Abdul Hafeez Kardar - Hero Worship
On November 8, the seemingly indomitable South Africans lifted the Golden Jubilee trophy by comfortably beating Sri Lanka at 'Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, the venue of the letter's most memorable triumph in cricket.
| Saqlain Mushtaq - Pioneer of Doosra |
| Written by English NewsPaper/Dawn/Others | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A new generation of players had grown up in the meantime and interest in both countries was intense. Political sensitivities were also running high and there was a very real threat of direct action from Hindu extremists. In fact, the visit went smoothly and the cricket played was of the highest order. On slow, turning wickets both Tests (the scheduled third, at Calcutta, became part of the Asian Test Championship involving Sri Lanka too) were dominated by spinners.The series is always remembered because Anil Kumble, the Indian leg-spinner, took 10 wickets in Pakistan's second innings in the Second Test at Delhi to win the match and square the rubber. But Kumble was not the Man of the Series.That honour went to Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq. They got a standing ovation from the Chennai crowd. Kumble was the undisputed hero of Delhi but it was impossible to ignore Saqlain. He took 5 for 94 and 5 for 122, to give him 20 wickets in the series. His only other 10-wicket haul has been against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 2002/03. It was to The Oval that he returned at the end of the World Cup, to rejoin Surrey as one of their overseas players. Saqlain had signed for Surrey in 1997 when, in eight games, he took 32 wickets and headed their averages. He was an even more dominant figure in 1998 when Surrey were pressing for the championship title and were only thwarted in the final game. Saqlain's early departure to join the Pakistan side was a factor in their failure to win.Three times at The Oval he had 11 wickets in a match. In 1999, Surrey finally reached the pinnacle they had been striving for. Adam Hollioake's immensely strong combination established themselves as the outstanding county team of modern times. Saqlain's contribution to the 1999 title was critical, even though he only played seven games. He took 58 wickets at 11.37. In between these triumphs in England, Saqlain had had mixed experiences in Test cricket. In Australia in 1999/2000, Pakistan lost all three Tests, but they should probably have won the second at Hobart. Pakistan put into bat by Steve Waugh, made 222. Australia, largely through a typically dazzling display from Michael Slater, were at one point 191 for 1 but were all out for 246. Saqlain took 6 for 17 in 8 overs and his overall figures were 6 for 46. A century from Inzamam-ul-Haq enabled Wasim Akram to set Australia what appeared to be an academic target of 369. But they got them, despite slipping to 126 for 5. Saqlain's figures were 2 for 130 off 44.5 overs. Six months later, a schoolboy fielding error by Saqlain, fluffing a run-out chance in a moment of panic, enabled the West Indies to win the match by 1 wicket and thus secure the series. It can perhaps be seen from the achievements recorded here that Saqlain was an unusual sort of spinner. He took a little while to get established in the side. Against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura in October 1996 he made 79, helping Wasim Akram add 313 for the eighth wicket; but he was unable to bowl Pakistan to victory. He was to make a - very dull —Test hundred against New Zealand at Christchurch in 2000/01. He helped secure victory in the First Test at Auckland, taking 4 for 48 and - in 25.4 overs - 4 for 24. He was the leading wicket-taker, with 14, in the two Test series in Sri Lanka in 1996/97. He was involved in a bizarre incident on the tour of South Africa in 1997/98. The Pakistani management requested the postponement of the First Test because two of their players - Saqlain and Mohammad Akram - had been mugged outside the team hotel. Eyewitnesses reported the players as having been seen at various exotic nightspots.The players' story changed various times and before long the team management were virtually hiding from the press. 
 Set 1/2       Indeed he came to be regarded as something of a one-day specialist. Only Muralitharan, Kumble and Shane Warne have taken more wickets in one-day internationals than Saqlain, and they have all played more matches. And his strike rate is better than any of them, the fifth best in one-day internationals. He was the youngest bowler to reach 100, 150 and 200 one-day wickets. He has a lovely side-on action after a curious stuttering run-up. He is also an expert at varying his pace and his line of attack. He has never been a big spinner of his orthodox off-break and his real strength is the doosra. Even as careful a player of spin bowling as Michael Artherton said he found it difficult to pick the doosra out of the hand: it was delivered with a slightly higher arm action.The doosra wreaked havoc with tail enders. Atherton felt that if a batsman could deal with the doosra, Saqlain was much less of a handful then Muralitharan. Interestingly, Abdul Qadir, the guru of modern Pakistani spinners, felt that Mushtaq Ahmed was a more effective spinner than Saqlain. Certainly Mushtaq, although he ended up with fewer wickets, won more matches. Murali and the other great unorthodox finger spinner, Harbhajan Singh, have won far more games at home than Saqlain. England's batsmen certainly proved equal to the task in 2000/01. Saqlain took 8 wickets in the first innings of the First Test, but they cost 164 runs. And although Saqlain took 3 for 64 in England's second innings in the Third Test at Karachi, he could not prevent them from securing an historic 6-wicket victory, Pakistan's first defeat at the National Stadium. Revenge, of a sort, was gained six months later at Old Trafford when, in the second and final Test, Saqlain's unusual - for a slow bowler - tendency to bowl no-balls was overlooked by the distracted umpires as he helped skittle England's lower order to gain a series-equalling victory in a frantic final session. Saqlain took 4 for 74 in a marathon spell of 47.4 overs. In recent years a series of injuries have blighted Saqlain's progress. It remains to be seen where he goes from there. Major teams Ireland, Pakistan, Islamabad Cricket Association, Lahore Badshahs, Pakistan International Airlines, Surrey, Sussex Batting style Right-hand bat Bowling style Right-arm offbreak Batting and fielding averages
By Bill Ricquiery Bill from "The Pakistani Masters"Source : WikiPedia
|
In 1998/99 Pakistan made their first Test tour to India since 1986/87. Indeed, the two sides had not played each other in Test cricket since India's tour of Pakistan in 1989/90.