FFirst-class cricket in Pakistan began on 27 December 1947 with a three-day match between Punjab and Sindh at the Bagh-e-Jinnah ground in Lahore. To date, 4223 first-class matches have been played on Pakistani soil by 97 teams. Six teams have played more than 150 matches, with the list being topped by HBL (Habib Bank Limited) which has played 180 matches. They are followed by WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority) with 175, KRL (Khan Research Laboratories) with 171, NBP (National Bank of Pakistan) with 167 and SNGPL (Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited) with 165. The Pakistan national side has played 164 first-class matches at home.
It makes for an interesting list of the best performers in first-class cricket on local soil. While many have achieved national and international fame, some have remained in the shadows despite stellar domestic records. In fact, some of them have not even been considered suitable for selection in the national team, despite very impressive records on the country’s local first-class circuit.
Batting: Most first-class career runs in Pakistan
13 batsmen have scored more than 10,000 runs on Pakistani grounds. Fawad Alam tops the list, with the highest score of 13,172 runs, while his 38 centuries are also the most by any batsman in Pakistan’s home ground. His average of 57.51 is the third best for any batsman with more than 5000 first-class runs within Pakistan. Despite these excellent statistics, Fawad received only 19 Test calls in his thirteen-year Test career.
Imran Farhat is second in the list of run-scorers with 12,830 runs. His 35 centuries also place him in the top three in the centuries list. Hasan Raza, the youngest Test debutant, is the only other batsman in this list to score more than 12,000 runs at home. He has a total of 12,485 runs at an average of 44.43 and 31 centuries, placing him third in the list. Kamran Akmal is surprisingly present at fourth position with 11,342 runs at an average of 45.18 and 30 centuries. These figures show that perhaps he may be eligible for a place in the national team on the basis of his batting. He is followed by Burewala’s Khurram Manzoor and Mohammad Saeed Anwar (also known as Saeed Anwar Jr., and not to be confused with his more illustrious name) with 11,220 and 11,213 runs respectively. Misbah Ul Haq also has more than 11,000 runs at an impressive average of 52.20. Misbah is followed by Test opener Yasir Hameed, who has scored 10,834 runs, Umar Amin, who has also won four Test caps with 10,683 runs, and Saeed bin Nasser, who scored 10,596 runs at an average of almost 39 runs per innings, but never Also could not make it to the national level. test side.
The great Zaheer Abbas is in second place with 10,415 runs at an impressive average of 61.26 and 36 centuries. After this comes Faisal Iqbal whose 10,384 runs were scored at the rate of approximately 43 runs per outing. Faisal also played 26 relatively ineffective Tests for Pakistan. Completing the list is the legendary Javed Miandad, who scored 10,329 runs at an average of 52.69 on Pakistani soil, which included 32 centuries.
There are several notable batsmen with high batting averages who played less frequently on the domestic circuit and hence had lower total run scores. Hanif Mohammad, the cricket icon of Pakistan’s early years, scored 9155 runs at an amazing average of 57.57 runs per match. The middle-order trio of Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam Ul Haq scored more than 50 runs per innings, with Younis scoring 6556 runs at an average of 53.16, Yousuf scoring 4367 runs at 54.58 runs per innings and Inzamam scoring 8254 runs at an average of 53.16. . Of 53.94 per outing.
Bowling: Most first-class careers
wicket in pakistan
Seven bowlers have taken more than 500 wickets on Pakistani soil. Topping the list is right-arm fast bowler Abdur Rauf, who has taken 630 wickets in 131 matches at an average of 23.16 runs per wicket. Primarily an in-swing bowler with the ability to extract strange bounce from the wicket, Rauf represented the national team in 3 Test matches without experiencing much success. He is followed by Karachi fast bowler Tabish Khan, who was included in the national team at the age of 36, making him the third oldest player ever in Pakistan’s Test history. He also earned the dubious distinction of being the bowler with the highest number of first-class wickets before making his debut for the Asian team. Tabish had 598 wickets in first-class matches before playing his first and sadly only Test against Zimbabwe in 2021. Tabish’s total first-class wickets in Pakistan are 618 wickets, each of which cost 24.15 runs.
Yasir Arafat was a genuine attacking all-rounder with a brilliant bowling style, who won 3 Test caps and also spent time on the English county cricket circuit, playing for Surrey and Sussex at different times. Yasir took 589 wickets at an average of 21.83 runs on Pakistani grounds.
The next two bowlers in this list are also fast bowlers. Aizaz Cheema took 552 wickets at an average of just 19.57, while Mianwali’s left-handed batsman Samiullah Khan took 525 wickets at an even worse cost of just 18.70 runs. Aizaz Cheema was a late inclusion in the national Test team at the age of 31. After a successful start when he took 8 wickets, his performance deteriorated. He represented Pakistan in a total of 7 test matches. Samiullah could never join the national team.
The only spinner in this team of seven players is Danish Kaneria. A big turner of the ball, who also generated considerable bounce off the wicket due to his height, Danish took 515 wickets at an average of 23.95 on Pakistani grounds. The last name in the list is Faizabad-born medium pacer Asad Ali, who took 508 wickets at 22.86 runs per wicket.
The records of Pakistan’s established bowling greats also make for informative reading. Imran Khan took 294 wickets at an average of 19.22 runs on the local scene, Wasim Akram took 206 wickets at an average of 20.85, while his dangerous fast bowler Waqar Younis took 319 wickets at an average of 20.80 runs per wicket. Mohammed Sami and Yasir Shah got longer and more active experience in the domestic circuit and their bowling performances reflected this. Sami took 484 wickets at an average of 23.28, while Yasir took 363 wickets at an average of 28.27. On the domestic front, Mohammad Abbas took 360 wickets at an average of 21.28, Mohammad Asif took 285 wickets at an average of 22.90 per wicket and Saeed Ajmal took 251 wickets at an average of 26.0.
Wicketkeeping:
first class
career dismissal
in Pakistan
Eight wicketkeepers have taken more than 400 dismissals on Pakistan’s home grounds. Kamran Akmal tops the list of wicketkeepers who is also in the list of highest run scorers. Kamran has taken 764 dismissals behind the stumps and is way ahead of Zulfikar Jaan, who has 543. Zulfiqar is a relatively unknown keeper from Charsadda, who plays for KRL and Peshawar Cricket Association.
The third keeper to take more than 500 wickets in Pakistan is Kamran’s brother Adnan Akmal who has 501 wickets to his name.
Adnan is followed by the incomparable Wasim Bari, the best keeper Pakistan has ever produced. Wasim took 490 dismissals behind the stumps, including 98 stumpings, the highest number by any Pakistani wicketkeeper on local soil. Incidentally, Wasim also holds the record for most stumpings by any Asian in the history of first-class cricket.
The next name in this list is Humayun Farhat who dismissed 484 batsmen. Humayun was also a very skilled batsman and scored a total of 5959 runs in matches in Pakistan at an average of around 28. Humayun played his only Test match against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2001, and had the very dubious distinction of being the only wicketkeeper. Who in Test history did not make a single dismissal in his entire Test career.
The last three wicketkeepers in the list are lesser known; Gulrez Sadaf of Burewala took 425 kills, Mohammad Salman of Karachi took 416 kills and Jamal Anwar of Rawalpindi took 404 kills. While Mohammad Salman represented the country in two Test matches, Gulrez and Jamal never received a Test match call-up.
Of Pakistan’s more famous wicket-keeping names, Sarfaraz Ahmed has taken 397 dismissals and has also performed impressively with the bat, scoring 6427 runs at an average of 47.60, thus staking a claim to a Test place on batting ability alone. . Contemporaries Moeen Khan and Rashid Latif have taken 381 and 311 dismissals respectively on the domestic circuit, while the stalwart of earlier years and Pakistan’s first regular wicketkeeper Imtiaz Ahmed had 162 dismissals in the days when fewer first-class matches were played. Local cricket calendar.
Dr. Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports lover and an avid reader, who has a personal collection of over 7000 books.
– salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com
