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| Sunday, 11 December 2005 |
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Abdul Qadir mesmerised the Englishmen with haul of 13 for 101 in 1984 by A. C. de Silva Lahore has been the happy hunting ground for the home team - Pakistan in their criketing ties with England in recent times. In the series that has just ended, Pakistan scored a fine 2 - nil series win over England, with one Test being drawn. In the first Test played at Multan, Pakistan edged through to a 22-runs win after England called the tune in the first innings. Pakistan made 274 with S. Butt making 74, skipper Inzamam 53 with Flintoff taking 4 for 68, S. Harmison 3 for 37. England went on to make a fine 418 with Mark Trescothick getting 193, Ian Bell 71, Andrew Flintoff 45, while in bowling for Pakistan, Shoaib Akhtar had 3 for 99, Shabbir 4 for 54. Came second innings, and Pakistan made 341 with Salman Butt getting 122, Younis Khan 48, skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq 72 and K. Akmal 33 and in the England attack, there was M. Hoggart taking 2 for 81, Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff claiming 4 for 88 and S. Harmisom 3 for 52. Though England were nicely placed for a win at the close on the third day with 21 for one, needing 198 runs for victory, they collapsed on the final morning and were shot out for 175, with the only noteworthy scores coming from Ian Bell 33 and G. Jones 33. Pakistan's ace spinner Kaneira bowled wonderfully on the final day and took 4 for 22 ultimately with paceman Akhtar getting 3 for 49 and Sami 2 for 31. So, victory came Pakistan's way. The second Test was drawn, but the third and final Test played last week at Lahore turned Pakistan's way in no uncertain manner and they beat England by an innings and 100 runs. England made 288 (P. Collingwood 96, M. Vaughan 58, M. Trescothick 50) and 248 (Ian Bell 92, Paul Collingwood 80 and their third-wicket partnership realised 175, but the other batsmen floundered and they eventually lost the Test. Pakistan made the massive score of 636 for 8 wickets declared with M. Yousuf making 223, K. Ahmed 154 and Inzamam-ul-Haq scoring 97. So Danesh Kaneira has now turned out to be Pakistan's outstanding spin bowler, closely following on the lines of their great leg-spinner Abdul Qadir 21 years ago. On that tour, England won the one-day series, winning the three-match series 3-0, winning by 2 wickets at Lahore, by 23 runs at Karachi and by 98 runs at Peshawar. But, Pakistan was not to be put down in the Test series. Pakistan was somewhat pulled back with the retirement of their captain Imran Khan and sickness of their newly appointed captain Javed Mianded, injuries to Tauseef Ahmed and Wasim Akram and to their wicket-keeper Saleem Yousuf added to their misery in the one-day games. Abdul Qadir led Pakistan in the one-day series, but Pakistan picked up courage in the Test series with Javed Miandad coming back to the side and so did Tauseef Ahmed and their strike bowler Wasim Akram. Then left-arm spinner Iqbak Qasim was recalled. On a slow wicket which suited the spinners, England were routed by an innings and 87 runs with a day to spare. The result was somewhat the same like last Saturday in Lahore, though in 1984, the Pakistanis had also a day to spare. In the 1984 game, leg-spinner Abdul Qadir had demolished the Englishmen taking 13 for 101 runs, a career best in the match. In the first innings, England were bowled out for 175. Broad made 41 and Qadir finished with 9 for 56. Pakistan with the help of a Century by Mudassar Nazar (120) and 65 by Mianded put on a huge score of 392. England following on were dismissed for 130, equalling their lowest made in 1954 at the Oval, Qadir, Tauseef and Qasim shared all the wickets. The victory, however, sparked the unsavoury umpiring controversy. Umpire Shakil Khan was accused of giving blatant decisions. The England captain Mike Gatting contested that "Pakistan were bent upon winning the match. Certain decisions by the umpire went against us", he said. The manager of the team Mr.Peter Lush also joined in criticising the umpiring. The ugliest scene however came when left-hand-opening batsman Chris Broad was declared caught at the wicket off Iqbal Qasim in the second innings by umpire Shakil Khan. Broad surprisingly refused to leave the crease and stood his ground before being persuaded by his partner Graham Gooch to leave. The incident, demanded explanation. The BCCP asked for an apology from the batsman which duly came through their captain and the manager. Broad was reprimanded by the tour manager Mr.Lush. "What occurred on the field yesterday was totally unacceptable and cannot be condoned under any circumstances. The code of conduct of the game is simple. When the umpire gives you out whatever you might feel, you walk", he said in a statement. "Every player has his disappointment but that day's incident involving Chris Broad was culmination of frustrations that had built up over the first three days of the Test. Broads deeply regrets - what has occurred and has been reprimanded", he said. Good or bad umpiring decisions will be argued, but it does not really take the credit away from the marvellous spell of bowling by the leg-spinner Abdul Qudir whose mesmerising variations of leg-spin, googlies and flippers would have accounted for the English batsmen anyway. England had hardly recovered from the shock that Qadir provided them and the umpiring that had disgruntled them, that 17-year-old leg-spinner from Sahiwal, Mushtaq Ahmed further shattered them in a three-day drawn game at Sahiwal taking six for 81. But it was at Faisalabad where the tour was ruined. Though the second Test ended in a draw. It was marred by the ugly incident which involved the England captain Mike Gatting and the umpire Shakoor Rana. The incident occurred in the last over of the second day when on the fourth delivery, by Hemmings, umpire Khizar Hayat called 'dead ball' as Gatting seemingly had moved a fielder without the batsman's knowledge. Standing at square leg, umpire Shakoor Rana stopped the game, warning the England captain about 'unfair play', "hold on" he said, "it is unfair play" , Gatting in a rage charged at him in a manner unbecoming of an international captain. Wagging his fingers at Shakoor he argued. Insults were hurled and a controversy began. Shakoor refused to officiate the match on the third day and demanded apology from the England captain for abusive language, he contested that Gatting had called him a 'cheat'. Umpire Khizar Hayat and standby Ram Nawaz joined the union and controversy escalated. Gatting remained unmoved and demanded an apology from Shakoor in return for calling him a cheat. Despite efforts by the officials of the BCCP and the tour management play could not resume, and the third day's play was wasted. England with the help of Chris Broad's century (116) and Gatting's entertaining 79 had made 292 and had Pakistan struggling at 106 for five when the incident happened. A little bit of diplomacy on gatting's part would have hushed up the whole affair amicably which could have enabled England to level the series. Pity though it did not work out that way. Eventually on TCCB's demand, Gatting had to write an apology before play resumed on the fourth morning. England though bowled Pakistan out for 191, they lost the opportunity of levelling the series before the final Test at Karachi. A declaration in the second innings after England had made 137 for six left no time for Pakistan to chase the runs as play was called off as a drew. The controversy at Faisalabad prompted invitation to Indian umpires to conduct the deciding Test at Karachi. They were not able to come because of short notice and England were given the option to have whichever umpire they chose, even allowed to have David constant or Ken Palmer if they wished. In the end, Mahboob Shah and Kahizar Hayat were entrusted the job. The Test ended in a draw but not before fortunes fluctuated. There were two fine innings by David Capel (98) and Emburey (70) in England's 294 Pakistan with fighting innings by Aamer Malik who made 98 recovered from 110 for four to make 353 and take a lead of 59 and then dismiss four of the England batsmen before the deficit was wiped off but Gooch 93 and an unbeaten 74 by Emburey saved England the match. Qadir once again took ten wickets in the match to add to his 20 in the previous two. The absence of Botham and Gower was badly missed. England's batting lacked depth and application. Only Gooch and Emburey were able to cope with Qadir's magical mysteries. The rest just groped and hoped for the best. Qadir finished the series taking 30 wickets for 14.56 apiece and set a new Pakistan record in a three match series. Emburey, DeFreitas and Foster were the pick of the English bowlers. On Slow wickets the batsmen struggled and the spinners revelled. Pakistan's batting was disappointing. Except for Mudassar's century in the first Test and few isolated innings by Ramiz Raja and Salim Malik and Qadir, The rest failed to impress. The revelation of the series was however Aamer Malik. His dour and defying innings of 98 in only his second Test showed a lot of promise. All in all it was a lacklustre series, spoiled by poor planning and controversial umpiring, dissidence by England batsmen, which in the end left an unsavoury taste for all who love the game. Pakistan Vs England on November 25, 26, 27 and 28 in 1984 at Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore. England: 175 (B. Broad 41, N. A. Foster 39, N. N. French 38 not out; Abdul Qadir 37-13-56-9; Tauseef 23-9-38-1) and 130 (M. W. Gatting 23, John Emburey 38 not out; Abdul Qadir 4 for 45, Tauseef 3 for 28, Iqbal 3 for 39). Pakistan: 392 (Mudassar Nazar 120, Rameez Raja 35, Javed Miandad 65, Ijaz Ahmed 44, Wasim Akram 40, Abdul Qadir 38; and 130) John Amburey 3 for 109, Cook 3 for 87, Foster 2 for 58). |
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