Feature

Mohammad Rizwan stars, Fawad Alam and Asad Shafiq stumble

Yasir Shah's feast-or-famine fortunes contrast with unfortunate Mohammad Abbas' consistency

Danyal Rasool
Danyal Rasool
26-Aug-2020
Mohammad Rizwan threads one through extra cover  •  Getty Images

Mohammad Rizwan threads one through extra cover  •  Getty Images

Pakistan fell to their first defeat in England since 2010 as rain wiped out most of the final two days of the third Test at the Ageas Bowl. Their young side saw one particular man star, while the majority were solid performers and a handful struggled. Here are the marks out of ten:
8.5
Mohammad Rizwan (161 runs at 40.25; 5 catches, 1 stumping)
The standout performer for the visitors by so long social distancing isn't really a problem. Once and for all, Rizwan settled Pakistan's wicketkeeper question with a performance for the ages, taking a number of excellent catches, while acquitting himself brilliantly standing up to Yasir Shah, and 80mph Mohammad Abbas. One missed stumping on the final day of the second Test was inconsequential, and it wasn't just behind the stumps Rizwan was on fire. He would also end up the fourth highest-scorer on tour for the visitors, his 72 in the second Test preventing Pakistan's innings from falling apart, and a half-century in the third was a useful support act to his captain's heroics at the other end. Small wonder, then, that he was named Pakistan's player of the series.
7
Yasir Shah (63 runs at 15.75; 11 wickets at 33.45)
His feast-or-famine fortunes in England continued after a brilliant first Test gave way to an indifferent final one. Eight wickets at Old Trafford appeared to have set Pakistan up for victory that he'd played a starring role in. But after a couple of early breakthroughs at the Ageas Bowl, he struggled to keep his consistency when Dom Bess and Zak Crawley took the attack to him, with figures of 2 for 173 showcasing his ineffectiveness on what admittedly was a flat pitch. Even so, he ended with 11 wickets, just one fewer than the three seamers combined.
6.5
Mohammad Abbas (6 runs at 2.00; 5 wickets at 35.80)
Again, just five wickets in the series doesn't tell you much about the joys of watching Mohammad Abbas. The one delivery - you know which one - perhaps in itself made putting this series on worthwhile, and when he prowls with the new ball, there's nobody who can quite extract the seam movement this unassuming medium-fast bowler manages. He was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers by some distance in the first two Tests; however, he will need to work on adding enough tricks to his repertoire to ensure he can remain a threat once the ball wears down, and a failure to do that accounts for going wicketless in the final match.
6
Azhar Ali (210 runs at 52.50)
The third Test rescued what was turning out to be a nightmare of a series, both as captain and batsman. Roundly blamed for a number of decisions in that fateful final session in Manchester that led to England clinching a famous win that tilted the series their way, Azhar's technical problems and loss of form continued to haunt him through the first two Tests. He would make amends, somewhat, in the final Test, with a first away hundred in more than three years that ensured Pakistan would stave off defeat. It wasn't spectacular, but the grit made it clear Azhar wasn't about to pack it in just yet. More famously - though less desirably - he ended up becoming James Anderson's 600th Test scalp.
Babar Azam (195 runs at 48.75)
If one judges him by the stratospheric expectations placed upon him before the series, it was something of a quiet one for Pakistan's talisman. A sumptuous 69 on the first day appeared to serve as an appetiser for the rest of the series, but it was as good as it got. Babar wouldn't score another half-century until the final day of the series, when a stylish 63 ended any hopes England might have harboured of walking away with a 2-0 series win.
Shan Masood (179 runs at 43.55)
One big innings set the tone for a series that looked like it would truly announce Masood's arrival among the world's elite openers, following a stellar year-and-a-half in the Test side. That 156 at Old Trafford might have gone down among Pakistan's best away innings in Test cricket had Pakistan not let the match slip from their fingers. The rest of the series saw his troubles against Anderson return in full force, and he managed just 23 further runs in four innings.
5.5
Abid Ali (139 runs at 27.80)
This tour was always going to be more challenging than the home series against Sri Lanka, where he made his debut, scored two hundreds in two games and picked up as many player-of-the-match awards. Tasked with opening against the most prolific new-ball pairing in Test history, he conducted himself adequately enough, seeing off Broad and Anderson's opening spell in four of his five innings. A half-century in the second Test was his highest score, and though a truly big innings eluded him, he spent enough time at the crease to justify his place at the top.
Naseem Shah (5 runs at 1.66; 3 wickets at 69.33)
Those who have followed him the tearaway quick during his nascent career will know he wasn't at his best all series, but a list of "best balls of the series" would feature several contributions from him. The deliveries that removed Ollie Pope in the first Test and Joe Root in the third were as close to unplayable as it gets, and he was the most impressive among the quicks on a lifeless surface in a thankless situation in the final Test, beating the outside edge on at least ten occasions without picking up a wicket. Just three wickets all series, but boy, were they fun to watch.
5
Shaheen Shah Afridi (14 runs at 4.66; 5 wickets at 51.60)
The 20-year old was consistently brilliant at the start of each innings with the new ball, though his wicket-taking ability faded as the series went on. Just five in three Tests at 51.60 was less than Pakistan were counting on him for, and a truly ordinary spell with the second new ball in the final Test allowed England to pull well clear.
4.5
Shadab Khan (60 runs at 30.00; 2 wickets at 23.50)
It's harsh, maybe, to rate him after he was dropped following the one Test. He was decent, with his most stellar contribution a counter-attacking 45 in a 105-run partnership that set Shan Masood up for his monster century. As a second legspinner, however, he played a somewhat diminished role, removing two tailenders in the first innings. He was, perhaps surprisingly, not called upon in that crucial fourth innings as Pakistan saw the game slip by till after the 50th over, and went wicketless in the eight he sent down.
2
Fawad Alam (21 runs at 10.50; 2 wickets at 23.00)
Well, it finally happened. Fawad Alam got his chance in a Test match - two of them, in fact. But let's just say he didn't quite grasp it with both hands. His first Test innings in a decade was over in four balls, and by the time he got around to scoring his first run, he had taken two wickets. But the struggles with the bat continued, as he fell to Bess after a promising start in a manner that highlighted potential technical deficiencies. That No. 6 spot is still up for grabs.
Asad Shafiq (67 runs at 13.40; 1 wicket at 24.00)
Shafiq almost seems to get by without being noticed in most series, and that's because he often does precisely what's required of him, no less but certainly no more either. It's how his stretch of consecutive Test matches now extends to 72, but another series like this one and that'll be in jeopardy. It was an abysmal outing for the 34-year old, who couldn't seem to help nicking off to the slips off the quicks, making the same mistake several times. He'd manage just 67 runs across the series, capped by falling to Root on the final day.

Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000