Review of Pakistan-England Tests (Dec 2022)-Part 1

England inflicted a rare 3-0 victory in an away series when they defeated Pakistan in this series.

This was the only time Pakistan has lost a home series by 3-0 or more. Only Australia and India have avoided clean sweeps at home by 3-0 or more.

Looking at the overall records of Tests between England and Pakistan:

Total Tests 89, England lead 29-21 with 39 draws

In England: 56 Tests, England lead 24-12 with 20 draws

In Pakistan: 27 Tests, England lead 5-4 with 18 draws

Neutral venues: 6 Tests, England trail 0-5 with 1 draw

Looking at individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs, minimum 800:

Led by Cook and Inzamam. Root and Azhar Ali are there from this series, which marked the latter’s retirement from Tests. The most centuries are 6 by M Yousuf, followed by Cook and Inzamam with 5. The most 50+ scores are 15 by Inzamam.

Highest innings, minimum 175:

Nothing in the past few years except Crawley’s 267 in 2020.

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings and 40.00):

Headed by M Yousuf and Saleem Malik, with AJ Stewart having the best average for England. Root represents current players.

Best batting strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, SR above 50):

Headed by Pietersen, Root and Inzamam. Root represents current players.

To be continued:

Most runs conceded on debut

At the end of the Pakistan-England Test at Rawalpindi, a few new records were set for the most runs conceded.

We first look at Most runs conceded in an innings on debut:

Zahid Mahmood now holds this unwanted record, which he took over from S Randiv of Sri Lanka who had done this against India in 2010

Also the Most runs conceded in an innings:

The record still remains with LO Fleetwood-Smith of Australia against England in 1938 (which included a score of 903/7 with 364 by Hutton). Zahid Mahmood is 9th on this list.

Not sure how long he will play for Pakistan. See this:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/zahid-mahmood-433614

Now let us see about Most runs conceded in a match on debut:

Here, Zahid Mahmood is second only to JJ Krezja, who took 12-358 (8-215 and 4-143) against India in 2008. This was not an auspicious beginning as he played only one more Test after this.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/jason-krejza-6235

As for Most runs conceded in a match:

This is headed by OC Scott’s 9-374 against England in 1930. This included 5-266 (in 849) and 4-108 (in 272/9 dec).

https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/tommy-scott-52925

Krezja is 2nd, and Zahid Mahmood 3rd in this overall list.

Mahmood took 4-235 (in 657) and 2-84 in (264/7 dec).

Review of Pakistan-England T20I matches-Oct 2022

England won the current series series 4-3. This was the first 7-match T20I series between full members, although there has also been one between Malawi and Mozambique earlier this year. These were the first T20Is played by England in Pakistan.

A summary of all T20Is between England and Pakistan:

England leads overall, as well as at home, away and at neutral venues.

Individual performances:

Batting:

Most runs (200 and above):

Led by the opening pair of Babar Azam (560) and M Rizwan (522).

Highest innings (70 and above):

The only two centuries are by Babar Azam and LS Livingstone.

The most 50+ scores are 6 by M Rizwan and 5 by Babar Azam.

PD Salt’s 88* is the best for England in Pakistan.

There is not enough data for meaningful calculation of averages.

Best strike rates (Minimum 250 balls faced, all instances):

Headed by Babar Azam and EJG Morgan.

Bowling:

Most wickets (8 and above):

AU Rashid and GP Swann have 17 wickets each, while Haris Rauf (14) has the best for Pakistan.

There are two instances of 4wi, by Saeed Ajmal (4-21) and AU Rashid (4-35).

Innings bowling (3wi and above):

MA Wood’s 3-20 is the best for England in Pakistan.

Wahab Riaz’s 3-18 is the best for Pakistan in England.

Fielding:

Most dismissals (6 and above):

Morgan has the most catches by a fielder (12). Buttler has the most dismissals by a keeper (7 including 5 stumpings).

Most innings dismissals (3 and above):

No England player has made 3 dismissals in a match in Pakistan.

This list includes a number of keepers and fielders.

Buttler is the only one with 2 stumpings in an innings.

All-round performance:

Minimum 20 runs and 2 wickets in a match:

The best performances here would be by MM Ali (36 and 2-32) and Shahid Afridi (24 and 3-15).

T20I cricket between India and Pakistan (Sep 2022)

As India and Pakistan will not be playing T20I matches in the near future, we can review the few matches they have played since 2007.

Here is the

Complete list of matches until Sep 7, 2022:

India and Pakistan first met at the start of the 2007 T20 World Championship. While that was a tie, India won in a bowl-out and went on to win the final against Pakistan.

Of the 11 matches played, India won 7, Pakistan 3 and 1 was tied.

In India, India lead 2-1

No matches have been played in Pakistan.

On neutral grounds, India won 5, Pakistan 2 and 1 was tied.

Batting-most runs (100 and above):

Kohli has by far the most runs with 406. No one else has made even 200. Kohli also has the most fifties (4). No one from either side has scored a century.

Highest individual score (50 and above):

Rizwan just outscores Kohli here. Next is Gambhir in the 2007 final.

Rizwan also has the highest score in the current Asia Cup.

Bowling-most wickets (5 and above):

Umar Gul has the most wickets (11) followed by the current player B Kumar with 10.

Innings bowling-3wi and above:

Mohammad Asif’s 4-18 in 2007 is the best, followed by B Kumar’s 4-26 in the current Asia Cup.

Fielding-most dismissals (4 and above):

Headed by Dhoni (who else?) while Raina has the most catches by a fielder.

Fielding-most innings dismissals (3 and above):

Headed by Dhoni again with 4 catches. 3 others (Raina and current players Karthik and Nawaz) with 3 are next.

All-round performance

At least 20 runs and 2 wickets in an innings:

Only 2 instances, with HH Pandya’s effort in this Asia Cup being the best.

Review of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests (Jul 2022)-Part 2

Hope you have seen Part 1: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2022/07/31/review-of-pakistan-sri-lanka-tests-jul-2022-part-1/

Continuing with Bowling:

Most wickets (25 or more):

Here Muralitharan has the second spot after Herath, while Saeed Ajmal has the most for Pakistan. Yasir Shah is the only current player.

Best innings bowling (6wi or more):

Herath again, overshadowing Imran Khan. No recent players except for Yasir Shah.

Best match bowling (including 9wm or more):

Here, Imran Khan has better figures than Herath. R Mendis, P Jayasuriya and Yasir Shah represent the current players.

Best bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls bowled, all instances):

Here, the two Ws have the top spots. Wasim also has the best economy rate, and Waqar the best strike rate.

Fielding:

Most dismissals (15 or more):

Led by Moin Khan and the fielder M Jayawardene. Current players include Dickwella, Chandimal and M Rizwan.

Most innings dismissals (4 or more):

Chandimal has most (6), while two fielders have taken 4 catches.

Most match dismissals (6 or more):

This time it is led by the lesser-known P Jayawardene with 9 dismissals. However, the better-known Jayawardene has the most (6) by a fielder.

Best dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, 0.500):

Headed by Moin Khan by a large margin over the second-placed Chandimal. M Jayawardene has the best rate for a fielder. Chandimal represents the current players.

All-round performances:

Overall (see criteria in table):

Wasim has the best figures here, while Vaas does not really qualify as an all-rounder.

Match performances (50+ and 5wi):

The three performances have little to choose between them.

Review of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests (Jul 2022)-Part 1

The 2-Test series was drawn 1-1. This is the overall summary:

Pakistan leads 21-17 overall. They also lead 9-8 for matches in Sri Lanka as well as 9-6 in Pakistan. However they are tied at 3-3 for matches in neutral countries.

We look at individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs (750 or more):

The most centuries are 10 by Sangakkara, followed by 8 by Aravinda and Younis Khan.

The most 50+ scores are 22 by Sangakkara, followed by 14 by Younis Khan.

Sangakkara has the most runs, followed by Younis Khan by some distance.

Mathews and Azhar Ali have the most runs among current players.

Highest innings (150 or more):

Matches between these teams have generally been high-scoring, with a triple century by Younis Khan and 250+ by Jayasuriya follwed by several other double centuries. The highest score in this series was 160* by A Shafique (that too in a 4th-innings chase).

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings, 30.00):

Sangakkara’s average of 74+ is considerably more than the next (Inzamam with 59+). Mathews and Karunaratne have the highest averages among current players.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, 45.00):

Unexpectedly, the highest strike rate was 70+ by Sarfaraz Ahmed followed by Dilshan at 63+. Babar Azam and Karunaratne have the best figures among current players.

To be continued: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2022/08/01/review-of-pakistan-sri-lanka-tests-jul-2022-part-2/

Records of Zimbabwe-Pakistan Test series-May 2021

Another one-sided series which was a common feature of the last few months.

Here is a full record of Tests between these teams:

Zimbabwe has only won 3 of these Tests. But they have been significant, as the first win in 1994-95 was Zimbabwe’s first win (though they lost the series 2-1). The second in 1998-99 ensured Zimbabwe’s first series win abroad. And the third in 2013 was one of their rare drawn series against a major team.

Highlights of this series: Babar Azam won all 4 of his first 4 Tests as captain.

Abid Ali’s 215* is the highest for Pak v Zim in Zim, surpassing Younis Khan’s 200* in 2013. The Pak v Zim record is still Wasim Akram’s 257* in 1996 at Sheikhupura.

He also became the first to make a score of 215* in a Test. Several others have been dismissed on 215, most recently MA Agarwal and M Labuschagne.

Nauman Ali (97 and 5-86) came close to becoming the first to make a century +5wi for Pakistan against Zimbabwe. PA Strang had already done this for Zim v Pak in 1996. That was the same match in which Wasim Akram scored 257*.

Fawad Alam now has the most centuries (4) without a score between 50 and 99. The previous “record” was 3 centuries by Ravi Bopara. However, it should be mentioned that ED Weekes made 5 centuries before making his first fifty (that too in 5 successive innings), and GA Headley went a step ahead with 6 centuries before stooping to a fifty.

Highest scores in losing ODI chases

Fakhar Zaman made 193 in a losing ODI chase, thus making a new record.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/pakistan-tour-of-south-africa-2021-1251556/south-africa-vs-pakistan-2nd-odi-1251573/full-scorecard

Here we look at the record high scores in unsuccessful ODI chases:

Until now the record was 175 by Tendulkar against Australia in 2009. Oddly enough, the previous highest score in this category for Pakistan was ALSO by Fakhar Zaman (138 v Eng in 2019).

From the above table you can see that India is well represented.

For India alone, the highest scores in unsuccessful ODI chases are:

Test cricket returns to Pakistan

The last Test in Pakistan was scheduled to be played from March 1 to 5, 2009.

There was no play after the second day. A contemporary report:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22788732/sl-cricketers-injured-terror-attack

And the scorecard, for what it is worth:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/13778/scorecard/388994/pakistan-vs-sri-lanka-2nd-test-sri-lanka-tour-of-pakistan-2008-09

Since then, Pakistan has played Tests only away or at neutral venues (mainly in UAE, also 2 in England). There have been a small number of T20Is and ODIs played in Pakistan in the past few years:

T20Is in Pakistan since March 2009:

ODIs in Pakistan since March 2009:

It is also apparent that any Pakistani player who made his Test debut since 3 March 2009 would never have played at home until now. They are:

It can be seen that these 46 players include the present captain (Azhar Ali) and the previous captain (Sarfaraz Ahmed) who made their debuts in 2010, besides key players such as Asad Shafiq and Shan Masood. There is also Fawad Alam who made his debut in Sri Lanka in 2009 but has not played any Test since that series, but may well play in the forthcoming series.

And there are others such as Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Amir who came and went without ever playing in a home Test.

You can see a review of past Tests between Pakistan and Sri Lanka here:

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2017/10/13/review-of-pakistan-sri-lanka-tests/

Note that their last meeting was in the UAE in late 2017, when Sri Lanka won 2-0. They were among the very few teams to beat Pakistan in a series in the UAE.

 

Yasir Shah the batsman

It is not often that one scores a century at No 8 (or below) against Australia. Yasir Shah is now one of them:

Of these 7, Parore was at no 9 and Read at no 10. Yasir has the second highest score IN Australia, after Prior’s 118. India is represented by current player Saha.

Those who have scored a century at No 8 (or below) for Pakistan:

Asif Iqbal’s 146 was at No 9 and the remaining 12 were at no 8. And Yasir has the highest against and in Australia.

Another interesting point is found when we look at the career batting averages of all who scored at least one century:

(This was before Pakistan’s second innings). The lowest is by the recent West Indian bowler JE Taylor at 12.96, while Yasir Shah is second lowest at 14.06.

Going further down. Harbhajan Singh has the lowest average of 18.22 by those who made at least 2 centuries. And Wasim Akram (22.64) has the lowest by those who made at least 3 centuries.

And Yasir also joins the somewhat longer list of those who scored one or more centuries but no other scores above 50. Here is an earlier list:

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2019/08/30/test-centuries-but-no-fifties-aug-2019/

 

ODIs between India and Pakistan-2

Hope you have read Part 1.

Now we take up Bowling.

Most wickets (25 and above):

A close bunching at the top, led by the senior W.

No current players.

Best innings bowling (includes all instances of 5 or more wickets):

No performances in the last few years.

Best bowling averages (Minimum 1000 balls, all instances):

Imran and Kumble lead. Shoaib Malik is the only current player.

The best economy rates are by Akram and Imran.

The best strike rates are by Waqar and Saqlain.

Now to Fielding:

Most dismissals (15 or more):

Led by Moin and non-keeper Azharuddin. Dhoni is next.

Innings dismissals (4 and above):

Mongia is the only one with 5 dismissals. Several non-keepers have 4 catches.

Best dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings and 0.500):

Moin Khan and MS Dhoni lead, while M Kaif has the best for non-keepers.

All-round performances:

Overall (see criteria):

Led by the semi all-rounder Ganguly and Imran.

All-round match performances ( 30 runs and 3 wickets):

Abdul Razzaq has the best figures here, followed by Tendulkar.

 

ODIs between India and Pakistan-1

It seems unlikely that there will be any bilateral series between India and Pakistan for quite some time. It has already been decided that India will not play Pakistan in the group stages of the World Test Championship.

So this seems to be a good time to look back at the records of ODIs between India and Pakistan (not just in the World Cup).

Of a total of 132 ODIs between the sides, India has won 55, Pakistan 73, no ties and No Result 4.

In India: 30 matches; Ind 11, Pak 19.

In Pakistan: 27 matches; Ind 11, Pak 14, NR 2.

In Neutral venues: 75 matches; Ind 33, Pak 40, NR 2.

Looking at individual figures:

Batting:

500 or more runs:

Headed by the older players who had more opportunities to play these matches. Among current players there is Shoaib Malik (1782) and MS Dhoni (1231).

The most centuries are 5 by Tendulkar, followed by 4 by several others.

The most 50+ scores are also led by Tendulkar with 21. Next is 16 by Inzamam and Dravid.

Highest innings: 110 and more:

Saeed Anwar’s 194 was a record in all ODIs for several years. The highest score in recent years is RG Sharma’s 140 in the current World Cup.

Highest Averages (Minimum 20 innings, 30.00 and above):

A number of current players such as Kohli are not here as they have not played 20 innings. Dhoni and Shoaib Malik have the highest averages among current players.

Highest Strike Rates (Minimum 500 balls faced, 80.00 and above):

Shahid Afridi and Sehwag lead as one would expect. Kohli, Dhoni  and RG Sharma have the highest strike rates among current players.

To be continued: