Azhar Ali to lead the Test side, Babar Azam to lead T20s
Fawad Alam put Pakistan in control of the first Test against South Africa, chalking up a superb century to lead the home side to 308 for eight by the close of day two in Karachi for a first innings lead of 88 runs.
Skipper Kane Williamson smashed his fourth Test double-hundred while Henry Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell notched up centuries to fuel New Zealand's bid for a 2-0 series sweep
Babar capitalised on an early reprieve to score a career-best 143 not out when bad light forced early stumps with Pakistan 109 ahead with seven wickets remaining.
Pakistan left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi claimed 4-53 as the hosts bowled out Bangladesh for 233 in their first innings on Day 1 of the opening Test in Rawalpindi on Friday.
Following is a factbox on England's leading Test wicket-taker James Anderson, who became the first pace bowler to claim 600 victims in the game's longest format.
Bangladesh trail by 224 runs and still needed 25 runs to avoid the follow-on at the end of Day 4.
'I was pretty shocked with all the stuff that was going on about him'
England beat Pakistan by 44 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis scoring method in a rain-affected first One-Day International in Southampton on Wednesday.
Pakistan cannot dwell on their defeat by England in the first Test at Old Trafford as it would make it tougher for them to respond in the next two matches, coach Misbah-ul-Haq said.
Inzamam-ul-Haq feels Azhar Ali's men have it them to bounce back from the defeat in the opening Test and clinch the three-match series.
Former captain Michael Vaughan cautioned England ahead of next month's three-match Test series, saying Pakistan is a better team than the West Indies in the traditional format and can shock the home team.
Azhar Ali's bizarre run-out during day three of the second Test against Australia has set himself up for a life-time of teasing from his children, the Pakistan batsman joked.
Zimbabwe captured nine Pakistan wickets for 249 runs on the opening day of the first Test in Harare on Tuesday after a frustrating ninth-wicket partnership between Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan.
At stumps, Pakistan's score read 145/3 with Fawad and Babar unbeaten on 42 and 77 runs respectively. For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj picked two, Anrich Nortje took one while Kagiso Rabada went wicketless.
Pakistan spinners Yasir Shah and Nauman Ali took five wickets between them to restrict South Africa to 220 all out, but the home side faltered in reply to close on 33 for four on day one of a fast-moving first Test in Karachi on Tuesday.
Australia broke Pakistan's dangerous third-wicket partnership to reduce the tourists to 177 for three, still 361 runs in arrears, at tea on a rain-disrupted third day of the third and final Test on Thursday. - Scorecard: Opener Azhar Ali was the batsman to fall for 71, leaving elder statesmen Younus Khan, who is inching towards his 34th Test century on 84 not out, and Misbah-ul-Haq, who has made 18, to resume for the extended final session.
Pakistan reached 142 for four wickets before play was abandoned due to rain after tea on day one of the second Test against Australia in Melbourne on Monday.
"Welcome to the club", said Anil Kumble, while Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar hailed his 'incredible achievement' as English pacer James Anderson's 600 Test wickets earned him a unanimous round of applause from some of the biggest names in Indian cricket.
England could play three spinners in the first game of their five-match series against Pakistan in Southampton on Wednesday, said one-day captain Eoin Morgan. A fixture guaranteed to make history, because the third umpire will call front foot no-balls, will take another interesting twist if England field Liam Dawson alongside Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between England and Pakistan at the Rose Bowl, in Southampton, on Sunday.
Misbah also felt that the top order of both teams would play a decisive role in the series as bowling of both teams was top class.
The onus will be on Pakistan's top batsmen to post competitive totals against England but batting coach Younis Khan said the team will need "a fighting tail" to win the series. Given the team is prone to inexplicable batting collapses, Pakistan roped in former captain Younis to help their batsmen for the three-Test series beginning in Manchester on Wednesday.
Former captain Mohammad Yousuf has ridiculed the Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to continue with Misbah-ul-Haq in the dual role of head coach and selector.
Pakistan had been reduced to 76 for five in their second innings as South Africa's spinners made inroads through the top order having been bowled out for 201 in another shambolic display with the bat.
The selectors have also put Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz on standby to cover for any player who fails pre-tour COVID-19 Testing scheduled later this month.
The win also pushed the Black Caps firmly into contention for one of two berths in June's inaugural World Test Championship final at Lord's.
Fast bowler Mohammad Amir was named in the Pakistan squads on Friday for the limited over New Zealand tour, marking a return to the national team after serving a five-year ban for spot-fixing.
Naseem Shah removed Najmul Hossain, Taijul Islam and Mahmudullah before Bangladesh finished day three of the opening Test
Abid hit 174 for his second hundred in as many Tests -- becoming the first Pakistani and ninth batsmen overall to score two centuries in his first two Tests.
Crowd trouble tarnished Pakistan's victory over Sri Lanka as missiles were thrown onto the pitch in the third ODI in Colombo.
Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher, Daryl Cullinan, and Faf Du Plessis are the other Proteas batsmen who have more than 4000 runs in Test cricket.
Shehzad-Ali add 120 runs for second wicket as Pakistan trail by six runs with eight wickets in hand
Joe Root's side completed an emphatic victory halfway through the third day when Mohammed Abbas was caught in the slip off Stuart Broad, his third wicket of the innings.
England looked all but beaten when they stumbled to 117-5 in their pursuit of a 277-run target set by Pakistan in the first Test at Old Trafford but captain Joe Root felt confident about his team's battling qualities.
Batsman Fawad Alam, who was also named in the 20-member squad along with two specialist spinners could make a comeback to Pakistan's Test team after 11 years.
In order to seal the place in the squad, the duo will have to cancel their league tours in South Africa and Bangladesh.
Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests and as many Twenty20 matches against England. The first Test will begin at Lord's on July 30.
India, down 0-2 in the series, made two changes to the squad, dropping out-of-form opener Virender Sehwag and pacer Ashok Dinda for Ajinkya Rahane and Shami Ahmed respectively.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 3rd and final Test played between England and Pakistan played at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday.
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