Stats: Saad Altaf records the best FC match figures on Pakistan soil

A 16-year career with 377 wickets in 96 first-class matches didn’t give Saad Altaf the limelight that he got on Friday after recording match figures 16/141 during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy game at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium. Playing for Rawalpindi, Altaf picked up eight wickets in each innings of the game that started on Thursday against Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA). His match figures are now the highest ever in the first-class history on Pakistan soil.

After electing to bowl first, Rawalpindi dished out the FATA team to just 126 as Altaf picked up eight wickets in an innings for the first time in his FC career. Saad left one wicket each for Haseeb Azam and Nazar Hussain in the first innings while Abid Hasan went wicketless. Rawalpindi took a 77-run first-inning lead after scoring 206.

Altaf picked the last seven wickets to fall in FATA’s 2nd innings after Nazar Hussain picked two of the first three wickets. The FATA side was bowled out for only 186 runs in the 2nd innings leading a target of 108 to Rawalpindi. Thus, he became only the 2nd player in 70-year-old FC cricket in Independent Pakistan to take 16 wickets in a game.

The Pakistan International, Sohail Khan picked 16/189 in the 2007/08 season for Sui Southern Gas Corporation against Water and Power Development Authority at Karachi. He returned with figures of 7/80 and 9/109 in the drawn game as his side scored only 264/6 while chasing a 328-run target. 15 wickets were picked up by a player in an FC game in Pakistan on 12 other occasions including nine in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Saad made his FC debut in 2002 at the age of 18 years for Rawalpindi after which he played for Islamabad, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and a few other teams before returning to his first ever team. Prior to this game, Altaf featured in 96 FC games taking 377 wickets at an average of 26 and an S/R of 47. He bagged 21, 4-wicket hauls and bagged 5-fers on 25 occasions but never got to play for the national team.

Best bowling figures in first-class cricket on Pakistan soil:

(Stats as on November 3, 2017)