have not lost a single test match in the UAE since it became "home" for them in 2010.

Even prior to that, Pakistan's home record was second to none. They have the best W:L ratio among all teams in test matches played at home.



Pakistan's record in the UAE prior to this match against South Africa was also enviable. Played 12, Won 6, Lost 2, Draw 4.

Despite the fact that South Africa were favourites going into the first test in Abu Dhabi, I am sure that there were others like me who thought that Pakistan could not be counted out.

Yet to achieve a victory like Pakistan did was a big achievement.

Forget the fact that Pakistan defeated the world number 1 test team. Think about the fact that Pakistan managed to bowl out a team, whose batting line up comprised of the names Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, AB De Villiers, JP Duminy, and Faf Du Plessis, not once but twice for less than 250 inside 4 days.

Those 6 names are synonymous with feats like chasing 414 to win a test match in Australia and batting out 148 overs to save a test match in Australia. Two of those names sit pretty at the top of the test batsmen rankings.

The fact Pakistan's 4 man attack bowled them out for 249 and 232 on a relatively good batting surface highlights the enormity of Pakistan's achievement.

Every bowler chipped in. Mohammad Irfan softened the batsmen upfront and got the initial breakthroughs; Junaid Khan troubled the batsmen with his swing and got the prized wicket of Kallis twice in the match; the debutant Zulfiqar Babar bowled rippers and asked questions of the batsmen in every over; and the magician Saeed Ajmal continued to cast a spell ending the match as the leading wicket taker among both teams.

Pakistan's bowling has delivered time and again in the past and it did so again. What made Pakistan count in this match was its batsmen, who stood up to be counted, and almost ensured that Pakistan would not have to bat again.

There are numerous examples of test matches in which Pakistan's batsmen have thrown away the advantage that their bowlers have created for them.

That did not happen this time round.

Besides the two centuries and a solid 75 by the debutant opener, the highlight of Pakistan's batting performance was the running between the wickets. There was assurance and confidence in the manner the Pakistan batsmen ran.

The strike was rotated constantly and there was hardly any time in their innings that one felt that the Pakistanis were embroiled in meaningless defence for prolonged periods.

That allowed them to score at over 3 an over (3.18 for the innings). There were even long periods of the game when Pakistan was scoring at over 4 an over. In contrast, South Africa's run rate in its two innings was 2.67 and 2.80.

Pakistan have a lot to be proud of after this win and there are many feats that they will treasure and take with them into the next test match in Dubai.

1. Khurram Manzoor's 146 was the highest score by a Pakistan batsman in a test match against South Africa.
2. Khurram Manzoor and Shan Masood's 135 run opening partnership was the second highest opening partnership for Pakistan against South Africa. They fell short by two runs of the record partnership, which was between Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat in 2003.
3. The opener's century stand was Pakistan's first after 10 tests. The last century opening stand came 22 innings ago.
4. Misbah, with scores of 100 and 28*, became the leading run scorer in all international matches played in 2013.
5. Asad Shafiq scored his 7th test 50 while batting at number 6. That is now the highest number of test 50s for a number 6 batsman in tests in the past three years (since 1st November 2010). Angelo Matthews and Ian bell have 6 fifties each at number 6 during this period. Asad Shafiq also has 3 centuries at this position during this period; Only Michael Hussey with 5 centuries has more. Asad Shafiq needs 101 more runs to over take Hussey and become the leading run scorer at the number 6 position in tests since 1st November 2010.
6. Misbah became the oldest man to score a test century for Pakistan.
7. Dale Steyn's opening spell of 5-0-31-0 was his most expensive opening spell ever in test cricket.

UAE is fast becoming Pakistan's fortress, while Pakistan is fast gaining the reputation of being Giant Killers. This was their fourth consecutive win in the UAE against the number 1 test team.

Additionally, in the past two years they have managed to:

Beat England (World #1 Test Team) 3-0
Beat India (ODI World Champions) 2-1
Beat West Indies (World T20 Champions) 2-0

This win against South Africa is no surprise. Not for the quietly confident eternally optimistic fans. However, it is one big achievement and all Pakistani should be proud.

Especially Misbah and his men.

Pakistan were supposed to play 6 ODI matches in the UK leading up to the Champions Trophy but the weather permitted them to play only 4.

And they lost none of them.

If there was ever an effective way to warm up for a major tournament, this is it.

An easy win over Scotland, a nerve wrecking 1-0 series win over Ireland, which could have easily been 2-0 to Ireland, and a clinical victory over South Africa should give Pakistan enough confidence going into the ICC Champions Trophy, a tournament that they have never won.

As always unpredictability surrounds the Pakistan team. Even though they beat South Africa easily, the fans have no confidence in the team at all due to their ability to implode on any given day.

The same common theme of great bowling, coupled with unreliable batting, characterizes the Pakistan team.

However, there is a new look to it. There is no Younis Khan, no Shahid Afridi, no Umar Akmal.

I don't fully support the exclusion of Afridi and Umar, however I believe that without Younis Khan, the ODI team is a lot more stable, and without Afridi it is a lot more balanced.

Mohammad Hafeez at number 3 gives the batting line up a new look and a lot more solidity. Kamran Akmal is definitely better off at number 7, and the sacking of Afridi allows Pakistan to field 3 seamers, which is needed in England.

All the batsmen, besides Nasir Jamshed, have been among the runs in the 4 matches that Pakistan has played. Poor Nasir hasn't crossed 20, but he is too good a batsman to not come good in the important matches.

Hafeez with an unbeaten century and a fifty, Misbah with an unbeaten 80 odd, Asad Shafiq with 80 odd, Imran Farhat with a couple of 50s, Shoaib Malik with a hard fought 40 odd, Kamran Akmal with a match winning 80 odd, and Umar Amin with his unbeaten 20 odd runs last night against South Africa have all got good outings at the crease over the past two weeks.

We can always count on Pakistan's bowling to be good; and if the batting can remain steady, Pakistan can be the most dangerous team on show in the Champions Trophy.

Martin Guptill, Shane Watson, JP Duminy, Virat Kohli, and Dinesh Karthik have all shown that the pitches in England this time around are very batsman friendly.

This can only be good for Pakistan as the bowlers can trouble the best batsmen on any wicket, and our batsmen only look good on flat decks.

In Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan, Pakistan has got a potent opening attack. Asad Ali has impressed in the short time he has been with the team and Wahab Riaz has looked good on the UK pitches thus far. But the team will have two choose between Asad and Wahab.

I like Asad the bowler and he is definitely more effective than Wahab, but Wahab's batting just might give him the edge over Asad.

Add Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez to the mix, and its an attack that would be the envy of most teams.

I am not sure who they will play at 6 - Shoaib Malik or Umar Amin. I guess that will depend on the conditions. Umar can bowl handy medium pace, while Malik provides a spin option.

Probable playing XI: 1. Imran Farhat 2. Nasir Jamshed 3. Mohammad Hafeez 4. Asad Shafiq 5. Misbah Ul Haq 6. Umar Amin / Shoaib Malik 7. Kamran Akmal 8. Asad Ali / Wahab Riaz 9. Saeed Ajmal 10. Junaid Khan 11. Mohammad Irfan.

Pakistan kicks off its campaign on Friday against the West Indies at the Oval, before shifting base to Birmingham where it will play South Africa and India the following week.

And this time round, Pakistan's got a serious chance!

Pakistan needs a new ODI team, and it needs one now.

All talk of the Champions Trophy being an important tournament and that major changes should not be made before it, but after it, is all Bull.

This can't go on.

It should be a criminal offence to keep players like Nasir Jamshed, Umar Akmal, and Asad Shafiq on the bench. Nasir played the first 3 ODIs, Asad played only the first, and Umar played none!

Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik have to go

There is absolutely no way that Misbah or Whatmore or anyone within the PCB and team management can justify the exclusion of these players while Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik continue to enjoy a "no questions asked" run in ODIs for Pakistan.

Umar Akmal is currently Pakistan's top ranked ODI batsman and the only Pakistan batsman in the Top 20 of the ICC Rankings. Yet he fails to find a place in the team.

In his last 20 ODI innings, Umar Akmal has scored 618 runs at an average of 36.35 with 7 fifties.

How does anyone with that sort of record in the last year find himself out of the team?

Compare that to the last 20 ODI innings of Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik and one can't help but curse Misbah and Whatmore for keeping Pakistan's future on the bench and playing players who are well past their prime in ODI cricket.

Younis Khan: 420 runs at an average of 22.11 with 3 fifties.
Shoaib Malik: 318 runs at an average of 18.70 with 0 fifties.

Moreover, the problem with both Younis and Malik is not a recent one, which is why it pisses me off even more to see them part of Pakistan's ODI set up.

Younis has never been a good ODI player. His test credentials are unmatchable, but as number 3 in ODIs for Pakistan he has largely been a failure. A career average of 31 and only 6 centuries in over 250 ODIs for your country while batting at number 3 does no justice to a player of Younis' caliber.

I reckon he should have left ODIs a long time ago. Or should have been asked to leave.

Malik's is a different story. He has just not been the player that he used to be. Once an amazing ODI batsman for Pakistan, he seems to have lost the plot.

The last time Shoaib Malik scored anything more than 40 was his 128 against India in September 2009. That is his only fifty plus score in the past 3.5 years, and since then Malik has been an utter failure and deserves to be dumped into oblivion.

Misbah Ul Haq Needs to Move on as well

There is no doubt that Misbah has done a great job captaining Pakistan since the time he took over in 2010 right after the spot fixing scandal. However, this great job has been done in test cricket.

It was a regressive step to make Misbah captain of the ODI and T20 team and take the reigns away from Afridi and it has been a regressive period for Pakistan's ODI team ever since.

I would be the first one to agree that Misbah has played a tremendous role anchoring innings after innings in ODIs while wickets fall around him, however he is not good for the ODI team. We need young and fresh legs, we need our future batsmen to be playing more ODIs, and we need to build a team that can be competitive in 2015 because no matter how hard Misbah tries there is no way he will be playing a World Cup at 41 !

Even if he was winning ODI after ODI for Pakistan, I would strip him off the ODI captaincy just for keeping talent like Umar, Asad, and Nasir on the bench.

Shahid Afridi's Time is also Over

I have been Afridi's biggest supporter over the past decade and it is very hard for me to say this but his time is also over. I have always believed that Afridi, first and foremost, is a bowler; and whatever he does with the bat should be considered a bonus.

And his bowling is no where close to the level it used to be at a year ago. He has lost his magic charm and his ability to pick wickets regularly. He was the best bowler in ODIs in the world for 5 years, but he no longer is.

I do not want to speculate the reasons why, but its obvious that age is catching up and he doesn't pose any threat to international batsmen any more. And he surely can't continue playing as a batsman.

He found batting form during this series against South Africa, but that's enough to keep him in the team.

I know it will break millions of hearts to see Afridi leave the game, but I guess he can continue entertaining us in Pakistan colors in T20s and in the various T20 leagues around the world.

Other Players who Should not be Playing ODIs for Pakistan

Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal, and Umar Gul are also players that need to be forgotten once and for all.

I fail to understand how Gul has managed to play for Pakistan for a decade! He is at best a super T20 bowler, but in ODIs, and even in Tests, he has barely delivered.

Kamran Akmal is probably the most debatable out of all the players mentioned given that he is finally finding some batting form, but Pakistan have also stuck with him for much longer than they should have.

It is time to find and groom a new wicket keeper who is also an effective batsman. Or a good batsman who is also an effective wicket keeper.

Imran Farhat is pretty useless and has hardly looked like an international opener, yet he is another player who has been around for over a decade for no reason at all. Yes he scored 93 but he tried his best to get out multiple times during that innings; he also consumed 140 odd deliveries and no it wasn't a test match!

With openers like Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad around, Imran Farhat should be no where close to the squad, let alone the XI.

The Champions Trophy is coming and all these changes need to be made before that. Fans going to London to watch the last edition of the tournament, after getting tickets from places like the Big Ticket Shop, do not want to be left disappointed be seeing the same names fail game after game.

In the next part, I will discuss the players who can potentially replace these over-the-hill-cricketers in ODIs for Pakistan.

After facing the embarrassment of being bowled out for 49 and sort of saving face with a relatively much improved performance with the bat in the second innings of the first test, Pakistan will take the field once again to battle South Africa in two days.

It has been a long break since the end of the first test of the series and Pakistan have had plenty of time to regroup, practice, and think about tackling the mighty South Africans.

The 2-day game against an Emerging Cape Cobras XI was a successful one for Pakistan as they completed a 10 wicket win and got some valuable practice as well.

Pakistan will be pleased with Younis Khan getting some runs under his belt and more importantly with him spending some time in the middle. Pakistan continued to bat after reaching their target of 58 to get some batting practice, and Younis made full use of the opportunity by knocking an unbeaten 74 and spending over 2.5 hours at the crease.

In 5 innings on tour, prior to this one, Younis had failed to score more than 15. While Hafeez, Nasir, Misbah, and Shafiq have all been among the runs on this tour, it has been the struggle of Younis and Azhar Ali  that has been a major spot of bother for Pakistan.

With Younis gaining some confidence, it leaves only Azhar Ali who is yet to score more than 15 on this tour. Azhar's 6 innings thus far include scores of 2, 3, 13, 18, 11, and 12.

Azhar Ali has been Pakistan's leading run scorer in test for the past 2.5 years. Even though people believe that he has only scored on dead subcontinental wickets, it is not true as Azhar has scored runs in England, New Zealand, and the West Indies, besides the more batsmen friendly pitches of the UAE, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

But he is struggling in South Africa.

Many have suggested that a defensive approach will not work for him in South African conditions, especially against Dale Steyn & Co., because he is bound to get an unplayable delivery at some point, which he will succumb to after consuming many deliveries and scoring very little.

A more aggressive approach is required, but unfortunately Umar Akmal is not around. Perhaps someone like Asad Shafiq, who likes to keep the scoreboard ticking, can be pushed up the order with Azhar batting at number 6.

There have been suggestions to play Faisal Iqbal instead of Azhar Ali, largely because of Faisal's breezy knock of 33 against the Cape Cobras. Faisal was definitely in good touch and looked in control hitting 7 boundaries in his innings. But he hasn't played a test for Pakistan for over 4 years, with his last appearance coming against Australia in January 2010.

There is something to think about for the Pakistan team management, but I don't see them changing the composition of their trusted top 6. What I would do, however, is move Younis Khan up a position and ask him to bat at number 3, where he has batted for the better part of his career.

Younis moving to number 4 was a good strategic decision as it helped groom Azhar Ali as a long term number 3, but in South African conditions, Pakistan will be better off using the experienced Younis at number 3 and keeping Azhar Ali back.

Given Shafiq's current form, I would bat him at 4, followed by Misbah and Azhar.

The bowling has not been a worry for Pakistan, but a selection blunder in the first test cost them heavily. Rahat Ali is at best a mediocre bowler, and his inclusion instead of Mohammad Irfan was inexplicable.

Everyone has been harping on about how Irfan can't bowl long spells, won't last 5 days, and so on. But everyone is also aware of his effectiveness. Or rather, should have been. A 7 footer bowling on South African pitches is a dream for any captain and yet Pakistan decided not to play him on fitness grounds.

Unbelievable.

How many times have we all seen Shoaib Akhtar, Shane Bond, and Brett Lee being used in short bursts of three 4-6 over spells in a day in test matches? Their captains understood their effectiveness and limitations and used them effectively.

The same can be done with Mohammad Irfan. 4-5 overs is all that bowlers of his nature need to make an impact. It is also very easy to hide fielders in a test, so Irfan's energy can be easily protected.

After his performance against the Cape Cobras, it will be criminal to leave him out of the team for the second test starting on Thursday.

I wish there was some way that Rehman could be included in the XI, but it is a luxury to play two spinners in South Africa and impossible to replace Saeed Ajmal. Despite that an attack comprising of Junaid, Irfan, Gul, Ajmal, and Hafeez presents lip licking prospects.

Beating this South African team will be a gargantuan task, but I expect a much improved show from Pakistan and a tougher fight than the one given in the first test.

Series abhi baaki hai mere dost...

My XI for the test: 1. Mohammad Hafeez, 2. Nasir Jamshed, 3. Younis Khan, 4. Asad Shafiq, 5. Misbah Ul Haq, 6. Azhar Ali, 7. Sarfraz Ahmed, 8. Umar Gul, 9. Saeed Ajmal, 10. Junaid Khan, 11. Mohammad Irfan.

No one really expected Pakistan to win a test match in South Africa, but no one expected them to be bowled out for 49, their lowest test score ever, either.

It is very easy to point fingers at the Pakistan bastmen and criticize them for a poor technique, bad footwork,  and a lack of application.

However, one must remember that the same pace attack bowled out Australia for 47 and New Zealand for 45. When you are up against the number 1 team in the world that has a pace attack comprising of Steyn (Ranked 1), Philander (Ranked 2), and Morkel (Ranked 9) in their own backyard, batting is really really tough.

Pakistan's wrecker-in-chief was Dale Steyn who had match figures of 11-60, which is his best return ever in a career spanning 63 test matches.

With the new ball, Steyn was unplayable. Particularly in the first innings, where he produced a devastating spell and had astonishing figures of 6-8 !

Steyn's match haul of 11-60 earned him his fifth 10-wicket haul in test matches, which is now the most number of 10-wicket hauls for South Africa. Before this test, he was level with Makhaya Ntini on four.

His 5-wicket hauls in each innings of the match took his tally to 21 5-wicket in an innings hauls, surpassing the South African record of 20, which was held by Allan Donald.

Steyn's 323 test wickets are still behind those of Shaun Pollock (421), Ntini (390), and Donald (330), but he has also played a fewer number of tests than each of them. With age on his side (he is only 29), he looks well set to become the top South African wicket taker of all time.

Someone said that he's got Donald's pace, Ntini's fitness, and Pollock's seam and swing, which arguably makes him the best fast bowler ever to play for South Africa.

Currently, he is also the best fast bowler in the world.

But is Dale Steyn also the best ever fast bowler of all time?


Steyn is currently at number 17 among the top 20 wicket takers of all time in test cricket, but as I mentioned he has played fewer tests than the rest of them and has a long way to go still. Considering his fitness levels, he can play well beyond another 5 years easily.

Steyn's strike rate of 40.8 is the best among the top 20 bowlers. Better than McGrath's, Hadlee's, Waqar's, and Marshall's. In fact his strike rate is the 5th best strike rate of all time in test cricket behind Lohmann, Philander, JJ Ferris, and Shane Bond.

Steyn's five 10-wicket match hauls are level with Wasim and Waqar, and behind only those of Imran Khan, Dennis Lillee, and Richard Hadlee.

The most glaring statistic, however, is Steyn's wickets per match. He averages 5.13 wickets per test match, which is the most that any fast bowler with over 200 test wickets averages in test cricket.

Dennis Lille and Richard Hadlee are the only other two fast bowlers who averaged over 5 wickets per test match in their career.

If you include spinners into the equation, then Steyn's 5.13 wickets per test is the third highest behind Muralitharan's 6.02 and Grimmett's 5.84.

Those truly are some outstanding numbers.

Dale Steyn may well end his career as the best ever fast bowler to have played the game.

Finally Pakistan will take the field in a test match tomorrow. It has been a long wait since their last test series against Sri Lanka in June-July last year.

For the purists, this is Pakistan's ultimate test. They are up against the number one test team in the world, and one that has hardly lost a test series in recent times. Especially at home.

Pakistan are a team that has been on the rise in test cricket for the past two years. They have lost only two of their past 10 test series and only two of their last 18 test matches. This record includes leveled test series against Australia and South Africa.

Pakistan are ranked number 4 in test cricket, a ranking that they have achieved through a consistent run that has been second to none.

No other team has the sort of win % that Pakistan has in tests over the past 2 years.

The naysayers and doubters still don't acknowledge Pakistan's strong performance and the usual criticism is that most of their victories have come in the Subcontinent / Subcontinent type pitches and that they have played against relatively weaker opposition.

But the fact is that besides India, Pakistan have played against every single test playing nation since the summer of 2010, and except for a 3-1 loss to England and a 1-0 loss to Sri Lanka, Pakistan has either won or drawn all other series.

Additionally both the series that were lost were avenged at home when England were beaten 3-0 and Sri Lanka 1-0, with home being the UAE, which is not really home you know.

Whether those wins for Pakistan were easy or not, whether they came in home conditions or not; come tomorrow, none of it matters. This series against South Africa is going to be Pakistan's toughest one in recent times.

Pakistan have never won a test series in South Africa. Even the most optimistic Pakistan cricket fans are not expecting this fact to change.

But what we are expecting is a tough fight.

Pakistan will pose a significant challenge to South Africa.

They might even win a test match.

If they manage to draw the series, it will be like a win for Pakistan.

They are up against the world's number 1 test team, but don't forget that this time last year, Pakistan was also up against the world's number 1 test team. And we all know what happened there.

I expect this to be a cracking test series and I can't wait for the action to start in Johannesburg tomorrow! It is Graeme Smith's home town, it is Graeme Smith's birthday, and it is Graeme Smith's 100th test match as captain, which is a feat achieved by no one else.

The South Africans will be celebrating Biff's day tomorrow, and the Pakistanis are going to be trying their best to spoil the party!

In just over two weeks, Pakistan will take the field to take on the world's number 1 test team. The last time that happened, Pakistan finished off the series with a whitewash - a 3-0 victory over England.

One can't really expect the same against South Africa in South Africa, a country where Pakistan has never won a test series.

Moreover, the current South African test team is probably the best test team they have ever had in their history of test cricket.

Smith, Amla, Kallis, De Villiers, Du Plessis, Alviro Petersen represent the strongest test batting line up internationally. Five of them are among the Top 20 ranked batsmen in tests, while the one who is not is only 4 test matches old and already has 2 centuries and 2 fifties in his 6 test innings.

Steyn, Morkel, Philander represent the best pace attack in the world currently, and arguably one of the best ever test pace attacks to play the game.

Steyn and Philander are the Top 2 ranked bowlers in tests, while Morne Morkel is at number 8.

That's a team with every single player in great form. No surprises then that they are the world's number 1 test team.

To say that this tour to South Africa is going to be a big test for Pakistan is a gross understatement.

It will be tough. It might even be a disaster. Pakistan could be whitewashed. Watching New Zealand fold in front of the South Africans, there can't be much hope for Pakistan's batsmen.

But there should be some in my opinion.

In Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah Ul Haq, and Asad Shafiq, Pakistan have a very stable batting line up. Add the ever improving Nasir Jamshed and the emerging Haris Sohail to the mix and Pakistan have a good problem on their hands in deciding their top 6.

Pakistan's test record in the past 2.5 years, during which they have lost only 2 tests, is second to none. The rise of batsmen like Azhar, Hafeez, and Asad, coupled with the experience of Younis and Misbah, has been a key reason behind the team's success.

The biggest contributor to this success though is Saeed Ajmal, the world's best spinner across all formats. He has single handedly lead Pakistan's bowling attack over the past couple of years and destroyed all teams that have come in his way.

England's demolition last year was largely due to their inability to read Saeed Ajmal, and his partner in crime, Abdur Rehman.

While South African conditions may not offer much assistance to spinners, Ajmal and Rehman are the sort of bowlers who don't require much help from the pitches. Their variety and guile are enough to trouble the best of batsmen across all types of surfaces.

Moreover, Pakistan finally have a potent pace attack. Once again it feels like a proper Pakistan team with attacking fast bowlers who can trouble opposing batsmen. They are worth every penny that you pay for to watch them; a sure treat on the eyes. I've heard fans talking about wanting to sell iPhones to go watch them bowl.

In Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Umar Gul, and the untested Ehsan Adil, Pakistan has its most dangerous pace attack since the 2010 summer when Aamer and Asif were running through the Australian and English batting line ups.

Adil is only 19, but going by his U19 and domestic performance during the past year, he has the potential take wickets in heaps in South Africa.

Pakistan's batsmen might find it difficult facing Steyn, Morkel, and Philander in their back yard, but I can assure you that Smith & Company will not find it easy to cope with Junaid, Irfan, and Ajmal.

I truly believe that it will be a well fought series. Tough to think of a Pakistan series win, but I am quite sure that they will compete well and give South Africa a hard time.

Pakistan is currently ranked number 4 in tests. The last time they played against the world's number 3, number 2, and number 1 teams the results were 1-1, 3-0, and 0-0 respectively.

The last time Pakistan played South Africa in a test series was in 2010 in the UAE, right after the England summer when the spot fixing scandal had destroyed the team's morale.

It was Misbah's first test series in charge of the team and Pakistan managed to hold South Africa for a draw in both tests.