Mohammad Abbas reaches 900 first-class wickets in Lord’s Test spell

Pakistan pacer Mohammad Abbas entered an exclusive circle of modern cricketers on Friday, 28 August, claiming his 900th first-class wicket during the second Test against England at Lord’s. The 36-year-old seamer reached the milestone by dismissing Ben Duckett, eventually finishing the day with figures of 4 for 56. Breakthrough at Lord’s Entering the match with 898 wickets, Abbas required only two more to reach the landmark. He first removed Emilio Gay for eight runs before trapping Duckett for 17 to secure his 900th victim. By the close of play, England reached 248 for 9, with Abbas accounting for nearly half the wickets fallen through 15 overs of play, including three maidens. The achievement occurred in Abbas’s 222nd first-class appearance. His career statistics now include 57 five-wicket hauls and an average sustained just above 20 runs per wicket. The performance underscores his reliance on seam movement and accuracy rather than extreme velocity. Elite 21st-century rankings Abbas now ranks fifth among the leading first-class wicket-takers of the 21st century. He joins a list headed by England’s James Anderson, who holds 1,181 wickets. Other bowlers in this bracket include South Africa’s Simon Harmer (1,056), Sri Lanka’s Malinda Pushpakumara (1,010), and Ireland’s Tim Murtagh (959). Despite his prolific red-ball record, Abbas remains a specialist in the longest format. His international career for Pakistan is comprised of 32 Tests resulting in 123 wickets at an average…