After the end of the Test series against West Indies, England is all set to host Pakistan as a part of their English summer, marking the resumption of international cricket amid the global COVID-19 crisis.
The first of the three-match Test series will be played at Old Trafford, starting August 5 onwards. The rest of the games in the series are slated to be hosted at Southampton. Pakistan will also feature in the subsequent three-match T20I series.
Over the years, England and Pakistan encounters have produced some riveting battles. Usually, the key duels are between the Pakistan pacers and the English batsmen. The Three Lions have been tested with the nagging line and lengths from a barrage of left-arm pacers.
The Pakistan seamers are well-renowned to extract purchase out of the juicy conditions offered in England. Therefore, even the best of England batsmen have found it difficult to cope with feisty spells from Pakistani bowlers.
However, there have been some batsmen who have had the wood over the traditionally strong bowling attack of Pakistan.
Today, let’s have a look at the top five batsmen with the most number of Test runs against Pakistan.
5. Joe Root (916 runs)
The Golden Boy of English cricket, Joe Root has accumulated 916 runs in the nine matches played against Pakistan thus far.
Root smashed his career-best 254 against Pakistan at Old Trafford in Manchester back in 2016. England won the match by a massive margin of 330 runs.
The glamorous batsman also holds an impressive average of 61.06, with as many as six half-centuries under his belt.
As the captain of ‘Three Lions’, Root would hope to continue his rich form against Pakistan in the upcoming series, leading by example with the bat.
4. Tom Graveney (943 runs)
The Gloucestershireman represented England at the highest level from 1954 to 1969. In his career, Graveneyh played 13 matches against Pakistan, where he amassed 943 runs at a handsome average of 58.93.
Graveney held an impressive record against Pakistan as he notched up three centuries and five half-centuries, with the best score of 153 at Lord’s back in 1964. England won the match by a massive nine-wicket margin.
3. Alec Stewart
From 1992 until 2003, England Cricket was blessed to have the services of wicket-keeper batsman Alec Stewart.
The handy middle-order batsman had the knack of scoring important runs against Pakistan. Stewart has the third-best tally of 994 Test runs against Pakistan in 13 games, consisting of two centuries and four half-centuries.
The Surrey cricketer clinched his highest Test score of 190 against Pakistan at Birmingham back in 1992. The game ended in a draw.
2. David Gower (1185 runs)
Gower, who is regarded as one of the most elegant batsmen produced, had a daunting record against Pakistan in Test cricket.
Gower stockpiled second-best 1185 runs in 17 games, averaging 49.37. He also had two centuries and nine half-centuries against Pakistan.
His best knock of 173* came during the Lahore Test match, back in 1984 when England posted 344 in the second innings. The game ended in a stalemate.
1. Alastair Cook (1719 runs)
There is hardly any list of top-run scorers for England without the name of Cook in it. The leading run-scorer for England in Tests also has troubled several bowling attacks around the world including Pakistan.
In the 20 matches he featured in, Cook smashed the most number of runs (1719) for England against Pakistan in Tests.
Cook averaged 49.11 against Pakistan with five centuries and eight half-centuries to his name and the best score of 263 at Abu Dhabi, back in 2015. The high-scoring match ended in a draw and Cook walked away with the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
