Pakistanis love to criticize and I am guilty of it too.

Azhar Ali bats too slowly. What is Haris Sohail doing out there? Yasir Shah is not the same bowler any more. Babar Azam is only suitable for white ball cricket. Where did that declaration come from? Why didn't they accelerate before declaring out of the blue? Why did they enforce the follow on? If New Zealand set a target of 120 or so, Pakistan will lose.

This and a whole lot more was said during the second test between Pakistan and New Zealand and none of it mattered at the end as Pakistan raced home to a win by an innings and 16 runs to level the test series and set it up for a decider next week.

Azhar Ali, who bats way too slowly, scored 81.

Haris Sohail, who seemed all at sea out there, top scored in the match with 147.

Yasir Shah, who is not the same bowler any more, returned career best match figures of 14-184.

Babar Azam, who is only suitable for limited overs cricket, scored his maiden test century - an unbeaten 127.

And the declaration, which seemed unplanned and out of the blue, was perfectly timed. Mickey Arthur and Sarfraz felt that 418 was more than enough on that pitch to bowl New Zealand out twice, and they were spot on!

Yasir Shah, who was overshadowed in the test series against Australia by Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, and even the touring spinner Nathan Lyon, showed the world why he is the best leg spinner in the game currently.

His 14-184 are the second best bowling figures in a test match by a Pakistani, after Imran Khan's 14-116.


His 8-41 in the first innings, which included a triple wicket maiden over, are the third best bowling figures in an innings by a Pakistan, after Abdul Qadir's 9-56 and Sarfraz Nawaz's 9-86.


Yasir's 14 wickets in the match took his test wickets tally to 195 in only 32 test matches. He is well on his way to break the record of being the quickest in the world to reach 200 test wickets.


Yasir's innings haul of 8-41 and match hail of 14-184 are both the best figures in an innings and in a match in all tests played in the UAE.

No bowler had taken more than 11 wickets in a test in the UAE before Yasir's heroics, and he is only the second bowler to take an 8 wicket haul in an innings in the UAE.


Yasir's innings and match hauls are also the best figures by any bowler in the history of test cricket against New Zealand!

He is the 5th bowler to take 8 wickets in an innings and the first ever to take 14 wickets in a match against New Zealand.


Yasir's match haul is third best ever for a leg spinner in the history of test cricket, behind Narendra Hirwani's 16-136 and Anil Kumble's 14-149.


Yasir Shah now has 195 wickets in just 32 tests at an average of 28.2 and a phenomenal strike rate of 54.4, which is the third best strike rate among all spinners, and second best among leg spinners in tests (those who have bowled in at least 50 innings).


It won't be long before Yasir reaches 200 test wickets and creates a new record of reaching the mark in quickest time. With the way he is bowling right now (22 wickets in 2 tests vs New Zealand), I reckon he will achieve this feat in the next test against New Zealand, which starts next week on Monday in Abu Dhabi.

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.

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!

2017 was quite a year for Pakistan Cricket.

They won the Champions Trophy for the first time joining India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies as the only teams to win all major ICC trophies.

Pakistan won their first ever Test Series in the West Indies as Misbah and Younis bid farewell to the game.

Fakhar Zaman hit a memorable maiden ODI ton in the final of the Champions Trophy.

Hasan Ali became the number 1 ranked ODI bowler becoming the first Pakistani pacer to reach that ranking since the hey days of Wasim Akram in the 90s.

Imam Ul Haq hit a debut ODI century giving Pakistan another talented batsman.

Babar Azam's limited overs stock continue to grow with more centuries.

New talents like Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, and Rumman Raees continued to shine.

But the moment of the year for Pakistan cricket was surely this...


Aamer got Kohli twice in as many deliveries in a year when not many bowlers could claim to have got him even once.

It was an exceptional spell of bowling by Aamer as he dismissed the tournament's top 3 leading run scorers - Kohli, Rohit, and Dhawan - inside the first 10 overs and sealed the final for Pakistan.

Team Performance in 2017

In 2017, Pakistan's limited overs team had quite a turnaround with impressive performances in ODIs and T20, unlike in prior years.

Definitely that had something to do with the injection of new blood.

At the same time, Pakistan's test performance declined with the departure of stalwarts and despite winning their first ever series in the Caribbean, Pakistan also lost their first ever series in the UAE since it became their adopted home.




As you can see, Pakistan was the best performing T20 team, the 4th best in ODIs, and a low 7th in tests.

Batting Performance in 2017

In Tests, Pakistan's batting did not do much to write about. Azhar Ali was the leading run scorer with an average of 42.00. With the departure of Misbah and Younis, the likes of Azhar and Asad will have to take charge as the new blood will surely take time to settle down in international cricket.

In ODIs and T20s, Babar Azam emerged as Pakistan's new star. He was among the leading run scorers in the world in both formats - 9th in ODIs and 2nd in T20s. Surprisingly, Ahmed Shehzad was also one of the top scorers in T20s.



In ODIs, Babar's average was behind only Kohli, Sharma, and Root. And his tally of hundreds was behind only Kohli and Sharma.

Bowling Performances in 2017

In Tests, Yasir Shah continue to shine for Pakistan ending the year with 43 wickets to his name in only 6 test matches. Imagine how many he would have taken had he played as much as some of the other bowlers.

Yasir was the only bowler to pick up an average of 7 wickets or more in the tests he played. No other bowlers averaged even 6 wickets per match.


ODIs were dominated by Pakistan's newest pace sensation - Hasan Ali - who improved with every game that he played.

No pacer came even close to his tally of wickets, average, and strike rate. He even had the most 5 wicket hauls in the year.

The only bowler who had a better average and strike rate than Hasan was Afghanistan's spin maestro Rashid Khan.


In T20s, it was young leg spinner, Shadab Khan, who impressed finishing the year with the 5th highest wickets. He had a very impressive economy rate as well, which was bettered by only Rashid Khan.


It seems like Pakistan's test team will take some time to get back to the heights they had reached with Misbah at the helm, coupled with Younis as the guiding force for the batting line up.

However, in limited overs, Pakistan should continue to impress with all the new youngsters standing up to be counted.

Pakistan's ODI team has not been this exciting since the 90s.

They have a talented opener in Fakhar Zaman and another one waiting in the wings - Imam Ul Haq. They have one of the most impressive batsman produced by the country in Babar Azam. The bowling stocks are abundant with spinners like Yasir Shah, Imad Wasim, and Shadab Khan; and a pace battery comprising Mohammed Aamer, Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Abbas, and plenty waiting in the wings.

To top it all, the likes of Hassan, Faheem, Imad, and Shadab are all quite handy with the bat.

Surely we are in for some exciting times for Pakistan Cricket.

Imran Khan was perhaps the last Pakistani cricketer who retired with grace after accomplishing what no one before him had.

And now, after all these years, another Khan and another Niazi, have bid farewell to the game like no one before them. One after a series where he became the first Pakistani batsman to reach 10,000 test runs; the other after becoming the first Pakistani captain to win a test series in the Caribbean.

These two feats are just the icing over the unparalleled careers that the two legends, Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq, have had.

I don't think any Pakistani cricketer got a send off as grand and as epic as these two did, and boy did they deserve it!

Talk about an epic farewell series.

Talk about an epic last test match of your career.

Even if one had put the best writers to task, no one would have scripted the end better than the way it folded in front of our eyes during the last session at Windsor Park in Dominica last night.

Pakistan had waited 60 years for this victory. Imran Khan had spent half his career trying to achieve this victory.

Surely it is not the same West Indies; but it hasn't been for two decades now and yet Pakistan never managed to win a series there.

Till last night.

The last hour, while Roston Chase blocked and blocked and blocked, all those memories of bad umpiring decisions, missed run outs, lost opportunities came haunting back.

That hour was so nerve wrecking for us fans that one can only imagine what Misbah, Younis, and the other nine men on the field would have been going through.

Anything less than a win would have been such a depressing end to two legendary careers.

Anything less than a win would have meant that Pakistan lost the best chance they had at a series win in the Caribbean.

Pakistan held on though.

They held on to their belief and they kept fighting.

You could see the Pakistanis flustered though. Yasir was running in faster, bowling a little faster and flatter, almost as if he was in some hurry. Probably to get in as many overs as possible.

Till that final delivery.

All nine fielders moved in closer.

They were all right under Gabriel's nose.

Everyone knew the importance of that delivery, but no one more than Yasir.

He delivered it a bit slower than the rest of his over.

It came looping down enticing Gabriel.

And the rest ...

What an end seriously. What an epic end for Misbah and Younis.

Yasir Shah has taken wickets in heaps since his debut. He in fact has the second highest wickets tally in test cricket during the period after his debut.

His wickets per innings and per match is also quite amazing; second only to Ashwin's. It clearly indicates that he is Pakistan's primary strike option.

However, he does bowl a lot of overs and gives away a lot of runs for those wickets.

Among the top ten wicket takers during this period, Yasir has the second worst average, third worst economy rate, and third worst strike rate.

But does all this matter considering the number of wickets he takes?

He has taken 10 5-wicket hauls in 25 tests, which is phenomenal. It is as many as Saeed Ajmal managed in his 35 tests, and as many as Mushtaq Ahmed managed in his 52-test career.

During this period, only Ashwin has taken more 5-wickets hauls than Yasir; and only Herath and Ashwin have taken more 10-wicket hauls.

So irrespective of the average, strike rate, and economy, Yasir is a magnificent bowler and a major match winner for Pakistan.

By picking up his 100th test match wicket in the first test against the West Indies, Yasir Shah reached the landmark in just his 17th test match.

Only one bowler, George Lohmann, got there faster, while three other bowlers, Barnes, Turner, and Grimmett took the same number of matches. Yasir is the second spinner after Grimmett to achieve the feat in just 17 tests.


Not only did Yasir create a new Pakistan record, which was previously held by Saeed Ajmal (19 tests), he also created a new Asian record by getting there faster than India's Ravi Ashwin, who picked up his 100th test wicket in his 18th test.

Before the start of Pakistan's first test against the West Indies, Ashwin tweeted a good luck message to Yasir Shah, who was on the verge of breaking the Asian record.


Ashwin has recently been very gracious towards the Pakistanis. He also tweeted about wanting to watch Babar Azam bat.

After Yasir created the new record, Ashwin tweeted a congratulatory message as well.


While Yasir thanked Ashwin for his tweets, he also said that he would love to play against him in a test, which ended up stirring a debate among the public on who the better spinner is.

I also had a discussion on the same with a friend from across the border, who obviously thought that Yasir was no where close to Ashwin.

I don't hold that against him for Ashwin is currently the number 1 ranked bowler in test cricket and he also created a new Asian record by picking up his 200th test wicket in his 37th test, breaking Waqar Younis' record of reaching the landmark in 38 tests.

However, the best way to compare Yasir and Ashwin is to probably assess their performances at the same stage of their careers - 17 tests.


Not taking anything away from Ashwin, but Yasir does have more wickets at a better average and strike rate than Ashwin after 17 tests.

Currently, Ashwin has 220 wickets from 39 tests, so his 20 odd tests after the first 17 have definitely been better in terms of performance, but there is no way to tell which way Yasir Shah will go in his next 20 tests.

Given that India and the UAE are fortresses for the two great bowlers, I wanted to compare their performances away from home as well.


While Yasir's performance in tests away from home is quite similar to his overall record, there is quite a huge discrepancy in Ashwin's record.

Based on the above, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that majority of Ashwin's success has been driven by the dust bowls produced in India.

70% of Ashwin's wickets have come in India; he gives 9 runs less to pick up a wicket in India; and he bowls 13 fewer deliveries for a wicket in India.

Those are eye opening numbers.

Whether Ashwin would have taken as many wickets as he has if he was not playing tests in India is anybody's guess.

My guess is NO.

On the other hand, Yasir Shah has not played a single test in Pakistan. His success is built as much in the UAE as it is on foreign shores.

Sure Ashwin is the number 1 ranked bowler in tests, but Yasir is ahead of him at the 17-test mark, and Yasir is ahead of him in terms of overseas performance.

Taking nothing away from Ashwin's achievements, I wanted to close this debate by mentioning that Ashwin is the same bowler that Afridi hit for two sixes in the final over of the Asia Cup match in 2014 to take Pakistan to victory !

I will revisit this comparison when Yasir picks up his 200th test wicket; we will surely have a more clearer picture then, but for now, I am signing off by picking Yasir ahead of Ashwin.

I have very good memories from my time in Manchester. Really amazing ones. However, this past week in Manchester is something I would like to wipe out from memory.

It was a disaster.

After the euphoria of the win at Lords, Pakistan turned out with the worst performance in tests in a very long time. To put it into perspective, England's win at Old Trafford was their 5th largest victory in tests in terms of runs, and their 2nd largest against Pakistan!

After 6 wins and a draw in 7 tests against England, Pakistan finally succumbed to a defeat.

The biggest reason, in my opinion, for this change in fortunes was the toss. In the past 7 tests that resulted in 6 wins for Pakistan, they had batted first in all tests except one.

Despite losing the toss, I did not think that Pakistan would be defeated this badly.

If anyone had told me that England would beat Pakistan at Old Trafford, I would not have placed my money on them given how they had played against Pakistan's attack in the previous 7 tests.

England's batting line up in this test series is quite weak. Their middle order is nonexistent and Bairstow is not the same against this Pakistan attack as he was against Sri Lanka.

England's batting line up starts with Alastair Cook and ends with Joe Root, who Pakistan were able to tame at Lord's.

However at Old Trafford it was different ball game. Root was a man on a mission and he played one of the best test innings I have seen in a long time.

Root's innings was all about learning from past mistakes, application, determination, and dominance.

It was a true blue test classic.

Root's match aggregate of 335 was only 97 runs less than what Pakistan's 22 batsmen collectively scored at Old Trafford.

Pakistan's batting has always been vulnerable, however this test team has been different. Azhar, Younis, Misbah, Asad, and Sarfraz have been more consistent than any Pakistan number 3-7 in the past. For them to struggle across two innings has been rare. Yet, one can still fathom their failure because we have been accustomed to it.

What is quite unfathomable is how toothless Yasir Shah and the rest of Pakistan's attack were at Old Trafford. Yasir had just accomplished a rare feat at Lord's and climbed to the top of bowling rankings, but Root brought him back down to earth - from number 1 to number 5 in the rankings - that is how poor a test match Yasir had.

This Pakistan team though is not one to fall without a fight.

Two remaining tests promise to be thrilling ones. With the series level, there is everything to play for. Pakistan's batsman will have to rise to the challenge. Misbah and Asad require more support from the likes of Hafeez, Azhar, and Younis, who despite starts have been unable to convert their scores into big ones. They are all due and there won't be better opportunities than at Edgbaston and the Oval.

At the end of day 1 of the first test, Misbah became the first Pakistan captain to score a century at Lord's in 24 years.

On day 2, Yasir Shah became the first Pakistani leg spinner to take a 5 wicket haul at Lord's in 20 years.

Such is the class act that this Pakistan team is.

Both Misbah and Yasir were realizing their dreams playing their first test in England at Lord's; both of them had to prove to their critics that their recent success had not been only due to helpful conditions in the UAE but due to their own determination; both of them managed to do this and more forever engraving their names on the Lord's honors board.

Yasir not only became the first leg spinner from Pakistan since Mushtaq Ahmed in 1996 to pick up 5 wickets at Lord's; he became the first leg spinner from anywhere in the world to do so!

Only the second leg spinner in 20 years to achieve this feat.

Yasir now finds himself on an honors board that does not have the names of Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan. The best leg spinners / spinners in the world never managed 5 wickets at the home of cricket.

Yasir's achievement is even more impressive considering that the last time a leg spinner picked up 5 wickets in the first innings at Lord's was in 1967! Almost half a century ago!

That is how special Yasir Shah is.



He was the fastest bowler from Pakistan to reach 50 test wickets; took him only 9 tests.

Now in only 13 tests, he has 82 wickets, which is the most any bowler has ever had after 13 test matches.

He is well on his way in becoming the fastest bowler from Pakistan to reach 100 test wickets; the current record is 19 tests held by Saeed Ajmal.

If Yasir can manage 18 wickets in the next innings at Lord's and the following 3 test matches, which is extremely likely considering the way he bowled in the first inning at Lord's, Yasir will equal a record that has been standing strong for 120 years now!

In 1896, George Lohmann reached 100 test wickets in only his 16th test. Since then, no one has managed it that quickly.

Given Yasir's current form and England's ability against leg spin, I reckon Yasir can get there in 15.

We all might just see history in the making in Birmingham during the first week of August.