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the-south-asian.com March 2003 |
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MARCH
2003 Murphy's
Law &
Films Serialisation
of 'Knock at every alien Events
Lehngas - a limited collection Books
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Page 2 of 4
by Omer Kureishi (cntd.)
New Zealand led by Harry Cave was the next team to tour and Pakistan made short work of them, winning the series easily but were given a fright in Lahore when they lost six wickets for very few and had to be rescued by a seventh wicket partnership between Imtiaz Ahmed and Waqar Hasan who put on 308 runs, a record that holds good to this day. Imtiaz made 209 and Waqar 189. What I remember most about this series was the spirit in which it was played, the credit going to the New Zealanders. MCC ‘A’ team visited Pakistan in 1955-56 and is mainly remembered for the Peshawar incident in which some members of the MCC team roughed up the standing umpire Idris Beg in what was officially described as "horseplay that backfired". It was a little more serious than that. The MCC ‘A’ team came close to being asked to pack their bags and go home. In 1956 Australia, led by Ian Johnson played a solitary test match at Karachi which Pakistan won convincingly on a matting wicket, Fazal Mahmood and Khan Mohammad being more than a handful for a tired Australian team that was returning from England after being soundly thrashed. In 1957-58 Pakistan toured the West Indies, their first visit abroad since the England tour of 1954. It was a team that left in high hopes but these hopes were dashed and Pakistan lost the series but was able to win the final test match. Two world records were established in this series. Gary Sobers passed Len Hutton's record of 364, the highest in the test by an individual and made 365 in the Kingston test match, and Hanif Mohammad made a monumental 327 at Bridgetown, Barbados, batting for 970 minutes, 16 hours and 10 minutes and saving a test match that Pakistan seemed certain to lose. It established Hanif Mohammad as a legend. Kardar retired after this series. He had been a stern, gentlemen cricketer who is rightly considered the George Washington of Pakistan's cricket. Under his leadership, Pakistan had won at least one test match against every opponent. Considering that he had taken over the reins when Pakistan cricket was in its infancy, it was a creditable record. He had instilled discipline in the team and had drilled the will to win within the team members, something that Imran Khan was to do later. Fazal Mahmood took over the captaincy and met with immediate success when the West Indies toured Pakistan in 1958-59, winning the series though one felt that the umpiring standards left much to be desired. Gary Sobers failed to make any big scores and fell victim to some dodgy decisions. He makes bitter mention of the tour in his book. But at Lahore another two records were set. Mushtaq Mohammad at the age of 15 years and 1 24 days became the youngest player to play test cricket and Pakistan lost its first match on its soil. The West Indies, led by a blistering 216 by Rohan Kanhai romped home to an innings win. Richie Benaud’s Australians came in 1958-59 and won the series. Fazal Mahmood took Pakistan to India in 1960-61 and all the tests were drawn. Though there were useful contributions from Hanif Mohammad, Saeed Ahmed and Imtiaz Ahmed, the quality of cricket was poor and it was an eminently forgettable series, so much so that Pakistan and India did not play against each other for another 17 years though this had more to do with the fragile political relations between the two countries than with cricket. Pakistan was now caught in a treacherous transition as many senior players either are retired or were over the hill and the nest entrants lacked the experience. The sixties were a blank period, marked by several changes in captaincy. For Pakistan's tour of England in 1962, a relatively unknown Javed Burki was appointed captain. He had played for Oxford and had toured India with Pakistan in 1960-61. It could have been described as a bold and imaginative decision had the claims of Hanif Mohammad and Imtiaz Ahmed not been so compelling. It turned out to be a disastrous tour and Pakistan was beaten, the only redeeming feature being centuries by Nasim-ul-Ghani and Javed Burki in the Lord’s test match, which Pakistan, in any event, lost. Midway through the tour Fazal Mahmood was flown to bolster the bowling but alas he was well past it. The Oval hero of 1954 had become The Oval zero. It did no justice to this great bowler and provided a lesson to all: that when you retire, you should stay retired. Hanif Mohammad was made captain of Pakistan for a short tour of Australia in 1964-65 and in the only test match played, he came within a whisker of making 100 in each innings - 103 and 93 - a performance that was warmly lauded by Sir Donald Bradman and there can be no higher praise. New Zealand came to Pakistan soon after and lost the series 2 – 0, Hanif continuing in his excellent form, making 203 in the Lahore test match. But new players were pressing their claims, chief among them Asif Iqbal and Majid Khan. In 1967, Pakistan toured England with Hanif as captain. It was a summer of mixed fortunes. At Lord's, Hanif Mohammad played an innings that was out of character for him. Associated with stodginess and the ability to drop anchor and shore up the innings, Hanif made 187 not out, an innings that sparkled, that lit up Lord’s and amazed, pleasantly, his devoted fans. He batted as if he had something to prove. Considered vulnerable against genuine fast bowling, he was particularly severe on John Snow, laying to rest the myth that quick bowlers could intimidate him. That particular test match was drawn but had Pakistan gambled on taking their chances, they could have won it. They chose safety. They lost the other test matches, but at The Oval, Asif Iqbal who was mainly a bowler who could bat, played an innings of such astonishing ferocity that the jury of those who picked the man of the match had to change their candidate. Asif Iqbal made 146 and with Inthikab Alam, who made 51, put on 90 for the ninth wicket, a record. The fact that the series had been lost was forgotten in the euphoria of this innings and it must rate, in my estimation, as of one of the greatest played. There was not a false shot, no element of doubt. It was a pedigreed innings that established him as a front rank batsman. Unfortunately, Pakistan cricket continued to be plagued with uncertainty and this was manifested in changes in captaincy. When Mike Smith brought the England team in 1968-69, Hanif Mohammad had been given the sack and Saeed Ahmed was appointed captain. It was a decision that did neither player any good and when New Zealand toured Pakistan in 1969-70, Pakistan had another captain, Inthikab Alam. It was in this series that the youngest of the brothers Sadiq Mohammad made his debut while his brother, the legendary Hanif Mohammad retired or more properly was made to retire. It was an unworthy end to a great career but unlike army generals who just fade away, sportsmen are simply discarded when their ‘use-by’ date expires.
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