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funguy · Aug 5th, 2004, 10:07 AM

The 60's
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.

click above
Hanif Mohammad
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.

The 70's
The seventies saw a continuation of the captaincy musical chairs though this did not seem to reflect in the performance of the team. Pakistan went to England in 1971 sharing the summer with India. The tour saw the launching of a new batting star who would dominate the Pakistan cricket scene for many years. Zaheer Abbas was then a bespectacled gangly young man who resembled an absent-minded professor. In the first test match at Edgbaston he scored 274, an innings that had experts in rapture. He was a batsman in the classical mould and old timers saw a trace of Wally Hammond in him. In years to come other batsmen would be likened to him, the ultimate tribute.

Pakistan lost the series narrowly losing at Leeds by 24 runs but Pakistan had done enough to earn the respect of the cricket world. One other player made his test debut on this tour. A schoolboy called Imran Khan. He bowled fast with a slinging action, with control on neither length nor line. The potential was evident but no one could have foretold that he would one-day become the world's most charismatic cricketer and who would turn around Pakistan cricket and make them world champions. If Kardar was Pakistan cricket's George Washington, Imran Khan was destined to be its Abraham Lincoln.

click above

In 1972-73 Pakistan toured Australia and New Zealand, losing to Ian Chappell’s Australia by the extravagant margins of 3 - 0 but winning the series against New Zealand - Pakistan's first series when abroad. For his efforts, Inthikab Alam, the captain was removed and Majid Khan appointed in his place when Tony Lewis brought an England team. But when Pakistan toured England in 1974, Inthikab Alam was restored as captain. I was the manager of this team. Although the test series was drawn, the team went through the tour undefeated and winning the prudential one-day series 2-0. No other team since Donald Bradman’s all conquering Australians in 1948 had achieved this.

Imran Khan was now at Oxford and was a member of the team, part of Pakistan's three pronged pace attack but ahead of him were Asif Masood and Sarfraz Nawaz, but he played in all the tests without setting the Thames on fire.

Cricket was changing. The one-day or limited overs cricket that had started as a sideshow was getting to be attractive but was still regarded as crash-bang cricket, a bit of a slog but it was beginning to attract crowds. The first World Cup was played in England in 1975 and Pakistan was captained by Asif Iqbal. The West Indies won the tournament in a canter. In 1976-77, New Zealand came to Pakistan and a young Karachi lad made his test debut. His name was Javed Miandad. He announced his arrival by making 163 at Lahore on debut. He followed it up by making 206 at Karachi, the youngest player at age 19 years and 141 days to make the test double hundred. He was described as the batting find of the decade.

click above

He was to become much more than that. He played 124 test matches making 8832 runs, his highest being 280 not-out against India at Hyderabad in 1982-83. He played in 233 one-day internationals and scored 7381 runs. These are formidable statistics but they tell nothing of his value to the team. He captained Pakistan in 24 test matches and must rank with Sunil Gavaskar as the best batsman ever produced by the subcontinent.

click above

After a gap of 17 years, India led by Bishen Bedi toured Pakistan. By this time Imran Khan had already become a force in world cricket. He had changed from a tear-away fast bowler with a slinging action into one with the smooth rhythmic run-up and a side-on delivery, his shirt gusting and his hair blowing in the wind. He had become a bowler who gave batsmen sleepless nights. He was also developing into a shrewd reader of the game, an early sign that he was captaincy material. Mushtaq Mohammad was Pakistan's captain, the tradition of changing captains was being maintained. Pakistan won the series 2-0, a series that was dominated by Zaheer Abbas but saw two fantastic run chases at Lahore and at Karachi in which, apart from Zaheer Abbas - Asif Iqbal, Javed Miandad, and Imran were also involved. Bishen Bedi, a great left arm spin bowler is remembered in Pakistan as the bowler who was hit for two consecutive sixes by Imran Khan at Karachi and which enabled Pakistan to win the match. Sadly, Bishen Bedi lost his job as captain of India.

Pakistan had weathered the Packer storm. Its star players had joined Packer and had been banned from playing for Pakistan. But they were back in favour as soon as it became clear that Pakistan could not do without them. Those who had defected included Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad, Majid khan and Asif Iqbal. But Packer had left his mark in the way of player-power and we would see it in operation a few years later.

Aug 5th, 2004, 10:07 AM	#2 (permalink)
funguy Moderator Life & Relationships Forum Join Date: Nov 15, 2002 - 1:57 pm Posts: 16,799 Blog Entries: 7	The 60's 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. click above Hanif Mohammad 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. The 70's The seventies saw a continuation of the captaincy musical chairs though this did not seem to reflect in the performance of the team. Pakistan went to England in 1971 sharing the summer with India. The tour saw the launching of a new batting star who would dominate the Pakistan cricket scene for many years. Zaheer Abbas was then a bespectacled gangly young man who resembled an absent-minded professor. In the first test match at Edgbaston he scored 274, an innings that had experts in rapture. He was a batsman in the classical mould and old timers saw a trace of Wally Hammond in him. In years to come other batsmen would be likened to him, the ultimate tribute. Pakistan lost the series narrowly losing at Leeds by 24 runs but Pakistan had done enough to earn the respect of the cricket world. One other player made his test debut on this tour. A schoolboy called Imran Khan. He bowled fast with a slinging action, with control on neither length nor line. The potential was evident but no one could have foretold that he would one-day become the world's most charismatic cricketer and who would turn around Pakistan cricket and make them world champions. If Kardar was Pakistan cricket's George Washington, Imran Khan was destined to be its Abraham Lincoln. click above In 1972-73 Pakistan toured Australia and New Zealand, losing to Ian Chappell’s Australia by the extravagant margins of 3 - 0 but winning the series against New Zealand - Pakistan's first series when abroad. For his efforts, Inthikab Alam, the captain was removed and Majid Khan appointed in his place when Tony Lewis brought an England team. But when Pakistan toured England in 1974, Inthikab Alam was restored as captain. I was the manager of this team. Although the test series was drawn, the team went through the tour undefeated and winning the prudential one-day series 2-0. No other team since Donald Bradman’s all conquering Australians in 1948 had achieved this. Imran Khan was now at Oxford and was a member of the team, part of Pakistan's three pronged pace attack but ahead of him were Asif Masood and Sarfraz Nawaz, but he played in all the tests without setting the Thames on fire. Cricket was changing. The one-day or limited overs cricket that had started as a sideshow was getting to be attractive but was still regarded as crash-bang cricket, a bit of a slog but it was beginning to attract crowds. The first World Cup was played in England in 1975 and Pakistan was captained by Asif Iqbal. The West Indies won the tournament in a canter. In 1976-77, New Zealand came to Pakistan and a young Karachi lad made his test debut. His name was Javed Miandad. He announced his arrival by making 163 at Lahore on debut. He followed it up by making 206 at Karachi, the youngest player at age 19 years and 141 days to make the test double hundred. He was described as the batting find of the decade. click above He was to become much more than that. He played 124 test matches making 8832 runs, his highest being 280 not-out against India at Hyderabad in 1982-83. He played in 233 one-day internationals and scored 7381 runs. These are formidable statistics but they tell nothing of his value to the team. He captained Pakistan in 24 test matches and must rank with Sunil Gavaskar as the best batsman ever produced by the subcontinent. click above After a gap of 17 years, India led by Bishen Bedi toured Pakistan. By this time Imran Khan had already become a force in world cricket. He had changed from a tear-away fast bowler with a slinging action into one with the smooth rhythmic run-up and a side-on delivery, his shirt gusting and his hair blowing in the wind. He had become a bowler who gave batsmen sleepless nights. He was also developing into a shrewd reader of the game, an early sign that he was captaincy material. Mushtaq Mohammad was Pakistan's captain, the tradition of changing captains was being maintained. Pakistan won the series 2-0, a series that was dominated by Zaheer Abbas but saw two fantastic run chases at Lahore and at Karachi in which, apart from Zaheer Abbas - Asif Iqbal, Javed Miandad, and Imran were also involved. Bishen Bedi, a great left arm spin bowler is remembered in Pakistan as the bowler who was hit for two consecutive sixes by Imran Khan at Karachi and which enabled Pakistan to win the match. Sadly, Bishen Bedi lost his job as captain of India. Pakistan had weathered the Packer storm. Its star players had joined Packer and had been banned from playing for Pakistan. But they were back in favour as soon as it became clear that Pakistan could not do without them. Those who had defected included Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad, Majid khan and Asif Iqbal. But Packer had left his mark in the way of player-power and we would see it in operation a few years later.