Pakistan
Test status granted	1952
First Test match	v India at Delhi, October 1952
Captain	Inzamam-ul-Haq
Coach	Bob Woolmer
Official ICC Test and ODI ranking	3rd (Test), 4th (ODI)
Test matches - this year	329 3
Last Test match	v South Africa at Cape Town, 10 December 2006
Wins/losses - this year	103/87 1/2
As of 27 February 2007

The Pakistani cricket team is a national cricket team representing Pakistan. It is administrated by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Pakistan is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and one-day international status. As of 5 January 2007, Pakistan is ranked third in the ICC Test and fourth place in the ICC ODI Championship

History

Following the Partition of India in 1947, and the establishment of the separate nation state of Pakistan, cricket in the country developed steadily and Pakistan was given Test Match status at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's Cricket Ground on 28 July 1952 following recommendation by India, which, being the successor state of the British Raj, did not have to go through such a process.

Pakistani™s first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series which India won 2-1. Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1-1 after a memorable victory at The Oval in which fast bowler Fazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistani™s first home Test match was in Dacca in January 1955 against India, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi (all five matches in the series were drawn, the first such occurrence in test history).

The team is considered a strong but unpredictable team. Traditionally Pakistani cricket has been filled with players of great talent but limited discipline, making them a team which could play inspirational cricket one day and then perform less than ordinarily another day. Over the years, competitions between India and Pakistan have always been emotionally charged and provide for intriguing contests, as talented teams from both sides of the border elevate their game to new levels to produce high-quality cricket. Pakistani contest with India in the Cricket World Cup have seen packed stadiums and elevated atmospheres no matter where the World Cup has been held.

  Recent controversies

Ball tampering accusations re-surfaced with the forfeiture by the Pakistani team of the 4th Test against England at the Oval on 20 August 2006. On the fourth day of the Test, during England's second innings, the ball began to late reverse swing for Umar Gul in particular, resulting in him dismissing Alastair Cook LBW to an inswinging yorker. Four overs later, on examining the ball, umpire Darrell Hair decided there was evidence that the ball had been tampered with. He consulted with the other umpire, Billy Doctrove, and penalised the Pakistani team for interfering with the condition of the ball, awarding five runs to England. Following the playing conditions for that Test, the England batsmen were allowed to choose a replacement ball from a selection of six provided. Although play continued until the end of the afternoon session, the Pakistani team failed to reappear on time at the start of the third session in protest of what they believed to be an unjust and insensitive decision. As a result of the Pakistani team's failure to appear at the field, the umpires awarded the test to England, cricket's first and only forfeiture. However the Pakistani team was cleared of any wrongdoing when further proceedings saw captain Inzamam-ul-Haq found not guilty of ball tampering. However, the team's protest led to him being banned for four games on the charge of bringing the game of cricket into disrepute.

Immediately following the ball tampering controversy was the news that its front-line pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif had both tested positive for Nandrolone, the banned anabolic steroid. Though both denied any substance abuse, on November 1, 2006 both Akhtar and Asif were banned for a period of 2 years and 1 year respectively. However, both bowlers were successful in their appeals with the earlier bans being revoked, although the World Anti-Doping Agency has made an appeal in the International Court of Arbitration for Sport over the revoking of this ban.