Former England captain Michael Vaughan predicted the hosts will sweep the three-Test series against Pakistan despite the absence of talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes for the last two matches. Stokes was part of the England team which pulled off a thrilling three-wicket victory in the series opener at Old Trafford but is now missing for family reasons.
England must tour Pakistan in 2022 reciprocating the visit of Azhar Ali and his men despite the coronavirus pandemic, Pakistan pace great Wasim Akram said.
Abrar Ahmed made a stunning Test debut claiming seven for 114 to bowl out England for 281
Pakistan captain Azhar Ali "missed a trick" several times in the opening Test against England and their three-wicket loss will hurt the team and their fans, according to bowling great Wasim Akram. Ali and his men held the upper hand for most part of the series opener and had England, chasing 277 for victory, reeling at 117-5 at Old Trafford before England fought back.
Azhar Ali's superb unbeaten 146 led Pakistan to a commanding 279 for one on the first day of the first test against West Indies in Dubai on Thursday. Azhar shared an opening partnership of 215 with Sami Aslam, who was bowled by Roston Chase for 90 in the final session to give the Caribbean side their only success of the day.
Ravindra Jadeja's performance at India's recent Test win against Sri Lanka in Mohali has catapulted him to the No. 1 position in the MRF Tyres ICC men's Test player rankings.
Pakistan named Babar Azam as their new captain in one-day internationals, putting the elegant batsman in charge of both their limited-overs teams after a stellar year with the bat. The top order batsman, who took over Twenty20 captaincy earlier this year, succeeds Sarfaraz Ahmed as Pakistan's white-ball leader while Azhar Ali also got an extension as skipper of the Test side for the 2020-21 season.
Six of the 10 Pakistan cricketers bound for England who tested positive for COVID-19 have now registered negative results on re-testing, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday. Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, however, must return a second negative result before they can join the main squad of 20 players who will leave for England on Sunday.
Misbah-ul-Haq equaled the record for the fastest Test century on Sunday.
Anderson now has seven wickets in the match.
The second and final Test starts in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
In the bowling department, pacer Mohammad Abbas (13th) and experienced leg-spinner Yasir Shah (24th), who have in the past, been ranked third and first, respectively, and left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi (32nd) are other Pakistan players to watch.
A cricket museum based in India has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali to raise funds for the needy during the coronavirus pandemic. He confirmed that Blades of Glory Cricket Museum based in Pune bought the bat by making a winning offer of Rs. 1 million for the bat.
Kamran Akmal, the leading run scorer in the Pakistan Super League, is left out of the 15-strong squad after scoring just 68 runs in three ODIs against the West Indies earlier this month.
Australia declared their first innings on 556 for nine and then skittled out Pakistan for 148 to seize control of the second Test in Karachi on Monday.
Seen as two of the fastest bowlers in Pakistan's domestic circuit, 19-year-old Musa was included in both squads on Monday, while 16-year-old Naseem has been named in the test attack featuring a third teenager in Shaheen Afridi.
Azhar was named Test captain this month in place of Sarfaraz Ahmed whose spot as wicketkeeper has been taken by Mohammad Rizwan.
The 34-year-old took the prized wickets of Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam to end Pakistan's resistance and finished with figures of 5-83 in Pakistan's second innings.
The pitch offered some variable bounce but did not pose too many problems for the batters till the final hour of play.
England's Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow struck half centuries to guide the hosts to a four-wicket victory over Pakistan in the fourth one-day international in Leeds on Thursday as they went 4-0 ahead in the five-match series.
Pakistan opener Abid Ali scored a half-century but England's seam bowlers used the muggy conditions to their advantage to restrict the tourists to 126 for five at the close of a rain-hit opening day of the second Test at the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
India captain Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma maintained their supremacy at the top of the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen, occupying the first and second spots respectively in the latest list released on Wednesday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test match between England and Pakistan in Manchester, on Wednesday.
Babar Azam's glorious unbeaten 102 kept Pakistan alive but Australia remained on course for victory in the second Test in Karachi on Tuesday.
Pakistan's centrally-contracted players are mentally prepared for pay cuts if the health crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic persisted for a few months, Test captain Azhar Ali said on Saturday.
Ravichandran Ashwin is the lone Indian to feature in the top 10 of the latest Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings as he continues to lead the way in the all-rounders list.
The selectors also retained former captain and wicketkeeper, Sarfaraz Ahmed in the squad as a standby to vice-captain, Mohammad Rizwan.
Leg-spinner Shah's selection was subject to the 35-year-old clearing a fitness test, chief selector Mohammad Wasim said in a statement.
The second Test between India and Bangladesh at Kolkata's Eden Gardens will be the first day-night Test on Indian soil, making India the seventh country to host a day-night Test.
R Ashwin is the only Indian bowler to feature in the top ten ICC rankings in the Test format
Marnus Labuschagne scored a sparkling 185 to help Australia to a commanding lead before the home pace attack struck to leave Pakistan facing a heavy defeat on the third day of the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's on Day 2
Images from Day 5 of the second Test between England and Pakistan at the Rose Bowl, in Southampton, on Monday
Azhar Ali tormented West Indian bowlers for 11 hours as he struck 302 not out to put Pakistan firmly in control of the first day-night Test in Dubai on Friday.
The former Pakistan captain said he was not worried about his future and is taking it one series at a time.
PCB completes first phase of COVID-19 vaccination for players and support staff. In the first phase, 57 men players, 13 officials of the men's team and 13 NHPC men and women coaches were vaccinated.
West Indies were 14 for no wicket at stumps in reply after Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell negotiated 11 overs in the deciding Test of the series, which is tied at 1-1.
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah marks his return to the national men's team as Pakistan on Wednesday announced an 18-member squad for next month's two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
Azhar's obdurate 193-ball stay at the crease helped his side plod slowly towards the hosts' first-innings total of 312 at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown to stand 140 runs behind with seven wickets in hand at the close.
Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz has heaped praise on Boxing Day Test centurion Azhar Ali, saying the opener is `one of the greatest batsmen` the country has ever produced. Azhar (unbeaten at 139) struck his 12th Test century and first Down Under besides sharing an unbeaten 115-run stand with Asad Shafiq (50) to guide Pakistan to 310-6 at the end of the rain-curtailed second day's play of the second match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Tuesday.
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