Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas took a five-wicket-haul on debut for Nottinghamshire against his former county Hampshire in the County Championship match between the two sides today (May 10).
The veteran bowler ensured Nottinghamshire retained a big lead from their first innings, in which they were bowled out for 333 batting first. After Brett Hutton took the first Hampshire wicket by dismissing Mark Stoneman, Abbas snared No.3 Nick Gubbins for a 13-ball duck. He then ran through the middle order, trapping Tom Prest lbw for 43, before bowling Pat Brown, adding another duck among his victims for Tony Albert, and sealing his five-for by dismissing Liam Dawson.
Dawson was out caught to Farhan Ahmed, younger brother of England spinner Rehan, who took a diving catch at full stretch to his right at cover to seal the five-for.
Abbas takes 48th five-for
It's Abbas's 48th first-class five-for and his first for Nottinghamshire, having been released by Hampshire as an overseas after last season. His sensational Championship numbers – 180 wickets at 19.26 across four seasons – meant the Trent Bridge based county were quick to pursue a deal. Hampshire reportedly released Abbas to sign an overseas batter to replace James Vince, who switched to a white-ball only contract for the county.
Abbas has played 27 Tests for Pakistan, the latest coming against South Africa earlier this year when he was recalled to the international fray after a three-year absence. He took his 100th Test wicket in the second match of that series.
Hampshire were eventually bowled out for 196 when Farhan finished off the innings by getting the wicket of Kyle Abbott. Nottinghamshire retained a lead of 137 ahead of their second innings, which started poorly when captain Haseeb Hameed was dismissed for 8 in its fourth over.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
