There is a sense of anticipation floating all around as Pakistan is all set to lock horns with hosts England. There is a story, a context and lot of history between the nations. And there is Mohammad Amir, who will run in with the new ball across the hallowed turf of Lords, we are bound to be excited.
Both sides have exciting pace battery, and a stodgy batting line up, and are led by two hard-nosed skippers in Alastair Cook and Misbah ul Haq.
Cricket will, however, erase all doubts about the dignity of any player, well it always has. We, thus focus on the 5 most memorable encounters between the two nations. Not all match was smooth sailing, and there have been pinch of controversies all through.
#1 Lords 1992
The mention of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis evokes scenes of hurling yorkers and unplayable swinging balls. True to the images and reputation, Waqar and Wasim took 13 wickets between them. But this was not all for them, the match was not over for Pakistan, as they down on the mat at 95/8 as they were chasing 135 to win against England.
And then came the rescue act, a 46-run partnership between Wasim and Waqar sealed the game for Pakistan when everything seemed lost. This partnership also took off sheen from the debut performance of Ian Salisbury, who took 3 wickets, but was thwarted by Wasim and Waqar.
Wasim finished with an unbeaten 45 and was the man of the match for his all-round performance.
#2 Karachi 2000
The sight of two white clad Englishman jumping all over and embracing each other in the darkness at the National Stadium in Karachi will always be etched in memories of all Pakistan and England fans.
Chasing down a target of 176 in 44 overs, England signalled their intent right from the outset as they went about their business. Michael Atherton and Marcus Trescothick put on a breezy 38 in the first 9 overs. However, the innings derailed a bit at 65/3. And Pakistan were trying to push for a draw as they were very slow during the overs, and this came back to haunt them during the end.
Steve Bucknor the umpire did not take the teams off the field even as Pakistan kept complained about low visibility. Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe saw the team home in almost pitch darkness.
#3 The Oval 2006
Pakistan bowlers have always been the masters of reverse swing, but this time the script was read differently by the on-field umpire Darrel Hair when Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif were beginning to get the ball to hoop around. Hair was visibly upset with the condition of the ball and asked for a fresh piece of Duke.
This did not go down well with the Pakistan team who refused to take the field after the tea break as they were visibly hurt by the changed balls, which they saw as brandishing them as cheaters. The drams was yet to begin, as the umpires dislodged the bails and walked off. This prompted an ad-hoc meeting between the management of PCB and ECB and quick negotiations were made. However, even as Pakistan team led by Inzamam ul Haq took the field, the umpires were nowhere to be seen, and the team went off again.
After quite a long day, the match was called off, it was declared to be a forfeited Test.
#4 Lords 2010
Probably the darkest phase in the history of Pakistan cricket, the News of the World revelation rocked the game and tarnished the image of the game.
On the fourth day, a stunning expose claimed that Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir took money to fix certain incidents during the match. The match continued on the fourth day amidst clouds of doubts and shame hovered all over Lords.
England went on to crush Pakistan, but the morose celebrations was a reminder of the dark side of cricket. No one was too flustered about the result of the match, but were concerned about the future of the three players.
All three were handed bans of varying degrees. And after almost 6 years, Amir is back at the place where he was shamed and where he walked away with his head buried in shame.
#5 Abu Dhabi 2012
This game will always be remembered as one of the worst batting collapses of the England batting order. Chasing down a target of 145 runs, the famed English batting line up was washed away for a paltry 72 runs.
Abdur Rehman, the left arm spinner spun a web around the batting line up and finished with figures of 6 for 25. This collapse was so spectacular that they lasted for only 36.1 overs on a track which spun, but was by no means a minefield.
Pakistan who led the series 2-0 would go on to win the series 3-0. An insipid performance from England was indeed a poor reflection of the number one test status.
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