The homeless internationals

The backing from the pro-Pakistan crowds in the Twenty20 against Australia at Edgbaston was possibly the closest Mohammad Aamer and Umar Akmal have come to experiencing "home" support. They've entertained spectators in Australia, England, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the UAE, but due to the security situation in Pakistan following the Lahore attack, Aamer and Akmal are yet to play an international at home, real home.

Aamer has now played 41 international matches (eight Tests, 15 ODIs and 18 Twenty20s), while Akmal has played 38 (six Tests, 18 ODIs, and 14 Twenty20s). They are second and third on the list of players with the most matches without playing one at home. If Aamer plays all the remaining internationals on the tour of England (six Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s), he will have played the most matches - passing Sri Lankan medium-pacer Graeme Labrooy's mark of 53 - without a home game.

Labrooy's record, like those of Aamer and Akmal, was also a result of unfavourable security conditions at home. He made his one-day debut against India in November 1986 and played his first Test in Kanpur in December that year. An ordinary performance in that match - 1 for 164 - possibly prevented Labrooy's selection for the first home Test against New Zealand in April 1987. New Zealand's tour was cancelled soon after because of domestic violence in Sri Lanka and international cricket returned to the country only in August 1992, four months after Labrooy played his last international. As a result, Labrooy played nine Tests and 44 ODIs in seven countries, at venues as famous as Lord's and as obscure as Ballarat, and none in Sri Lanka.

Pakistan players, present and past, dominate the table of those with the smallest percentage of home matches during their careers. Offspinner Saeed Ajmal played his first two international matches in Karachi but only one of his next 51 games in Pakistan - he has played only 5.7% of his matches at home, the second lowest ratio after Labrooy.

Opener Imran Nazir has played only 11 of his 106 matches in Pakistan. His 10.60% of home games is the lowest for anyone with more than 100 caps. Similarly Rashid Latif (17.70%) and Shahid Afridi (20.20%) have the lowest percentage of home matches for players with more than 200 and 300 internationals respectively.

The smallest percentage of home Tests in a career (minimum of 20 matches) belongs to former West Indian captain John Goddard, who played only four out of 27 games (14.80%) in the Caribbean. Among those who played at least 50 ODIs, Clive Lloyd has the lowest proportion of home games - 8%. He played only seven out of 87 one-dayers in the West Indies. In Twenty20 internationals, the lowest percentage of home games belongs to Ajmal again. He hasn't played any of his 21 matches in Pakistan.

England fast bowler John Snow, on the other hand, possesses the largest percentage of home games in a career of at least 50 matches. Snow played 45 out of his 58 games in England - 77.50%. He went on only three tours - to Australia, West Indies and Pakistan. He could have played a third Test in Pakistan had he not bowled fast bouncers at Tom Graveney, the vice-captain, on a dangerous net pitch on the eve of the first Test in Lahore.

The record for the longest career played entirely at home belongs to Stanley Jackson, who played 20 Tests for England between 1893 and 1905. He missed a tour of Australia because of business reasons, but did travel to India with Lord Hawke's team in the winter of 1892-93.

There are a couple of current players who've only played international matches at home so far. All of Peter Ingram's two Tests, six ODIs and three Twenty20s have been in New Zealand, while Darren Bravo's 11 games (10 ODIs and a Twenty20) have been played in the West Indies.

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