Javed Miandad - Farewell Game in Karachi
Written by English NewsPaper/Dawn/Others   

Javed Miandad played his last international match in Karachi to help Pakistan record a comfortable and popular victory against England.

He scored 11 runs in the World Cup of 1996 to the acclamation of the crowd, reported to be about 30,000, having gathered from far-off places of the land. This was a special occasion for the fans. They had come to hail and honor their cricketing hero. The multitude greeted his pickups and throws straight to the wicket-keeper from deep third man.

Roaring and screaming broke out as Miandad stepped out from the pavilion after the fall of Ejaz to take Pakistan to triumph with only 36 needed and Inzamam well set. He returned undefeated with 11. There was sonorous greeting from the spectators as a magnificent drive went to the fence. In other strokes the swing of the bat was not as confident and easy as it used to be when the great batsman was at the peak of his form. The shots had not the assertive mastery of his 58 in the World Cup final at Melbourne four years ago. The drives and pulls of 1992 turned the wheel of the match towards Pakistan. There were challenge and chivalry in the knock.

Miandad's 163 on his Test debut at Pakistan's cricket headquarters 29 years earlier (October 1976) against New Zealand was a delightful and artistic knock.

Sure of himself he cut and drove with abandon and elan. A double century in the same series at Karachi announced that a brilliant batsman had arrived on the scene of international cricket. The new batsman was given a magnificent applause at a place where he had learnt and played cricket in its alleys and streets.
For 20 years Miandad scintillated on fields away and at home. In the World Cup his total assets - 1040 runs - have exceeded the collections of the West Indian willow-wielder - Vivian Richards (1013).

 

 

In Test matches Miandad could not overtake Allan Border's 11,174 or the neighbouring country's illustrious opener Sunil Gavaskar's 10,122. But his aggregate of 8,832 in Test cricket is far ahead of Richards, Sobers, George Headley, the West Indian stroke-makers, Sir Donald Bradman, the batting machine of Australia, Walter Hammond, Sir Leonard Hutton and Sir Jack Hobbs, the cricketing knights of England.



Miandad got the rousing cheer of the crowd, a loving and prolonged one, for his contribution to a significant victory. The swift and sure energy of his earlier appearances was missing, he was not ruthless but there was the dynamic technique and the comely style for which the general stand and other enclosures erupted in joy and applause.

Miandad's last outing could be compared to Bradman's farewell appearance in a Test. The Australian hero walked to a great welcome to the wicket. He was out for a duck groping to spinner Eric Hollies, not a very deceptive bowler, at Kennington Oval. Four runs would have taken his average to exactly 100. But who had a wider repertoire of strokes than him and who has a Test average of 99.94? Or who scored 974 runs in a Test series to get an average of 139.14.

There is no recorded instance of a cricketer exhibiting superb batsmanship to hit a century before lunch, a double hundred before tea and a triple century at close of play in one and the same day.

Sir Jack Hobbs, England's master opening batsman, was bowled by Fairfax, an Australian medium-pacer of moderate success, for 9 at Kennington Oval in August of 1930 in his last Ashes Test, Bradrnan'sfirst series. The score was unimportant but the whole ground rose to him as he walked back to the pavilion.
Miandad gave outstanding services to the country in Test cricket and the one-dayers. He deserved the tributes that he got at the National Stadium how so ever short may have been his last innings in Karachi.
JavedMiandad6
bwd  Set 2/2  fwd
JavedMiandad6


Nimble, quick on feet, Miandad had the contempt for any sort of bowling and perhaps no stroke appeared beyond his effort. He had exhibited his mastery over pace attack earlier but when the Indians were here under the captaincy of Bishen Singh Bedi with a full brigade of spinners in 1978 the waspish tricks of Chandrasekar, Prasanna and Bedi could not disturb the equipoise of Miandad.

His masterly unbeaten 154 at Faisalabad was a display of brisk footwork and wristwork without bothering the least about the devilish grip and turn of the bowlers.

There was grace and defiance in his century and 63 not out in the third Test of the same series against India at the National Stadium.  


The fans in the stands rose to cheer him all the way from the crease to the    pavilion. On a trip to New Zealand he scored 81 and an unbeaten 160 against    bowlers of the calibre of Hadlee (now Sir Richard Hadlee), Bracewell and Cairns. His undefeated 129 against the Australian heavy artillery at Perth in 1979 was made on cavalier legs, the cover-drive thundering to the fence.
Faisalabad, like Karachi his happy hunting ground, saw Miandad take    charge against the Australian bowlers,    including Lillee, in the second Test of    1980 and flog them with assurance in a score of 106, this time again he was    not out. Javed Miandad's 138, along with Mohsin Hasan Khan's 135, helped Pakistan to a tall total of 467 for 7 declared, which resulted in the country's victory over Australia in the third Test at Lahore by nine wickets.   

Again at Faisalabad in the third Test of the 1983 series against India in his 126 the bat was swinging with self-controlled aggression. With complete command over technique he struck 280, at the Niaz Stadium of Hyderabad in the fourth Test of the same series, lauded for his brilliance and gallantry. The Indian attack, revolving round Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath and spinners Maninder Singh and Doshi, could not dislodge him.
So lets depart on an optimistic note and contemplate a spirited come back from Javed Miandad.

{jb_quote}As he preferred fast scoring, what-ever may be the state of the game, Miandad's unbeaten 119 against India in the nascent version of cricket in December 1982, was fully enjoyed by the Lahore fans.{jb_quote}

There was an indelible label of classism in his 72 at Swansea in the World Cup of 1983 against Sri Lanka. A controlled adventure was demonstrated at Old Trafford in the same World Cup against England in his 67,in which he was unfortunately run out. An undefeated 80 against New Zealand at Peshawar in November 1984 displayed perfect eyesight and quick reflexes.

In the 1992 World Cup, won by Pakistan to the joy and happiness of cricket followers in this country he had the punitive weapons to distinguish himself against West Indies (57 not Out), Zimbabwe (89), India (40), Australia (48), Sri Lanka (57) and New Zealand (57 not out).

Miandads authoritative 58 runs in the final against England were a delight-for the packed-to-capacity fans at the Melbourne cricket ground.    There was a special flavour in the strokes, displaying the richness of batting to the understanding onlookers.   
 

Full name Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan

Born June 12, 1957, Karachi, Sind

Current age 54 years 325 days

Major teams Pakistan, Glamorgan, Habib Bank Limited, Karachi, Sind, Sussex

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Legbreak googly

 

Batting and fielding averages

Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 6s Ct St
Tests 124 189 21 8832 280* 52.57     23 43 48 93 1
ODIs 233 218 41 7381 119* 41.70 11014 67.01 8 50   71 2
First-class 402 632 95 28663 311 53.37     80 139   340 3
List A 439 407 79 13973 152* 42.60     13 101   144 2
Bowling averages

Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 124 36 1470 682 17 3/74 5/94 40.11 2.78 86.4 0 0 0
ODIs 233 12 436 297 7 2/22 2/22 42.42 4.08 62.2 0 0 0
First-class 402   12688 6507 191 7/39   34.06 3.07 66.4   6 0
List A 439   830 613 18 3/20 3/20 34.05 4.43 46.1 0 0 0

By Lateef Jafri

< Prev   Next >