From Ajmal to Miandad, we delve into the archives...
Thursday 11 August 2016 11:46, UK
England take a 2-1 series lead into the final Test at The Oval on Thursday, but the venue hasn't been a happy ground against Pakistan of late.
The two have played nine times at the south London venue, with Pakistan claiming four wins to England's three, and two of those triumphs for the hosts came in the first three contests.
England will be hoping to fare better this week than in their previous five clashes at the famous ground…
Amir triggers collapse
(Pakistan win by four wickets, 2010)
This Test is interesting as much for what came after it as for the four days worth of action… Amir took 5-52 in England's second innings to trigger a collapse from 156-2 to 222 all out, but would be on the back pages (and the front) for all the wrong reasons a mere week later when implicated in a spot-fixing scandal for bowling no-balls in the Lord's Test.
Alastair Cook - under pressure after a top score of just 29 in his eight Test innings for the summer - struck 110 to help England overturn a 75-run first innings deficit. It proved to be a vital knock for Cook, helping regain form before the 2010-11 Ashes tour where he would go on to smash a staggering 766 runs. But despite his best efforts, Amir and Saeed Ajmal (4-71) ran through the rest of the order, leaving the tourists to chase 148 to win, which they just about managed.
Oval abandonment
(Test abandoned, 2006)
Yes, that Test match. Easily the most controversial clash between the two teams at The Oval came in 2006, as skipper-at-the-time, Inzamam-ul-Haq refused to lead his team back out onto the field after tea on day four. No, not because he was tucking into another cucumber sandwich, but because umpire Daryl Hair accused his side of ball tampering.
Pakistan were in a dominant position at the time, having skittled England out for 173 in their first innings - Umar Gul (4-46) and Mohammad Asif (4-56) sharing the wickets. Mohammad Yousuf then hit 128 as the visitors tallied 504 to earn a huge lead. But with the series already lost (2-0 down going into the final Test at The Oval), Hair's accusations during England's second innings, proved to be the final straw for Inzi, and the tour ended with the first ever abandoned Test.
Magnificent Mushtaq
(Pakistan win by nine wickets, 1996)
England have negotiated the threat of leg-spinner, Yasir Shah, far better since giving up 11 wickets to him at Lord's, but two decades ago it was a different leg-spinner and a different London venue that was exposing England's age-old failings. Mushtaq took 6-78 as England collapsed from 166-2 - after fifties for Alex Stewart (54) and Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain (51) - to 242 all out.
It meant Pakistan were left just 48 to chase, having amassed a huge first-innings lead thanks to centuries from Saeed Anwar (176) and Saleem Malik (100) as the tourists declared on 521-8 in response to England's 326 - John Crawley (106) cracking a first Test ton.
Wasim and Waqar
(Pakistan win by 10 wickets, 1992)
Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were chief England destroyers in the 90s - just ask Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain! This was demonstrated no more so than with the 15 wickets they shared in this Oval clash. Wasim (6-67) did the damage in the first innings as England were bowled out for 207, while it was Waqar (5-52) in the second, bowling the hosts out for 174.
Forget a 48-run target. Things were even simpler in 1992, 46 runs simpler to be exact, when Pakistan took one Mark Ramprakash ball (yes, Mark Ramprakash!) to pick up the two runs they needed to win. The 10-wicket win earned Pakistan a 2-1 series victory, with things tied up at 1-1 going into The Oval Test.
Miandad bludgeons Beefy & co
(Match drawn, 1987)
The last Oval draw between the two teams came on a batting paradise of a pitch, and one that likely keeps Sir Ian Botham awake at night. Sky Sports' Botham bowled a staggering 52 first-innings overs as Javed Miandad smashed 260, while Saleem Malik (102) and skipper Imran Khan (118) also struck centuries in a score of 708 from 220.3 overs!
Botham (3-217) at least took three wickets, while poor old John Emburey (0-143) went wicketless in his 61 overs. And just to run further salt into England's wounds, Imran removed Chris Broad with the fourth ball of England's reply. But Mike Gatting - 61 in the first innings and 150 not out in the second - helped England salvage a draw, with Emburey (53) and Botham (51no) hitting fifties in each innings to make them feel a bit better about their figures with the ball.
Watch the fourth Test between England and Pakistan from The Oval, live on Sky Sports 2 from 10am on Thursday. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
