Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan says his country’s stunning victory over England in the Lord’s Test has restored the team’s tarnished reputation. Yasir Shah was Pakistan’s hero as the leg spinner took 10 wickets in the match to help wrap up a 75-run win in the opening Test on Sunday. It was a cathartic triumph for Pakistan, who were playing their first Test at Lord’s since the infamous 2010 spot-fixing scandal.

That fixture saw Pakistan left-arm quick Mohammad Amir, together with fellow paceman Mohammad Asif and then captain Salman Butt, given five-year bans and jail sentences for conspiring to deliberately bowl no-balls as part of a newspaper sting operation. Fittingly, Amir, in his first Test appearance since he was given the suspension, ended the match when he dismissed England’s Jake Ball and Khan was quick to pay tribute to the efforts of captain Misbah-ul-Haq and his players.

“The Lord’s win is important in many ways and the most significant is that the image of our cricket is restored in more than one way at the venue where it was dented six years ago,” Shaharyar said. “The team played as a unit and Misbah led it in an exemplary manner while the new team management did a great job. The best part was the support from Pakistan fans. The whole country is rejoicing.”