England vs Pakistan: 10 years and 259 days later, Fawad Alam plays a Test match again

When Pakistan announced its playing XI for the second Test match against England at Southampton, it brought an end to an almost 11-year long wait for Fawad Alam to represent his country in the longest format of the game. Alam, who made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in July 2009, last played a Test match in November 2009 against New Zealand before being dropped from the team.

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His inclusion in a Test match comes after a gap of 88 matches for Pakistan and a total of 10 years and 259 days. This is the second longest gap between two Test matches for a Pakistan player. Younis Ahmed, played a Test match after a gap of 17 years and 111 days and missed a total of 104 matches and that remains the longest gap between two Tests for a Pakistani cricketer.

A middle-order batsman, who can bowl the occasional orthodox left-arm spin, Alam has also represented Pakistan in 38 one-day internationals and 24 T20Is.

He has been a colossal figure in domestic cricket in Pakistan, scoring 12,265 runs at a whopping average of 56.78 in 166 first-class matches. It is his great run of form in domestic cricket which has landed him a place back in the Pakistan Test team after a decade.

Pakistan have elected to bat first after winning the toss on day 1 of the second Test match against England in Southampton. Azhar Ali’s team had dominated the opening Test match at Manchester, but lost the plot on the final day as a lower order partnership between Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes gave England a pulsating victory in what was a keenly contested affair.

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