Hat-tricks, heroes & heartache: Australia's Tests in Pakistan

Policeman punishes Aussies in maiden Test, Karachi, 1956

As captured here, Australia's maiden Test in Pakistan was an eventful affair, played on a matting pitch in front of a passionate home crowd, who watched a strong Australian side be rolled by nine wickets. The hometown hero was opening bowler Fazal Mahmood, a local superintendent, who took 6-34 from 27 unchanged overs to rout the Aussies for just 80 in the first innings before picking up 7-80 in the second. Despite boasting names like Harvey, Miller, Benaud and Lindwall, the Australians were completely outplayed in the foreign conditions, their first ever Test match on Asian soil.

Image Id: 191692AD9B004774B6B34C7B7C6E9F0C Image Caption: Fazal Mahmood proved almost unplayable on the matting in Karachi // Getty

Australians triumph despite being ravaged by illness, Dhaka & Lahore, 1959

Confronted by matting pitches again for the first and third Tests, despite promises to the contrary, and with a dysentery outbreak running through the touring party, Australia bravely recorded what would be their first and only series win in Pakistan for almost 40 years. Neil Harvey was the hero of the first Test in Dhaka, the current capital of Bangladesh that was then part of East Pakistan, which the tourists won by eight wickets. Harvey scored 96 despite being forced to leave the field up to half a dozen times due to illness. Lindsay Kline then picked up 7-75 in the second Test in Lahore, which remain the second-best figures by a visiting spinner in Pakistan, to secure the three-match series with a game to spare, despite also being hit hard by illness.

Simpson saves weary Aussies in one-off Test, Karachi, 1964

Having left home in April for an Ashes tour that was followed by three Tests in India, the Australian team that arrived in Karachi in late October for a one-off Test would have been forgiven for having one eye on their next destination – home. But a 249-run partnership from Pakistan's openers on the first day quickly sharpened their focus and it was skipper Bob Simpson who led the response, ably supported by seamer Graham McKenzie, who took eight wickets for the match. Simpson's match tally of 268 runs (153 and 115) was at the time a record for a visiting batter in Asia and helped stave off a defeat on the final day and ensure Australia returned home with a winning record – albeit a measly 2-1 scoreline – from their nine Tests on tour.

Australia use 11 bowlers in run fest, Faisalabad, 1980

Having been spun out in the opening Test of their first tour to Pakistan in 16 years, Australia made the most of a flat batting surface in Faisalabad in a game that shattered records and proved to be a nightmare for bowlers on both sides. For only the second time in Test history, all 11 players bowled in an innings; Australia's wicketkeeper Rod Marsh sent down 10 overs (for 51 runs) of off-spin as the game petered out, with only 12 wickets falling for a cost of 999 runs across four days, after the first was lost to rain. Greg Chappell's 235 and Graham Yallop's 172 provided the bulk of Australia's first innings of 617 from 211 overs, which remains their highest score in Asian conditions. Pakistan finished on 2-382 in their response, which proved inconsequential with the match already destined for a draw.

Image Id: F4B235AF09074590A4E5314FC6829189 Image Caption: Greg Chappell scored 235 in the 1980 Faisalabad Test // Getty

Brilliant Border makes history, Lahore, 1980

With Australia down 1-0 in the series and struggling at 6-218 on a flat pitch, their newest batting sensation achieved something no man had done before or has since in Test cricket. Allan Border, a 24-year-old left-hander from NSW in just his second year of Test cricket, had already announced himself as a player of enormous potential by scoring 162 in Chennai six months earlier in what was his first Test away from home. He continued his rise by posting an unbeaten 150 here and following it up with 153 from just 184 balls in the second innings to become the first and only man to post two 150 scores in the same Test match. It wasn't enough to force a series-levelling victory, but a fifth hundred in just his 20th Test added to Border's burgeoning reputation.

Image Id: 184752EAD1154C6EAE4EC927B5590D6A Image Caption: A young Allan Border, shown here in a Test in 1979, made history in Lahore // Getty

Australia fall just short of breakthrough win, Lahore, 1988

Having gone 10 Tests and almost 30 years without a victory in Pakistan, Australia fell agonisingly short of a series-levelling win in the final match of their 1988 campaign. The tourists bossed the game from the outset and took a 107-run lead on the first innings before declaring 268 in front on the final day, giving them five hours to take 10 wickets and win the match. Despite losing fast bowler Bruce Reid to injury on the fourth day, Australia's spinners Tim May and Peter Taylor shared seven wickets, including three to Taylor in just 14 balls, to reduce Pakistan to 7-131 with 16 overs remaining. But 20-year-old Test rookie Ijaz Ahmed batted for almost two hours in scoring just 15 runs as he and Pakistan's lower order stood firm as they finished on 8-153, leaving the Australians two wickets short.

Image Id: 0C36B8E20E3744BFA146E7AC6EED1BD0 Image Caption: A young Ijaz Ahmed saved Pakistan in the third Test of the 1988 series // Getty

Victory slips through Australia's fingers, Karachi, 1994

A heart-breaking moment for Australia, particularly player-of-the-match Shane Warne, who watched what would have been one of his finest moments slip through the fingers of his partner-in-crime, wicketkeeper Ian Healy. In Mark Taylor's first Test as captain – he marked the occasion with a pair – Australia set Pakistan a daunting 314 to win thanks to strong contributions from David Boon (114no out of 232 in the second innings) and debutant Michael Bevan (82 in the first). When Warne (8-150 for the match) helped reduce the hosts to 7-184 and then 9-258, still 57 runs from victory, Pakistan's unbeaten run of 31 matches at Karachi's National Stadium looked set to end. But a breezy 20 not out from 30 balls from No.11 Mushtaq Ahmed and a defiant half-century from Inzamam-ul-Haq reduced the equation to three runs for victory at the start of the 107th over. After a long chat with Taylor, Warne sauntered in and drifted a delivery outside Inzamam's leg stump before it spun past the blade of the Pakistani, who overbalanced out of his crease. But Healy, unsighted by Inzamam's huge frame, couldn't claim the ball to complete the match-winning stumping. It spun low past the off stump and under his gloves, between his legs and away to the boundary for four byes as Pakistan recorded just the seventh one-wicket win in Test history.

Image Id: 254EFF6D4BA44F4BA38AFA67F2CE6164 Image Caption: Ian Healy's missed stumping cost Australia the 1994 Karachi Test // Getty

Missed chances overshadow Fleming's debut hat-trick, Rawalpindi, 1994

For the second Test in a row, Australia blew a golden chance to record their first Test win in Pakistan in 35 years. Six members of Australia's top seven passed fifty in their first innings of 9-521, led by 110 from Michael Slater, and when Craig McDermott and debutant Damien Fleming shared eight wickets to bowl Pakistan out for 260 in reply, the hosts were forced to follow-on. But Salim Mailk (237 having been dropped on 20 by Mark Taylor) and Aamir Sohail (72 having been dropped by Shane Warne on nine) helped the tourists post 537 in their second innings as they batted out a draw and went on to win the series 1-0. The match is best remembered for the role Fleming played in the second innings when he became just the third man to take a hat-trick on Test debut, the third wicket of the sequence being that of Malik, who would finish the series with 557 runs at 92, which was then the fourth-highest tally ever in a three-match Test series.

The end of Australia's 39-year wait, Rawalpindi, 1998

After several near misses over the previous decade, Australia finally broke their nearly four-decade long drought on Pakistan soil with one of the most comprehensive victories ever handed out to hosts at home. With Shane Warne missing due to injury, Stuart MacGill stepped up in just his second Test, taking nine wickets for the match, while debutant Colin Miller – who played the dual role of third seamer and second spinner – struck with just his fifth delivery. Australia's batting hero was Stephen Waugh; coming to the crease with the score at 3-28 in response to 269, Waugh shared a 198-run stand with Michael Slater (108) before he was dismissed for 157, with Darren Lehmann (98) and Ian Healy (82) pushing Australia past the 500 mark. Pakistan crumbled to be all out for 145 in reply to lose by an innings for just the third time on home soil as Australia ended a streak of 14 matches and 39 years without a Test win in Pakistan.

Taylor's 334no and the Bradman myth, Peshawar, 1998

On the flattest of flat pitches, Mark Taylor made history with a 12-hour epic that will forever link him with the greatest of all time, Sir Donald Bradman. Having won a crucial toss, Taylor batted for the entirety of the first two days to finish unbeaten on 334, equalling Bradman's highest Test score and becoming just the fifth Australian to score a triple century in Tests. But when Taylor declared on the third morning, ensuring he would stay tied with Bradman, his innings inadvertently took on an even greater meaning, with speculation that the skipper declared as a sign of respect for The Don. The truth was far more mundane; with almost 600 runs on the board, Taylor saw no need to continue batting as Australia chased victory, a pursuit that ultimately proved fruitless as they match petered out to a draw. The final ball of that second day, when Pakistan's Ijaz Ahmed showed uncharacteristic athleticism to deny Taylor a single that would have seen him pass Bradman's iconic score, took on a far greater significance in the years to come.

Australia's Test history in Pakistan

1956: Pakistan won one-match series 1-0

1959: Australia won three-match series 2-0

1964: One-off Test drawn

1980: Pakistan won three-match series 1-0

1982: Pakistan won three-match series 3-0

1988: Pakistan won three-match series 1-0

1994: Pakistan won three-match series 1-0

1998: Australia won three-match series 1-0

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood. Reserves: Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports