Pakistan retain pedigree but lack ‘wizardry’ on England tour, 10 years after Oval win

Last Friday marked the 10th anniversary of Pakistan’s 10-wicket victory over England at the Oval, an event recalled as their current tour of England gets under way.

The 2016 success featured Younis Khan’s double century and a five-wicket haul from Yasir Shah while Misbah-ul-Haq, then 42, led a victory lap in south London and received further reward days later as the side rose to No 1 in the Test rankings for the first time. That squad had not played at home since 2009 because of an attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus; Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan’s wicketkeeper on that tour, is now the Test head coach, linking past and present.

Those connections sit alongside a backdrop of instability: Pakistan have won just two of their last 13 Test series and, since 2021, the number of head coaches and team directors across formats has run into double figures, with frequent changes among selectors. Babar Azam has returned for a second stint as Test captain, replacing Shan Masood before last month’s tour of the Caribbean.

The Caribbean trip provided some respite: Pakistan’s victory in the second Test — on a turning pitch exploited by off-spinner Sajid Khan — ended a run of eight consecutive away defeats and helped avoid a repeat of their bottom finish in the previous World Test Championship cycle; they are second-last in the current WTC. Babar was named player of the series with 193 runs and Shan Masood reached three figures in his first Test innings since losing the armband.

Injuries have disrupted that momentum: Masood broke a finger while making his century after facing Jayden Seales, and Babar suffered a blow to his right hand in the warm-up at Beckenham, forcing him to retire hurt. After taking throwdowns in the nets, Babar’s absence from the first Test was confirmed and Salman Ali Agha was named to lead in his place; Masood has been declared fit and retains experience of English conditions from captaining Yorkshire and spells with Leicestershire and Derbyshire.

There is recognised batting depth — Abdullah Shafique was also a centurion in the Caribbean and Saud Shakeel carries a Test average above 40 — yet both are untested in England at this level. The primary concern is Pakistan’s bowling unit, which the squad lack in pace and which does not contain a world‑beating spinner.

Mohammad Abbas, 36, is held out as the bowling hope, with expectation he can use his County Championship work to move the ball even without express pace: "nibble the ball around with venom, even if it doesn’t reach 80mph." Abbas previously instigated Pakistan’s last Test victory in England when his eight wickets at Lord’s in 2018 hurt a Root-led side that was on the mend from an Ashes mauling in the winter.

The piece concludes that cliches about Pakistan’s mercurial nature will intensify but that the current situation suits Joe Root and an England side described as short on wins and on a new path after the fall of the previous regime; the author judges England should take the series and suggests Pakistan may manage one win, with supporters perhaps turning to memories of the Oval decade-old triumph for consolation.