Prologue
On 8th January, 1987, it was announced that the 1988 Australia Tour of the West Indies had been cancelled. President of the Australia Cricket Board (ACB) Dave Richards said the West Indies Cricket Board had called off the tour, but undisclosed sources related that the West Indies were very disappointed. The sources suggested that with the West Indies scheduled to play five Tests in Australia during the 1988/89 season, the ACB was reluctant to expose Allan Border’s young side to the West Indies for ten Tests in a calendar year. Australia had won only one match in the previous ten Tests.
14Th – 16th May, 1987: West Indies Cricket Board of Control (WICBC) Meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. Following the confab, the board released a provisional itinerary for the 1988 Pakistan Tour of the Caribbean. It was a packed schedule of three four-day games, five one day internationals and three Tests. It was the first time that only three Tests were slated for a home series, which was sandwiched between the West Indies visit to India (1987/88) and the 1988 summer tour of England.
6th – 11th August, 1987, Fifth Test, Pakistan vs England, at The Oval, London, England: Pakistan, 708; Javed Miandad, 260, Imran Khan, 118, Saleem Malik, 102. England, 232; Abdul Qadir, 7 for 96. England, 315 for 4, M.Gatting, 150*. Match drawn. Pakistan won the series 1 – 0.
Imran Khan, following his flawless fourth Test century, walked off to a standing ovation, and announced his retirement from Test cricket. He had achieved his two major goals in Test cricket; leading Pakistan to victory in India, (1 – 0, 1986/87 Five Tests series) and in England.
Wednesday, 4th November, 1987, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan. First Semi-final of 1987 Reliance World Cup (jointly hosted by India and Pakistan). Scores: Australia, 267 for 8 off 50 overs; D Boon, 65. Imran Khan, 3 for 36. Pakistan, 249 off 49 overs; Javed Miandad, 70, Imran Khan, 58. C McDermott, 5 for 44. Australia won by 18 runs.
Khan announced his retirement from international cricket following the extremely disappointing loss. The co-hosts were huge favourites after the preliminary round, in which Pakistan had reeled off five successive victories over Sri Lanka, England, West Indies, England, and India, before faltering against the West Indies in the final round of matches. Alas, Khan was totally dejected as his dream of finishing his career with the World Cup held aloft, lay shattered in his hometown. Later he conceded that at 35 years old and past his peak as a fast bowler, he wished to leave the game at the top, before the selectors got to him.
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While Pakistan was embroiled in a three-Test battle with the visiting English team in November and December 1987, Khan was savouring his retirement with a hunting trip north of Lahore. Peter Oborne, in his 624-page epic, “Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan” (2015), related the following anecdote, “After the shoot, the host suggested that they should go and visit a holy man, Baba Chala, who lived in a village just a few miles away from the Indian border. The host asked Baba Chala how Imran should spend the rest of his life. But Chala looked at Imran and said that he had not yet left his profession. ‘It is the will of Allah, you are still in the game’.”
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Khan’s return
Riding the wave of three consecutive series wins, and now undefeated in six series – the other three resulting in one victory and two draws – Pakistan’s deeply passionate cricket fans were chomping at the bit at the prospect of conquering the mighty West Indians on their home turf. However, despite leading Pakistan to victory, Khan’s replacement as skipper, Javed Miandad, resigned, citing the burden of captaincy affecting his batting, as he managed only 84 runs in the series. A national campaign was initiated to have Khan return to the Test arena. Processions and hunger strikes were held pleading for his return. He refused to waver from his decision.
Here’s an excerpt from Imran Khan. An outstanding orator, he appeared to be speaking off the cuff, delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s in 2010, “…Why did the Australian team cancel their tour? Because in those days – you wouldn’t believe it when you look at the current West Indies team – but in those days, it wasn’t a question of winning against the West Indies team, it was a question of losing with dignity [ripple of laughter from the captivated audience], and clearly the Australian team thought they would lose their dignity, so they cancelled and Pakistan were inducted. So, anyway, I had already retired, but my great desire was ..was to have one last go at this great team, which I thought was the greatest team in cricket history. I cannot still imagine any team being better than that… You can’t – people who played against them, and I think Mark [Nicholas, past Hampshire captain who never won an England cap, and host of the post lecture Question and Answer session] played against them at some level, he knew. [Another ripple of laughter]… If David Gower was here he would sort of tell you what it was like after losing ten zero against them… It was awful…It was a harrowing experience… So I thought okay and then of course, the Pakistan dictator at the time General Zia[-ul-Haq], he asked me to come back for the sake of Pakistan cricket, and of course, my main thing was, one last chance at the West Indies. So, I accept the tour, and we go to the West Indies. Five one-day matches, Pakistan wiped out five zero. So, I sat there thinking did I make the right choice?”
He paused and placed his right palm on his forehead amid another ripple of laughter.
“There are three essentials to
leadership: humility, clarity and
courage.” – Fuchan Yuan
The visitors arrived in Jamaica on the 3rd March, and three days later were facing a strong President’s XI in a four-day match. The local unit was led by Roger Harper, and included Phil Simmons, Carlisle Best, Keith Arthurton, Carl Hooper, David Williams, Ian Bishop, Tony Gray, and Winston Benjamin, all of whom, at some point in their careers, donned the Maroon cap. Pakistan enjoyed more than 200 overs of batting during their two innings, having elected to take first knock, on Khan winning the toss. In the drawn affair, Salim Malik top scored in the first innings with 86, while Miandad followed his first knock of 63 with a century, 111. Khan, out of cricket for six months, had scores of 4, and 44, and captured two wickets for 64 runs in the first innings. Scores: Pakistan 332, and 271. President’s XI, 311, C Hooper, 67, and, 50 for 1.
ODIs wipe-out
First ODI – 12th March, at Sabina Park, Jamaica. Scores: West Indies, 241; G Logie, 109*, R Richardson, 84. Pakistan, 194; Curtly Ambrose, 4 for 39 [West Indies debut]. West Indies won by 47 runs.
Second ODI – 15th March, at St John’s, Antigua. Scores: Pakistan, 166; Khan, 56. West Indies, 167 for 5; P Simmons, 54. West Indies win by five wickets.
Third ODI – 18th March, at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad. Scores: West Indies, 315; D Haynes, 142*, R Richardson, 78. Pakistan, 265; S Malik, 85. West Indies won by 50 runs.
This match was noted for an unusual piece of sporting generosity by Khan. Haynes was on 85 when he was given out lbw to Jaffer by Umpire Hosein, officiating in his first international. Whilst walking away, Haynes indicated that he had played the ball, and Khan withdrew the appeal and allowed him to continue his innings.
Fourth ODI – 20th March, at Queen’s Park Oval. Scores: Pakistan, 271; Rameez Raja 71, J Miandad, 59. West Indies, 272 for three wickets; G Greenidge, 66, R Richardson, 79*. West Indies won by seven wickets.
It was a battle-weary, wounded Pakistani team which arrived in Georgetown, Guyana at 11:00 am on Tuesday, 22nd March. At least the seemingly incessant island hopping was put on hold for the next 17 days as the team experienced the longest leg of the tour. Apart from being on the morale sapping end of a dead rubber, several members of the team were nursing ailments. Among the injured were Khan (who was trying to fast track himself to match fitness after his long lay-off); his new ball partner, Wasim Akram (recovering from groin injury two months earlier); and the spin duet of Abdul Qadir, the mysterious leg spinner, and Tauseef Ahmed, the off spinner, who returned home soon afterwards.
The next day, while the Pakistanis held a net session on the GDF ground at Camp Ayanganna, the team was introduced to a local masseur, Lennox Williams, who was contracted to the Guyana Cricket Board of Control. ‘Willie’, as everyone called him, had worked with both the senior and junior Guyana squads, the Shell Shield team and the Northern Telecom unit, respectively, the previous year, and also, with that year’s senior lineup which had participated in the Red Stripe Tournament. The stocky, powerfully built masseur, was a former sprinter, body builder, and karateka, who was mainly self taught, and had taken a few courses in massage therapy. As Willie set to work on the bruised muscles of the tour party, the visitors settled in.
“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” – John C Maxwell
Pakistan versus West Indies Board XI at Bourda, 24 – 27 March. Scores: Pakistan, 495; Shoaib Mohammad, 208*, Aamer Malik, 51, and 230 for four wickets declared, Mudassar Nazar, 72. Board XI, 341; K Arthurton, 132, and 90 for four. Match drawn.
Fifth ODI, at Bourda, 30th March. Scores: Pakistan, 221 for seven wickets; J Miandad, 100*, Rameez Raja, 67. West Indies, 225 for three wickets, P Simmons, 79, R Richardson, 68. West Indies won by seven wickets. West Indies sweep ODI series 5 – 0.
Khan might have mused in a quiet moment early one morning sitting alone on the balcony of his room at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, squinting into the distant Atlantic Ocean as the sun crested the horizon: ‘This is my fourth crack at the World Champs, who are now undefeated in a Test series since the summer of 1980. As a 24-year-old, I was a young member of a highly talented Pakistan squad – one of the best ever – which visited the Caribbean in 1977, just as the West Indies’ star was commencing its ascendancy. The score was 2-1 in favour of the hosts but still did not reflect how close the series actually was. The First Test in Barbados, especially after Wasim Raja’s splendid knocks had given us a chance, had been there for the taking. The Second at the Queen’s Park Oval should have been salvaged, like we did here in the Third at Bourda, with that superb second inning fightback led by Majid [Khan] and Zaheer [Abbas]. After taking the Fourth in Trinidad, we allowed the momentum and the series to slip away in the Fifth and deciding Test. It was a huge letdown, after coming here directly from Australia where we had won the Third Test to draw that encounter.
‘The memories of the West Indies 1980/81 Tour of Pakistan are bittersweet. I scored my first century in Test cricket on my 28th birthday in the opening encounter at Lahore, a drawn match. The West Indies snatched the Second Test at Faisalabad behind two contrasting 50s from Viv [Richards] – I dropped him early in the first innings – and excellent fast bowling from [Colin] Croft, [Malcolm] Marshall, and [Sylvester] Clarke. The other two Tests were drawn; low-scoring affairs, badly affected by the weather. In the Third Test at Karachi, Wasim [Raja], who just thrives on their fast bowling, defied them once again to save the match. In the final match, the first ever at Qasim Bagh in Multan, Viv carved out a century for the ages on a difficult wicket for batting, and who can forget the near riot when Clarke threw the brick into the crowd after being pelted with oranges. They were the first team since the 1969/70 New Zealanders to win a series in Pakistan, and the only one so far this decade.
‘Two years ago, we had the West Indies on the run, after Qadir [six for 16] rooted them for 53 – their lowest score since acquiring Test status in 1928 – in the First Test at Faisalabad, only for Marshall and Walsh to destroy us by an innings in three days in the Second Test at Lahore. All out for 77 in the second innings, our lowest total in a home Test. On my 34th birthday, Tauseef and I held out for dear life to save the Third Test at Karachi, surviving the last session of the series by a miracle. Those pitches, which had all been relaid, were unfit for first class cricket, much less Test cricket. No one made a century. Still, we had the advantage after one match, but just couldn’t hold it. These West Indians just never quit fighting. We must meet them head on. We have to hold it this time.
‘In conquering – it’s a conquest to be had, more than a victory – the West Indies, we must adopt the mindset of Shylock, from the Shakespeare play The Merchant of Venice, “If I can catch him [Antonio] once upon the hip, I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him”.’
