In its Test history of sixty eight years Pakistan’s bowlers have produced some high quality performances. Choosing the best ever bowling displays will always be a matter of personal opinion and conjecture. The quality of the opposition, the match circumstances in which they happened and their impact on the eventual outcome of the Test are all factors to consider when making this choice. However, something we can all concur on is which bowling performances in a Test match have been the best statistically. The figures speak for themselves.

Best Bowling Figures in a Test Innings

On two occasions Pakistani bowlers have come tantalizingly close to taking all ten wickets in a Test innings.

The first Test of a two-Test series versus Australia in 1979 was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pakistan batted first and were dismissed for just 196. Australia fared even worse in response, being bowled out for merely 168. As the pitch became easier to bat on, Pakistan compiled 353 for 9 wickets declared in their second knock. They were indebted to a fine century by Majid Khan who made 108 off just 157 balls with 16 fours.

Australia needed 381 runs to win and were very comfortably placed at 305 for 3, with Alan Border on 108 and Kim Hughes on 81 when Sarfaraz Nawaz produced one of the most sensational bowling spells in Test cricket history. Bowling off a shortened run up, he brought one in sharply to Border who inside edged the ball onto the wicket via his pads. Graeme Woods was out off the very next ball as he edged an inswinger into the safe hands of wicket-keeper Wasim Bari. Peter Sleep avoided the hat-trick but lasted only five deliveries before being bowled by an unplayable yorker from Sarfaraz. Australia were suddenly 306 for 6.

Kim Hughes attacked in an attempt to break the shackles but merely skied the ball to mid-off where Mohsin Khan took a comfortable catch. Wayne Clark replaced him but his stumps were uprooted by the first ball that he faced as it swung into him. Sarfaraz had now taken five wickets in just thirteen deliveries without conceding a single run, and Australia were 309 for 8. Sarfaraz was again on a possible hat-trick and though his next ball struck the new batsman Hogg on the pads, a strong lbw appeal was denied and Hogg survived. However, just one run later he also fell when Sarfaraz had him plumb lbw and the last man Alan Hurst lasted just two balls, before he was caught behind off Sarfaraz. Australia were all out for 310, leaving Pakistan unexpected victors by 71 runs.

Australia had lost their last 7 wickets for just 5 runs and five of the last six batsmen had failed to get off the mark. Sarfaraz had taken 7 wickets for just one run in the space of 30 deliveries. Though Sarfaraz is recognized as one of the pioneers of reverse swing, he always insisted that in this remarkable spell it was conventional swing that he had used to earn his wickets.

Abdul Qadir had made his Test debut against England and had a history of good performances against them. He took more Test wickets against England than he did versus any other country, a total of 82 wickets at an average of 24.98. This tally included 8 hauls of 5 wickets or more in an innings and 4 instances of 10 or more wickets in a test.

England toured Pakistan for a three-Test series in the winter of 1987. The series would always be remembered for the on-field confrontation between the England captain Mike Gatting and the Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana in the second Test of the series at Faisalabad. Sadly, it overshadowed the outstanding bowling performance of Pakistan’s leg spin wizard Abdul Qadir who took 30 wickets in the series.

In the first Test, on a spinning wicket at Lahore, Qadir was introduced into the attack after just 10 overs. A bemused Graham Gooch was all at sea, being completely unable to read Qadir’s spin. He fell when he failed to pick a googly and was soon followed by Robinson who was beaten by the turn and gave wicket keeper Ashraf a straight forward catch. Gatting lasted just two balls and was dismissed when he missed an attempted sweep and was given out lbw. Athey, who replaced him, made the same error and met a similar fate. England were 44 for 4 and all four wickets had fallen to Qadir. Capel fell to Tauseef, but then it was just Qadir after that. He snared both DeFreitas and Emburey, and then with the England score at 94, removed their doughty opener Chris Broad for 41, thanks to a brilliant catch at silly mid-off by Asif Mujtaba.

Foster and French rallied England with a 57 run ninth wicket stand before Foster was leg before to a googly that he misread and Cook was Qadir’s final victim with the England score at 175. Qadir had taken 9 wickets for just 56 runs and this remains the best ever performance by a Pakistani bowler in a Test innings.

Best Bowling Figures in a Test Match

On two occasions Pakistani bowlers have taken 14 wickets in a Test match.

The first was in March 1982 in the 3rd Test between Pakistan and the visiting Sri Lanka team at Lahore. After winning the toss Pakistan put Sri Lanka in to bat and Imran soon had them in trouble. He had Warnapura caught at short leg by Mohsin and clean bowled the debutant Jayasekra with an in-swinger. He then dismissed a floundering Wettimuny and had Madugalle caught behind for a duck to leave Sri Lanka on 83 for 4. Roy Dias and Mendis offered resistance and the visitors rallied to 207 for 6 by the close of play. Imran had taken five of the six wickets to fall.

The next morning Imran soon dismissed Dias and then ran through the tail to leave Sri Lanka all out for 240. Imran’s tally was 8 for 58, in a sustained spell of hostile fast bowling. Pakistan replied with a massive 500 for 7 declared, including centuries from Mohsin and Zaheer.

Trailing by 260 runs Sri Lanka started their second knock confidently with the openers putting on 56. A collapse then ensued and Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 158. Imran took 6 for 58, bowling with great pace and rhythm which the Sri Lankan batsmen were unable to cope with. He had match figures of 14 wickets for 116 runs, which are still the best for any Pakistani bowler in its Test history. They are also the best figures ever recorded by an Asian pace bowler.

1982 was a halcyon year for Imran. He took 62 wickets at just 13.29 runs apiece from only 9 Tests, at a miserly economy rate of 2.09 runs per over. He could bowl long spells without losing his speed or aggression. He could move both the new and the old ball in either direction, employing both conventional swing and the newly mastered art of reverse swing. He had a lethal yorker and a well-directed bouncer that unsettled the best batsmen into taking hasty evasive action. Many pundits acclaimed him as the world’s best fast bowler of the time.

Almost thirty years after Imran’s performance another Pakistani bowler took 14 wickets in a Test. In November 2018 Pakistan played New Zealand in a three-Test series in the neutral venue of the UAE. The second Test was in Dubai and Pakistan batted first and posted a total of 418 for 5 declared, with centuries from Haris Sohail and Babar Azam.

New Zealand started with an opening partnership of 50. Raval was the first to go on the third day when he missed a reverse sweep off Yasir and was bowled. This triggered a collapse. Latham was soon caught at square leg, while both Taylor and Nicholls lasted just two balls each. All three fell to Yasir. Taylor played all round a sharp leg break and Nicholls was bowled by one that went through the gate between bat and pad. Sodhi was caught behind off a top spinner and Wagner was trapped lbw, also by a top spinner. There was some bounce in the wicket which helped Yasir and he also snapped up the last two wickets to bring the New Zealand innings to a close with just 90 runs on the board. Yasir ended with 8 for41 from 12.3 overs. Five of his victims were dismissed without scoring and faced a cumulative total of just 14 deliveries in the process.

When New Zealand batted again Yasir took two further wickets on the third day, becoming the first bowler after Anil Kumble in 1999, to take 10 test wickets in a day. As the wicket became easier to play on the fourth day, New Zealand put up a much better show and reached 255 for 4, before another collapse set in and they lost their last six wickets for just 57, four of them being picked up by Yasir. New Zealand were all out for 312 and Pakistan prevailed by an innings and 16 runs. Yasir took 6 for 143 in the second innings and match figures of 14 for 184, the highest wicket aggregate ever by a Pakistani spinner in a Test match.

Statistically these are the top bowling performances by Pakistanis in test cricket. Time waits for no one and these records too will pass into footnotes as new achievements overtake them. Let us recall and celebrate them before they acquire the sepia tints of faded images from a distant past.

The faded notches on my path

Denote the stations I have passed

Where I have hovered more than most

The tufts of grass have fissured lines

Where memories and dreams recline

Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.

salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com