Pakistan Cricket

The Pakistan cricket team have long been considered talented but unpredictable. With players of great ability but occasional lapses of discipline, they can be world beaters one day then fade away on the next.

Pakistan achieved test match status in 1952. Their first test was against India at Delhi in the same year, and ever since then the matches between these two talented sides have had a status on the subcontinent like that of The Ashes.

Pakistan won the 1992 Cricket World Cup with a typical “zero to hero” performance. Close to elimination after losing four of their first five matches, they won their next five games including the final against England.

They were inspired by their captain, Imran Khan, who urged then to play like “cornered tigers”, with world beating results.

World class Pakistani cricket players have included Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Waquar Younis and Wasim Akram. Waquar and Wasim formed one of the most hostile fast bowling partnerships in the world for much of the 1990’s.

They were succeeded by Shoaib Ahktar, who was the first bowler to break the 100 mph barrier, at Newlands in Cape Town in 1993. There is still some dispute over the accuracy of the speed radar, as Wasim was also credited with exceeding 100 mph in the next over, but the record remains with Shoaib.

Cricket in Pakistan has never lacked invention, and is responsible for two of the modern game’s latest bowling developments. The off spinner Saqlain Mushtaq first bowled the “Doosra”, using an off-break action to spin the ball from leg to offside. This is no mean feat, requiring great flexibility of the wrist, but is very difficult for a batsman to detect. Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka has developed the Doosra into a fine art, contributing to his world record haul of test wickets.

The second development was “reverse swing”. A new cricket ball deviates through the air toward the side of the ball allowed by the bowlers to become rough, ie “conventional swing”. As the ball becomes older, this rough side can become more shiny as it travels over the outfield, producing deviation through the air opposite to conventional swing. The originator was Sarfraz Nawaz, who passed his skill on to Imran Khan, then on to Wasim and Waquar who used reverse swing and searing pace to great effect.

Despite its potential for brilliance, cricket in Pakistan has often been dogged by controversy in the form of ball tampering, betting and doping allegations. None of these have been proved in law, but even worse difficulties followed after the death of the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer during the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Amongst many others, the Pakistan cricket team were involved in the subsequent investigations, however the latest indications are that Mr Woolmer died of natural causes.

Pakistan’s early exit from the World Cup led to fierce criticism by its supporters. Nevertheless, their potential for brilliance is never far away, and their scoop of the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup was a real triumph in the face of crisis.

Want to know more about the best world cricket teams? Why not visit my pages on Australia, India, England, West Indies, and Sri Lanka.

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