Mohammad Abbas the lone survivor set to spearhead Pakistan’s seam plan for England Tests
Mohammad Abbas has been named in Pakistan’s squad for a three-Test series in England starting next week and is expected to be central to the tourists’ seam attack. He is the only member of the seam trio that toured England in 2020 to be included for this visit.
Abbas first featured alongside Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah on the 2020 England tour, described then as the odd man out; he is now 36. In county cricket he has taken 302 wickets at 20.64 for Leicestershire, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and his Test figures for Pakistan stand at 118 wickets at an average of 22.38.
Coaches who have worked with him point to his control rather than raw pace: “He’s got really long fingers,” says Nottinghamshire’s Peter Moores. “His gift is in his wrist and in his right hand, really, that ability to control how the seam comes out and the slight variations on the ball.” Derbyshire’s Mickey Arthur added: “He’s almost like a surgeon in the way he works with that seam. He can get it nipping in, nipping out. And he bowls a really good wobble ball as well, so he’s got it all.” Abbas operates in the mid-70s (mph), a profile that stands apart from many international quicks.
Despite those endorsements, Abbas has had an intermittent Test career with 30 caps across a nine-year period. His recent form included eight wickets in Pakistan’s defeat in the first Test against West Indies in July, but he was omitted for the second Test as spinners dominated in Port of Spain.
Sajid Khan’s off-breaks delivered eight wickets to level that two-match series, and Pakistan’s last Test series victory — a 2-1 triumph against England in October 2024 — was constructed on turning tracks in Multan and Rawalpindi after an opening defeat. In that run Shaheen and Naseem were left out and Sajid combined with Noman Ali to take 39 wickets in two Tests, shaping a template for how Pakistan have prepared at home.
Jason Gillespie, Pakistan’s head coach during the 2-1 win over England, criticised a mid-series switch in surfaces and selection choices. “It was very shortsighted,” says the former Australia quick. “When I arrived, [the PCB] wanted to have fast bowlers. And they wanted to develop their fast bowlers. They wanted to play on surfaces that allowed for fast bowlers to thrive. And then a couple of Test matches were lost. New selectors were brought in and they decided that we’d play on used pitches and spinning tracks. It went against the long-term plan of developing bowlers, particularly fast bowlers.” Gillespie was stripped of his say in selection and resigned two months later.
Pakistan have travelled to England with a seam unit that has had limited effectiveness at home and without a genuine express quick; Ubaid Shah, Naseem’s 20-year-old brother, has been called in to add pace and the hosts are expected to outgun them on the speed guns this summer. Mohammad Ali is another seamer who has played county cricket this year, and the piece notes Mohammad Rizwan up to the stumps as Abbas settles into his groove, concluding: All Pakistan have to do is make sure they pick him.
The three-Test series in England begins next week and Pakistan enter it with Abbas available in the squad; his selection in the playing XI will be a decisive element of their seam strategy for the tour.