Pakistan have won just two of their last 13 Test series and are second last in the World Test Championship as they begin a three-match series against England at Lord's on Wednesday. The tourists arrive with pedigree in their batting order but a lack of wizardry in the bowling attack, and without their captain Babar Azam, who was ruled out of the first Test on Tuesday after a blow to the right hand in a warm-up fixture at Beckenham last week. Salman Ali Agha will lead the side in his place.
A decade on from a glorious summer
Last Friday marked the 10th anniversary of Pakistan's 10-wicket win against England at the Oval, a victory that lifted them to No 1 in the Test rankings for the first time. Younis Khan hit a double hundred, Yasir Shah took a five-fer, and Misbah-ul-Haq, the 42-year-old captain, led his team on a victory lap. That side had been unable to play at home since 2009 because of an attack on Sri Lanka's team bus, making the achievement even more remarkable.
There is a link to that golden period on the current tour: Sarfaraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper then, is now the Test head coach. But these are much darker times for Pakistani cricket. The number of head coaches and team directors across formats since 2021 is into double figures, and the selectors have changed just as frequently. Babar Azam is back for his second stint as Test captain, having replaced Shan Masood before last month's tour of the Caribbean.
Recent struggles and a rare away win
That Caribbean tour brought some relief. Pakistan won the second Test on a turning pitch exploited by off-spinner Sajid Khan, ending a run of eight consecutive defeats away from home. Babar was player of the series with 193 runs, while Masood reached a century in his first Test innings since losing the armband. However, the luck has not held: Masood broke a finger while making that hundred, and Babar took a blow to the hand at Beckenham, forcing him to retire hurt.
Masood has been declared fit and will play. The left-hander knows English conditions well, having captained Yorkshire and played county cricket for Leicestershire and Derbyshire. Although Jimmy Anderson dismissed him for one on four occasions, Anderson is no longer in the England side. Abdullah Shafique, also a centurion in the Caribbean, and Saud Shakeel, who averages above 40 in Tests, add pedigree to the batting order, though both are untested in England at this level.
Bowling concerns and a familiar hope
The worry is the bowling attack, which lacks pace and a world-beating spinner. The hope is that Mohammad Abbas, 36, can use his County Championship experience to move the ball with venom, even at under 80mph. Abbas was instrumental in Pakistan's last Test victory in England, taking eight wickets at Lord's in 2018 against a Root-led side recovering from an Ashes defeat.
The cliches about Pakistan being mercurial will grow louder, but the reality is that this is a favourable arrangement for Joe Root and an England team short on wins. England should take the series, though Pakistan may manage one win. For their supporters, a retreat to the past – perhaps highlights from the Oval a decade ago – might be a safer shot at happiness this summer.
