It is almost six years now that Pakistan last played in England’s backyard.

The 2010 series ended in utter humiliation for the touring team and its supporters owing to the notorious spot-fixing scandal — involving three Pakistan players — that erupted during the Lord’s Test.

The trio were exposed in a sting operation as Mohammad Amir bowled that infamous no ball to conform to his crooked captain Salman Butt and the bookies agent Mazhar Majeed that they would on demand deliver the results required in future.

As a result, Salman, Amir and fellow paceman Mohammad Asif were later slapped with bans by the ICC and also jail sentences by the British Crown Court.

The ugly episode and its terrible aftermath could all have been avoided had the management on the tour understood what was going on around them, and had listened to a word of warning passed on by me to the team manager, Yawar Saeed, who sadly is no more with us.

The sting operation involving Pakistan players had started from the time Pakistan lost the Sydney Test earlier in suspicious circumstances when Kamran Akmal spilled four simple catches behind the stumps off Mike Hussey who eventually single-handedly won the match for Australia who at one stage had almost lost the before the start of their second innings.

Mazhar Mahmood, the investigating editor of now-defunct News of The World, a Pakistani himself and a son of my friend in Birmingham, was the major player of the whole story as he netted the culprits including the so-called players’ agent.

In knowledge in what this newspaper man could do to expose the players which he earlier had done a number of times to expose major crimes and drug cartels, I was indeed apprehensive of the suspicious characters visiting the Pakistan team hotels and in flashy sports cars posing as players’ agents.

At one of the practice sessions I had informed the team manager about them and requested him to make sure that his team members are not contacted by those dicey characters hanging around.

My experience of travelling in different parts of the world with various teams and the knowledge I acquired during those journeys had given me that experience to judge the people visiting the team.

The same Mazhar Mahmood, the investigation journalist, with his team had also landed in Guyana for a sting operation when Pakistan were touring the West Indies in 2001.

My warning to Brig Nasir, the then manager of Pakistan team, avoided the ugly situation in the West Indies, that emerged on the England tour.

It was unfortunate that in 2010 my warning went unheeded which in the end left the team and its management red-faced.

In fact, the 2010 England tour had started on a faulty note when Shahid Afridi, the appointed Test captain of the tour, in his moment of madness announced his retirement at Lord’s after Pakistan lost the first of the two Tests against Australia, and that too immediately after his debut as Test captain.

An unforgivable decision by him which started to regret the next day he met me and Asif Iqbal at a dinner. Knowing little what was to follow, a dirty and filthy drama enacted by Salman, the new captain.

Rest is all history now and I hope lessons have been learnt.

Amir is now once again back in the team having served his time and punishment to earn a place on a tour where he played last and performed well before being spotted for what he did, a disservice to the game.

Being young and in his teenage then Amir had his sympathisers, and there still are including former England captain Micheal Atherton who thought a unique talent went wasted because of what happened.

I bet Atherton will be pleased to see the left-arm pacer back and at the same venue from where he left in disgrace.

I am lucky not to have missed a single Pakistan Test played in England since 1974. But as a non-journalist then I had the privilege of watching Zaheer Abbas’s 274 at Edgbaston, a remarkable display of strokeplay.

A masterly 187 not out by Hanif Mohammad at Lord’s in 1967 and also that world record ninth-wicket partnership then between Asif Iqbal and Intikhab Alam, the present manager.

Not forgetting the tours that Pakistan undertook to England from 1974 onwards. Mohsin Khan’s double century at Lord’s in 1982; Mudassar Nazar’s six wickets at Lord’s; Salim Malik’s 102 at The Oval in 1987 and Inzamam-ul-Haq’s 148 at Lord’s in 1996 are still fresh in my mind.

Nor I can forget the pace and swing of the fearsome duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in the 1992 series which Pakistan won 2-1 mainly due to the magnificent show by the pace bowling pair.

Pakistan winning the jackpot of 50,000 pounds for winning nine of their twelve county matches, also on the 1992 tour, was an admirable achievement.

Pakistan’s maiden Test series victory in England in 1987 when Imran Khan led the team was an unforgettable experience.

Ball tampering allegations and mind-boggling umpiring at times were part of those England tours which keep coming back to remind me how well Pakistan coould do on an England tour and how low at times they seem to look.

The present Pakistan team is there with a challenge to prove that in the longer format of the game they can still shock the opposition as they did when they had a 2-0 clean sweep against England in the UAE last year.

Teams do fear Pakistan’s unpredictability and this tour is no different. A lot will depend on how well Amir and company bowl alongside spinners Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar.

My worry is Pakistan batting. But Misbah-ul-Haq is a good leader and reliable batsman as is Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq. Sarfraz Ahmed and Azhar Ali are also capable of doing well.

England under Alastair Cook is a mean machine at home grounds. His team’s batting is formidable with Joe Root always in good nick and his bowlers even minus James Anderson can prove a point or two in English conditions.

Pitches with changing season have improved and that is good news for Misbah’s men who no doubt will play to win.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2016