History of cricket in Pakistan: Unpredictable brilliance

A short guide to the history of cricket in Pakistan

The 25th of March this year marked 25 years since the completion of the 1992 World Cup. Nearly three months later, the tournament’s victor, Pakistan, stunned the international cricketing community by winning the Champions Trophy. The same day, a 15-year-old Pakistani became the victim of celebratory gunfire.

Unpredictable cricketing excellence on the field, predictable violence on the streets — these two factors have dominated the Weltanschauung of the Pakistani nation state. And nearly 70 years since its independence, its cricketing prowess continues to inspire appreciation and awe in the minds of an average cricket fan.

Peter Oborne’s

Wounded Tiger is an excellent primer to the cricketing history of India’s conjoined twin to the west. Pakistan, whose creation was premised on the purported need for a separate homeland for British India’s Muslims, was without a foundational document — a Constitution — for more than a decade. However, this ran parallel to its progress on the cricketing front, where the foundations began to be laid immediately. Its three key architects here were a Muslim, a Parsi and a Christian — Khan Iftikhar Hussain, the Nawab of Mamdot; K.R. Collector; and Justice A.R. Cornelius.

Initial Test wins

In 1954, punching much above its weight, Pakistan went on to draw its first Test series outside the subcontinent, versus England. By 1958, when Ayub Khan staged a coup, it had won six Test matches against five teams — the West Indies, Australia and New Zealand, apart from India and England. By contrast, in the same period, 1947-58, India achieved five Test wins and 15 losses.

Oborne’s book gives an exhaustive list of references through which Pakistan cricket can be studied in its entirety. These include

Pride and Passion by Omar Noman;

The Chequered History of Pakistan Cricket by Salim Parvez and Shuja-ud-Din; and

Cricket after Midnight by Sultan Mahmud.

Osman Samiuddin writes in his book, The Unquiet Ones , that Javed Miandad’s pursuit of success was rooted in his quest to achieve izzat — esteem and approval from the self and the world. The same can be said about the struggles and conquests of Pakistani cricket team.

In its 410 Tests, Pakistan has had a win rate of 32%. This has included 59 away wins (26%). It may also be added that this struggle has sometimes coincided with match-fixing scandals.

It is this pursuit of selfhood that has defined its approach to the game since March 2009, when a terror attack in Lahore made Pakistani territory a no-go zone for other teams. Out of its 73 Tests played since then, it has won 29. Its win rate, at nearly 40%, has exceeded its overall average. As the country got increasingly isolated on the international stage, its search for identity was taken in a positive direction by its exploits on the cricket field.