Naseem marks red-ball return with five-for in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Fast bowler Naseem Shah marked his return to red-ball cricket with a five-wicket haul - his first in four years. Playing his first first-class game since the first Test against South Africa at Centurion last December, Naseem's five wickets for Lahore Whites cut through Islamabad's middle order on day three of the first round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy season. It was, all told, a prolific day for the Shah household, with his team-mate and younger brother Ubaid chipping in with two wickets, meaning seven of the first eight Islamabad wickets fell to the two brothers.

The first wicket Naseem took was the pick of the bunch, using his whippy, side-on action to get the ball to dart back in, clipping the top of off to clean up Rizwan Ali. His scalps included Islamabad captain Hasan Nawaz, and, lower down the order, his international fast bowling teammate Haris Rauf as Islamabad's tail put up resistance, having been reduced to 128 for 6. They were ultimately bowled out for 256, with Naseem registering figures of 5 for 34. Ubaid took 2 for 56.

This was Naseem's fifth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, with most of them coming in the early stages of his career. His most recent one came in October 2021 for the Shaheens, Pakistan's A side, against a Sri Lanka A team in Pallekele. His first came in just his second first-class match at the age of 15, with the other two as a 16-year old. The second of those was against Sri Lanka in his third Test match, making him the second-youngest to achieve that feat in Test history.

Naseem has spent time out of Pakistan's red-ball squad since the away series in South Africa, with Pakistan favouring turning surfaces for home matches. He was not in the squad for the home series against West Indies, and is not named in Pakistan's Test squad for the upcoming home Tests against South Africa. He also lost his place in Pakistan's T20I squad, and was omitted from their recent Asia Cup campaign, where Pakistan made the final.