Pakistan national cricket team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pakistan | |
 |
|
| Test status granted | 1952 |
| First Test match | v India at Delhi, October 1952 |
| Captain | [TBA] |
| Coach | [TBA] |
| Official ICC Test and ODI ranking | 3rd (Test), 4th (ODI) [1],[2] |
| Test matches - this year |
329 3 |
| Last Test match | v South Africa at Cape Town, 10 December 2006 |
| Wins/losses - this year |
103/87 1/2 |
| As of 27 February 2007 | |
The Pakistan national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Pakistan. It is administrated by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Pakistan is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and one-day international status. As of 2 April 2007, Pakistan is ranked third in the ICC Test Championship[1] and fourth place in the ICC ODI Championship.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
- See also: India versus Pakistan cricket rivalry
Following the Partition of India in 1947, and the establishment of the separate nation state of Pakistan, cricket in the country developed steadily and Pakistan was given Test Match status at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's Cricket Ground on 28 July 1952 following recommendation by India[3], which, being the successor state of the British Raj, did not have to go through such a process.
Pakistan’s first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series which India won 2-1. Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1-1 after a memorable victory at The Oval in which fast bowler Fazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistan’s first home Test match was in Dacca in January 1955 against India, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi (all five matches in the series were drawn, the first such occurrence in test history[4]).
The team is considered a strong but unpredictable team. Traditionally Pakistani cricket has been filled with players of great talent but limited discipline, making them a team which could play inspirational cricket one day and then perform less than ordinarily another day. Over the years, competitions between India and Pakistan have always been emotionally charged and provide for intriguing contests, as talented teams from both sides of the border elevate their game to new levels to produce high-quality cricket. Pakistani contest with India in the Cricket World Cup have seen packed stadiums and elevated atmospheres no matter where the World Cup has been held.
[edit] Recent controversies
During the fourth Test against England at the Oval on 20 August 2006, ball tampering accusations were made against the Pakistani team, which resulted in the team forfeiting the match. On the fourth day of the Test, during England's second innings, the ball began to late reverse swing for Umar Gul in particular, resulting in him dismissing Alastair Cook LBW to an inswinging yorker. Four overs later, on examining the ball, umpire Darrell Hair decided there was evidence that the ball had been tampered with. He consulted with the other umpire, Billy Doctrove, and penalised the Pakistani team for interfering with the condition of the ball, awarding five runs to England. Following the playing conditions for that Test, the England batsmen were allowed to choose a replacement ball from a selection of six provided. Although play continued until the end of the afternoon session, the Pakistani team failed to reappear on time at the start of the third session in protest of what they believed to be an unjust and insensitive decision. As a result of the Pakistani team's failure to appear at the field, the umpires awarded the test to England, cricket's first and only forfeiture. However the Pakistani team was cleared of any wrongdoing when further proceedings saw captain Inzamam-ul-Haq found not guilty of ball tampering. However, the team's protest led to him being banned for four games on the charge of bringing the game of cricket into disrepute.[5][6][7]
Immediately following the ball tampering controversy was the news that its front-line pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif had both tested positive for Nandrolone, a banned anabolic steroid. Though both denied any substance abuse, on November 1, 2006 both Akhtar and Asif were banned for a period of 2 years and 1 year respectively. However, both bowlers were successful in their appeals with the earlier bans being revoked, although the World Anti-Doping Agency has made an appeal in the International Court of Arbitration for Sport over the revoking of this ban.[8]
[edit] Tournament history
| World Cup | ICC Champions Trophy | Asia Cup | Australasia Cup | Asian Test Championship | Commonwealth Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
[edit] Famous moments
The 1986 Austral-Asia Cup, played in Sharjah, is remembered as a famous last-ball victory for Pakistan against arch-rivals India, with Javed Miandad emerging as a national hero.
India batted first and set a target of 245 runs, leaving Pakistan with a required run rate of 4.92 runs per over. Javed Miandad came in to bat at number 3, and Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals, leading to what looked to be an easy Indian victory. Later recalling the match, Miandad stated that his main focus was to lose with dignity. With 31 runs needed in the last three overs, Miandad hit a string of boundaries while batting with his team's lower order, until four runs were required from the last delivery of the match. Miandad received a leg side full toss from Chetan Sharma, which he hit for six over the midwicket boundary. The shot is still considered as one of the most historic moments in ODI cricket history.
The 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia & New Zealand marked Pakistan's first World Cup victory. It is remembered for the improbable comeback Pakistan made after losing key players such as Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar, and being led by an injured captain in Imran Khan. Pakistan lost 4 of their first 5 matches and were nearly eliminated in the first round of the tournament after being bowled out for 74 against England, until the match was declared a "no result" due to rain. Captain Imran Khan famously told the team to play "as cornered tigers", after which Pakistan won five successive matches, including, most famously, the semi-final against hosts New Zealand and the final against England.
After winning the toss, New Zealand chose to bat first and ended with a total of 262, which was considered a very good score in 1992, when run rates were generally much lower. Pakistan batted conservatively yet lost wickets at regular intervals. With the departure of Imran Khan and Saleem Malik shortly thereafter, Pakistan still required 115 runs at a rate of 7.67 per over with veteran Javed Miandad being the only known batsman remaining at the crease. A young Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had just turned 22 and was not a well-known player at the time, burst onto the international stage with a match-winning 60 off 37 balls. Once Inzamam got out, Pakistan required 36 from 30 balls, which wicketkeeper Moin Khan ended with a towering six over long off, followed by the winning boundary to midwicket. The match is seen as the emergence of Inzamam onto the international stage, and would later become the symbolic starting point of his rise to become Pakistan's top batsman, replacing Miandad, the player with whom he shared his historic partnership.
Pakistan participated in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup History when they were knocked out of the competition in a shock defeat to Ireland, who were playing in their first competition. Pakistan, needing to win to qualify for the next stage after losing to the West Indies in their opening match, were put into bat by Ireland on a green pitch. They lost wickets regularly and only 4 batsmen crossed double figures. In the end they were bowled out by the resurgent Irish for a meagre 132. The Irish went on to win the match, helped by a knock of 72 from Niall O'Brien. This meant that Pakistan had been knocked out during the first round for the second consecutive World Cup.
Tragedy struck the team when coach Bob Woolmer died one day later on March 18, 2007 in a hospital in Kingston, Jamaica. Jamaican police spokesman, Karl Angell, reported on March 23, 2007 that, "Mr Woolmer's death was due to asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation," and that, "Mr Woolmer's death is now being treated by the Jamaica police as a case of murder." [9]
Subsequent to his team's defeat and the death of Bob Woolmer, Inzamam-ul-Haq announced his resignation as captain of the team and his retirement from one-day cricket, stating that he would continue to take part in Test cricket but not as captain.[10]
On 23 March 2007, Pakistan players and officials were questioned by Jamaican police and submitted DNA samples along with fingerprints, as part of the routine enquiries in the investigation into Woolmer's murder.[11] Three days after leaving the West Indies for Pakistan, via London, the Pakistan team were ruled out as suspects. The deputy commissioner of Jamaican police. Mark Shields, the detective in charge of the investigation, announced, "It's fair to say they are now being treated as witnesses." "I have got no evidence to suggest it was anybody in the squad."[12] A memorial service was held in Sacred Heart Church, Lahore, for Bob Woolmer on 01 April 2007. Among the attendees were Pakistan players and dignitaries, including Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was quoted as saying, "After Woolmer's family, the Pakistan team was the most aggrieved by his death."[13]
[edit] Cricket Grounds
| Stadium | City | Test matches | ODI matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jinnah Stadium | Sialkot | 4 | 9 |
| Zafar Ali Stadium | Sahiwal | 0 | 2 |
| Gaddafi Stadium | Lahore | 38 | 49 |
| Ayub National Stadium | Quetta | 0 | 2 |
| National Stadium | Karachi | 39 | 32 |
| Niaz Stadium | Hyderabad | 5 | 6 |
| Jinnah Stadium | Gujranwala | 1 | 11 |
| Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium | Multan | 1 | 6 |
| Arbab Niaz Stadium | Peshawar | 6 | 15 |
| Iqbal Stadium | Faisalabad | 24 | 12 |
| Pindi Club Ground | Rawalpindi | 1 | 2 |
| Sargodha Stadium | Sargodha | 0 | 1 |
| Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium | Rawalpindi | 8 | 21 |
| Bugti Stadium | Quetta | 0 | 1 |
| Sheikhupura Stadium | Sheikhupura | 2 | 1 |
| Multan Cricket Stadium | Multan | 5 | 4 |
[edit] Captains
Pakistan's Test captains:
| Name | Captaincy Period |
|---|---|
| Abdul Kardar | 1952/53 - 1957/58 |
| Fazal Mahmood | 1958/59 - 1960/61 |
| Imtiaz Ahmed | 1959/60 - 1961/62 |
| Javed Burki | 1962 |
| Hanif Mohammad | 1964/65 - 1967 |
| Saeed Ahmed | 1968/69 |
| Intikhab Alam | 1969/70 - 1974/75 |
| Majid Khan | 1972/73 |
| Mushtaq Mohammed | 1976/77 - 1978/79 |
| Wasim Bari | 1977/78 - 1978 |
| Asif Iqbal | 1979/80 |
| Javed Miandad | 1979/80 - 1992/93 |
| Imran Khan | 1982 - 1991/92 |
| Zaheer Abbas | 1983/84 - 1984/85 |
| Wasim Akram | 1992/93 - 1999/00 |
| Waqar Younis | 1993/94 - 2002/03 |
| Saleem Malik | 1993/94 - 1994/95 |
| Rameez Raja | 1995/96 - 1996/97 |
| Saeed Anwar | 1996/97 - 1999/00 |
| Aamer Sohail | 1997/98 - 1998/99 |
| Rashid Latif | 1997/98 - 2003 |
| Moin Khan | 1998/99 - 2000/01 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 2000/01 - 2006/07 |
| Mohammad Yousuf | 2003/04 - 2004/05 |
| Younis Khan | 2005 - 2005/06 |
(* Indicates current captain.)
Kardar led the first Pakistani team to victory over all the Test playing nations of the 1950s, including historic victories over England in England in 1954, and against Australia in Karachi in 1956. Imran Khan led Pakistan to a World Cup victory in 1992 in Australia.
[edit] Notable Pakistani cricketers
Batsmen
- Hanif Mohammad
- Saeed Ahmed
- Mushtaq Mohammad
- Asif Iqbal
- Majid Khan
- Zaheer Abbas
- Sadiq Mohammad
- Javed Miandad
- Mudassar Nazar
- Mohsin Khan
- Saleem Malik
- Shoaib Mohammad
- Rameez Raja
- Ijaz Ahmed
- Saeed Anwar
- Aamer Sohail
- Inzamam-ul-Haq
- Mohammad Yousuf
- Younis Khan
Batting records
- Hanif Mohammad scored 337 against the West Indies in 1958, the first triple hundred by an Asian cricketer, and at the time the longest innings by any batsman in terms of time spent at the wicket.
- Hanif also held the record for the highest individual first class innings for just over 35 years, 499 runs, until Brian Lara scored 501 for Warwickshire in 1994.
- Saeed Anwar holds the record for scoring the highest ODI innings against the Indian cricket team (194) at Chennai in 1997.
- Mohammad Yousuf holds the record for the most Test match runs in a calendar year (1788), the most centuries in a calendar year (nine) and the most centuries in successive tests (six centuries in five successive tests).
Fast bowlers
- Fazal Mahmood
- Sarfraz Nawaz
- Imran Khan
- Wasim Akram
- Aaqib Javed
- Waqar Younis
- Shoaib Akhtar
- Mohammad Sami
- Umar Gul
- Rana Naved-ul-Hasan
- Mohammad Asif
Bowling records
- Wasim Akram has taken 502 ODI wickets, the most in ODI cricket.
- Shoaib Akhtar holds the record for the fastest delivery recorded, clocked at 100.2 Miles/H.
Spin Bowlers
Note:
- Saqlain Mushtaq is credited with inventing the delivery now known as the doosra, and is regarded as one of the best off-spin bowlers in cricket history.
Records:
- Saqlain Mushtaq holds the record for being the fastest to reach 100, 150, 200 and 250 wickets in ODI cricket.
All rounders
- Imran Khan
- Wasim Akram
- Moin Khan
- Aamer Sohail
- Rashid Latif
- Azhar Mahmood
- Shahid Afridi
- Abdul Razzaq
- Shoaib Malik
- Kamran Akmal
Records:
- Shahid Afridi holds the record for the fastest ODI century, reaching the milestone off just 37 balls and also the third fastest ODI century (45 balls).
[edit] Reverse swing
Reverse swing was first discovered by Sarfraz Nawaz in the 1970s, who then passed it on to another Pakistani bowler, Imran Khan. Khan mastered reverse swing and the evidence of reverse swing by him was seen in 1983 in a Test match against India at Karachi, where he took 5 wickets in 25 balls. Imran Khan subsequently passed this skill on to Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram who are considered to have been the finest exponents of the art. [14][15][16]
On Pakistan's 1992 tour of England, the England had no answer to the reverse swing, a new phenomenon to them. Pakistan won the series 2-1. The series was controversial one as the Pakistani team were accused of ball tampering, particularly by the English media.
Reverse swing soon expanded around the cricket world and more bowlers, including those from England, mastered the art.
[edit] Current Team
| Name | Batting Style | Bowling Style | County team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain | |||
| [To be announced][17] | - | - | - |
| Vice Captain | |||
| [To be announced][17] | - | - | - |
| Wicket-keepers | |||
| Kamran Akmal | RHB | - | Punjab (Pakistan) |
| Zulqarnain Haider | RHB | - | - |
| Opening batsmen | |||
| Mohammad Hafeez | RHB | Right-arm offbreak | Punjab (Pakistan) |
| Imran Nazir | RHB | Legbreak | -Punjab (Pakistan) |
| Imran Farhat | LHB | Legbreak | Habib Bank Limited |
| Salman Butt | LHB | Right-arm offbreak | Punjab (Pakistan) |
| Yasir Hameed | RHB | Right-arm offbreak | West Frontier Province - Baluchistan |
| Specialist middle-order batsmen | |||
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | RHB | Slow left-arm orthodox | - |
| Younis Khan | RHB | Right-arm medium, Legbreak | Yorkshire |
| Mohammad Yousuf | RHB | - | - |
| Asim Kamal | LHB | - | - |
| Faisal Iqbal | RHB | Right-arm medium | - |
| All-rounders | |||
| Abdul Razzaq | RHB | Right-arm fast-medium | - |
| Shahid Afridi | RHB | Right-arm medium, Legbreak googly | Habib Bank Limited |
| Shoaib Malik | RHB | Right-arm offbreak | - |
| Azhar Mahmood | RHB | Right-arm fast-medium | Surrey |
| Yasir Arafat | RHB | Right-arm medium | Khan Research Laboratories |
| Fast Bowlers | |||
| Shoaib Akhtar | RHB | Right-arm fast | - |
| Mohammad Sami | RHB | Right-arm fast | - |
| Mohammad Asif | LHB | Right-arm fast-medium | Leicestershire |
| Umar Gul | RHB | Right-arm fast-medium | Gloucestershire |
| Rana Naved-ul-Hasan | RHB | Right-arm medium-fast | Sussex |
| Shahid Nazir | RHB | Right-arm fast-medium | - |
| Shabbir Ahmed | RHB | Right-arm fast-medium | - |
| Iftikhar Anjum | RHB | Right-arm medium | Punjab (Pakistan) |
| Spin Bowlers | |||
| Danish Kaneria | RHB | Legbreak | Habib Bank Limited |
| Abdur Rehman | LHB | Slow left-arm orthodox | Habib Bank Limited |
The team's most recent coach was Bob Woolmer, who died during the 2007 World Cup. Assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed acted as temporary coach for the team's final group game of the tournament.[18] PCB chairman, Nasim Ashraf, announced on 31 March 2007 that the board will not decide on a new coach in the near future but did mention that the next coach will not be foreign.[17]
[edit] Trivia
- Abdul Jalil, aka Chacha cricket, (photo) has been following the team since 1969. The PCB pays him 10,000 Pakistani rupees per month to follow the team, and he himself has a number of his own followers.
- Pakistan are the only cricket team to lose a test match by forfeiture. They did so against England at The Oval on the 20 August, 2006, following a refusal to play, in protest of their penalty of 5 runs, the changing of the ball that they were using, for being accused of unfairly altering the condition of the ball.[19] However it was later ruled that there was no evidence that the ball had been tampered with but charged captain Inzamam-ul-Haq with bringing the game into disrepute.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ LG ICC Test Championship: ICC-cricket.com Retrieved 28 February 2007
- ^ LG ICC ODI Championship: ICC-cricket.com Retrieved 28 February 2007
- ^ Guinness Cricket Encyclopaedia
- ^ Stump the Bearded Wonder No 126: BBC Sport Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ England v Pakistan 4th Test: BBC Sport Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ Day four: How the controversy unfolded: BBC Sport Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ Inzamam cleared of ball tampering: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ WADA to challenge Shoaib and Asif verdict: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ Police hunt Woolmer's murderer: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ Shattered Inzamam retires from one-day scene: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ DNA testing for Pakistan players: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 07 April 2007.
- ^ Pakistan no longer suspects in Woolmer case: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 07 April 2007.
- ^ Memorial service for Woolmer held in Lahore: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 07 April 2007.
- ^ Wasim Akram - Player Profile: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ Waqar Younis - Player Profile: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ Waugh, Steve Reverse swing looms as the decisive factor: The Hindu Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ a b c No foreign coach for Pakistan - Ashraf: Cricinfo.com Retrieved 02 April 2007.
- ^ Woolmer post-mortem inconclusive: BBC.co.uk Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ Lengthy talks fail to save Test: BBC Sport Retrieved 28 February 2007.
