They coincided with partition and really believed they were nation builders. They didn’t make a penny out of the sport but they really played for the love of Pakistan and the love of cricket. They really are very complex men and I found that telling their stories was a way of telling the history of Pakistan.
What were the reasons for dedicating a chapter to umpire Idris Baig?
The story of the 1955 MCC tour of Pakistan really is the most astonishing of world cricket. We had an English cricket team, led by the captain Donald Carr who actually decided to seize and kidnap a Pakistan umpire and then to humiliate him by throwing buckets of water over him and physically abuse him. It is very telling about the state of relations between Pakistan and England at the time. I was rather aware I was devoting a disproportionate amount of attention to this one episode but I found the temptation irresistible.
How much has lack of education, as Imran Khan has believed, impacted Pakistan cricket, like Mohammed Amir, Salim Malik, Mohammed Asif getting trapped in match-fixing episodes. Would this be related to lack of education and awareness? Kardar and Fazal may never have fallen prey to match-fixing…
I’m not sure this is right. Some of the worst offenders like the appalling Salman Butt have actually been middle class and very well educated indeed. Another casing point is Salim Malik. There is no correlation between lack of education and disposition to be corrupt. Look at the case in South Africa of Hansie Cronje. That said, I do think the Pakistan cricket board — like every cricket board in the world — have a real duty to educate and protect young players coming into the international team in order to prevent this type of thing ever to happen again.
How much credit do you give to Imran Khan for carrying Pakistan cricket to great heights?
Imran Khan was one of the greatest players the world has ever known. He created a completely new type of cricket with a completely new kind of player. Imran threw his faith behind players he really believed in. Under Imran the Pakistan cricket team became truly national, represented by Pakistanis of all different classes. He also took on the stifling bureaucracy which had done so much damage to Pakistan cricket.
Would you be tempted to travel to Pakistan to watch international cricket whenever the game returns to this sub-continent giant?
I long for cricket to return to Pakistan and I will make it my business to accompany the first international
