In our ‘Defining Decade’ series, we look back at each year of the 1990s and how it panned out for Pakistan.

Tests

The 5-match Test series was interspersed between the one-dayers and the side matches, the first Test match at Birmingham being played after the first two one-day matches across London. Pakistan handed Test debuts to World Cup winners Aamer Sohail and Inzamam-ul-Haq as well as pace bowler Ata-ur-Rehman. Only Sohail saw any action as no play was possible on the first day. On the second day, he and Raja played a few overs to finish on 3/0 after Gooch had put Pakistan in to bat.

English weather, being true to form, then decided on three days of glorious sunshine as new captain Javed Miandad and his deputy Saleem Malik both made big hundreds in a stand of 322 runs, Miandad being unbeaten on 153 and Malik top-scoring with 165. After Inzamam had hit his first boundary in Test cricket, Pakistan declared on 446/4 halfway through Day 4. England then took over from where the visitors had left, with Alec Stewart making a superb 190 and Robin Smith 127. Ata-ur-Rehman’s three wickets included top scorer Stewart, and the game fizzled out to a draw as England finished on 459/7 before declaring.

The second Test at Lord’s was one of the all-time classics, a game that will live long in the memory. Though it finished in four days, the last few hours of the match had an entire nation glued to their televisions well into the evening as Pakistan snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis took 13 wickets between them, but for their unbeaten 46-run stand for the 9th wicket that took Pakistan home, this game is still remembered. Akram batted with his World Cup helmet on, and the enduring image is of him being hugged by teammates, bat raised in one hand and a stump in the other.

England won the toss and chose to bat first, giving a debut to leg spinner Ian Salisbury as Gooch and Stewart piled on a 123-run partnership to start proceedings. That England only ended up with just over double that score to be all out for 255 was a testament to the superb skill of Waqar, whose five-wicket haul took out the middle order. Aamer Sohail then made his maiden Test half-century to anchor Pakistan’s reply with support from Asif Mujtaba and Salim Malik, taking Pakistan to 293 all out; Salisbury picked up Miandad and Akram as his first Test wickets. The hosts’ second innings score of 175 owed everything to yet another half-century from their wicket-keeper, opener, and vice-captain Alec Stewart who carried his bat to make nearly 40% of his side’s runs as Wasim took four wickets and Mushtaq three, including a beautiful delivery to bowl Robin Smith around his legs.

Chasing 138 to win, Pakistan were rocked back by an excellent spell from the mercurial Chris Lewis as he sent Raja, Mujtaba, and Miandad packing for ducks to reduce Pakistan to 18/3. Saleem Malik then joined Sohail to attempt a recovery before he too was picked by the debutant legspinner, and Inzamam-ul-Haq continued his love affair with run-outs which meant half the side was back in the pavilion with 62 on the board. Wasim Akram joined Sohail, and there was hope that the two future left-handed captains plus Moin Khan could get Pakistan over the line with 76 runs needed. Akram took a boundary off Salisbury, but Sohail was unable to stop a leg break hitting him and going on to break the stumps despite his attempts to kick it away, his footballing skills not tempting Arsenal or Spurs to make him an offer.

Moin attempted to rein in his attacking instincts but only ended up giving a bat-pad catch to Smith off the bowling of Salisbury, who now had five wickets in his debut match and looked set to take his team to victory as Pakistan teetered on 81 for 7. Mushtaq edged Devon Malcolm to slip, and the 8th wicket had fallen with Pakistan on 95, still 43 runs away from victory with only Waqar and Aqib left to come. England’s attack was on fine form with Lewis swinging the ball, Malcolm bowling at pace, and Salisbury getting purchase from a wearing wicket; Pakistan’s chances looked bleak, and a capacity Sunday crowd enjoyed the proceedings that almost certainly pointed to a home win.

Akram and Younis, however, had other plans, and Wasim showed trust in his bowling partner, giving him the strike rather than shielding him. Waqar justified this with a boundary off Lewis before Wasim smashed the same bowler through the offside for another. Malcolm then came on and received the same treatment from Waqar, who hit him back, narrowly missing his hand, and a potential caught and bowled dismissal. Realizing his pace bowlers were feeding the Pakistanis what they wanted, Gooch brought Salisbury back on, and he nearly had Waqar playing on before the fast bowler played him into the leg side to run a three.

With seven balls left in the day, Akram pulled Malcolm to the leg side but could only take a single, which meant he would be on strike for the last over of the day to be bowled by the leg spinner. Salisbury pitched the ball up, no doubt looking for some spin as he had managed to Sohail, but Akram drove him through the vacant covers to win a game Pakistan seemed destined to lose only hours earlier. Waqar finished unbeaten on 20 to go with seven wickets in the match, and Wasim finished 45 not out, easily amongst the best knocks of his career, to go with six wickets for the match and the Man of the Match award.

With a combined match score of 8 runs, out both times to the searing pace of Waqar Younis, who bowled him with a yorker in the first innings and trapped him leg before in the second, plus five wicketless overs, it was the end of the road for Ian Botham, who played his 102nd and final Test match 15 years after his first.

The 3rd and 4th Test matches were played in the north of England, an area historically home to the country’s largest Pakistani immigrant population. While Pakistanis based in England had always vociferously supported visiting sides from the homeland over the years, the World Cup win had emboldened a new generation of fans, most born and raised in England, as Pakistan’s iconic World Cup jerseys became common across games. Just as West Indian and Indian fans flocked to more games after their teams’ respective World Cup wins, Pakistani fans were now louder and more colorful, adding a unique atmosphere to the English Test match summer.

Manchester hosted the 3rd Test match, and captain Javed Miandad decided to bat first after winning the toss on what ended up being a road of a pitch. Aamer Sohail made sure his first Test century was one to remember; it would end up being his highest Test score, with a big score of 205 that featured 32 boundaries. Each of Pakistan’s first three wickets added century partnerships as Ramiz Raja, Asif Mujtaba, and Javed Miandad all scored half-centuries before the team declared on 505/9.

England gave a Test debut to Tim Munton, a towering all-rounder from Warwickshire whose first wicket was the legendary Miandad, though he conceded over 100 runs. The home side had recalled 35-year-old former captain David Gower and he, alongside his 39-year-old captain Graham Gooch made scores of 70+ before half-centuries from Lewis and Salisbury, and a breezy 25 not out by debutant Munton took England to 390 all out.

Wasim Akram took five wickets, and Aqib Javed took four though the sheen was taken off his performance when he was fined half his match fee for an altercation with umpire Roy Palmer, standing in his first Test match but unpopular with the tourists already because his older brother Ken had his own altercations with them during the last tour in 1987. Pakistan’s second innings was merely glorified batting practice, with Raja making a half-century, Miandad and Mujtaba hitting 40s, and Graham Gooch taking 2 of his 23 career Test wickets.

The 4th Test at Leeds continued in the bad-tempered vein that was present across the Pennines, with both teams and fans turning on each other and the umpires. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first again but bar an excellent 82 from Saleem Malik, who had played some great knocks on this ground, no one really got going (extras was the next highest scorer), and they were bowled out for a disappointing 197. Debutant Neil Mallender, who clearly wasn’t put off by what he saw and later became an umpire, took three wickets, and fellow new boy Munton took 2.

England put on a big opening partnership with Atherton joining captain Gooch to put on 168 before falling to county teammate Akram for 76. Then, with the match finely poised, England got a big reprieve when umpire Mervyn Kitchen failed to spot that Gooch had been run out comfortably, much to the anger of the visiting team and their thousands of fans. Gooch scored 135 and helped his team to a big lead despite Waqar Younis taking out England’s lower order with a superb display of reverse swing, England losing their last 8 wickets for 50 runs.

This didn’t go down well with the tabloids who accused the tourists of cheating, and murmurings of discontent in favor of this from older players such as the recently dropped Lamb and Botham didn’t help Pakistan’s mood. With a knock of 63, Ramiz Raja was the only batsman to give some support to Saleem Malik, who scored yet another half-century on a ground where he would end up averaging over a 100 and score four half-centuries in five innings. Debutant Mallender took a five-wicket haul, and England needed to chase 99 to equal the series with a game to go, which they did for the loss of 4 wickets with veterans Gooch and Gower top-scoring, the latter ending unbeaten as he hit the winning runs.

The Oval in London was the scene for the final Test of a tempestuous series that had reached fever pitch with players, fans, and journalists all heavily invested. England won the toss and chose to bat first, dropping Munton and bringing in Phil Tufnell on a pitch that traditionally helped spinners. Pakistan handed a debut to wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif and also recalled his fellow Karachiite Shoaib Mohammad, who came in for Inzamam.

England opened with Gooch and the recalled Stewart, with Atherton dropping to 3 from where he top-scored. After Aqib and Wasim had accounted for the openers, he put on partnerships with Smith and Gower to take England to 182 for 4, with Mushtaq accounting for Smith and Aqib removing Gower, who would play the last of his 117 Test matches, ending a 14-year career that had also begun against the same opponents.

With Atherton and Ramprakash at the crease and the score on 190 for 4, England would have had a target of around 350 to 400 in mind on a good pitch and looking forward to closing out the day. However, Wasim Akram, who had removed Alec Stewart earlier on, took matters into his own hands with a subliminal display of fast bowling. Only county teammate and good friend Atherton wasn’t dismissed by him; he became Rashid’s first Test scalp off the bowling of Waqar, as Akram blew away the lower order with all the batsmen either bowled or LBW. From 190 for 5, England collapsed to 207 all out, with Akram taking a six-wicket haul.

The Pakistan openers safely saw their team home to end the day in the ascendancy. The next morning, Raja fell to Malcolm after a 50+ opening stand, and Sohail perished one short of his own half-century to the same bowler. This brought captain Miandad to the crease with Shoaib Mohammad, and the pair added a 100+ run stand, with both making half-centuries. When they were both dismissed, Pakistan had a lead of only seven runs and had lost four wickets, but Asif Mujtaba joined Saleem Malik in a 50+ stand before both Malik and Akram fell to Malcolm, England’s best bowler so far.

When Mujtaba was run out, the score was 332, and England would have envisioned keeping the leader under 150, especially since debutant wicket-keeper Latif only had the tail for company. Before he had come out to bat, Latif had been asked by legendary England batsman Geoff Boycott, now a popular commentator, if he could bat, and when he replied in the affirmative, the former captain bet him 5 pounds that he wouldn’t cross 35. When he was the last man out, having made his half-century, Latif pointed the bat to the stands and got a smile from Boycott. Pakistan’s final score of 380 all out featured half-centuries from 4 Karachi-born batsmen, giving them a lead of over 150.

England’s first innings had featured a masterclass from Wasim Akram, so naturally, Waqar Younis chose the second innings to do his bit; he picked up openers Gooch and Stewart before combining again with Rashid Latif to get Atherton. David Gower’s career ended with an inswinger that he left, only to see it swerve back into the stumps. Robin Smith was England’s lone warrior, and he added respectability to the score in partnerships with Ramprakash and Lewis before Mushtaq removed both, the latter stumped by Latif to give the debutant his first victim not named Atherton.

Wasim Akram then took the next three wickets and briefly threatened to pick up a 10-wicket haul and deny Waqar his 5-fer on the ground of his former county side. But the Burewala Express dismissed Devon Malcolm, who had earlier taken five wickets in Pakistan’s innings, to complete his haul and leave Pakistan needing two runs to win the match and the series. Mark Ramprakash was given the over with the field all in, and after starting with a long hop that was called a wide, Aamer Sohail smashed the only legal ball of the innings to the cover boundary to give Pakistan the match and the series.

Thus, the World Champions completed a long tour that had lasted nearly four months and saw them win the Test series as well as thoroughly dominate county sides in First Class games. Of the 12 First Class matches they played against county sides, Pakistan won nine; the only game they lost was the first one against Worcestershire, who would win the County Championship that season. It was the best record against county sides since Bradman’s 1948 team won 15 out of 20. With this achievement, Pakistan became the only side to win the short-lived Tetley Bitter Challenge, a 50,000-pound jackpot sponsored by the home board in an attempt to make side fixtures more meaningful that had been launched in 1990. Pakistan were no doubt helped by their players’ experience in county cricket, and captain Miandad praised the team’s unity during the tour as some of the best he had ever experienced.

Down Under – Again

Benson and Hedges World Series

Pakistan ended 1992 back Down Under, first for the annual tri-series (then known as the Benson and Hedges World Series) before leaving for a tour of New Zealand. They would return after the tour to finish the tri-series while the West Indies and Australia played out a memorable Test series. As World Champions who had won on Australian soil no less, the Pakistanis were expected to provide stern competition to hosts Australia and perennial world series winners West Indies.

They started well, beating the West Indies in a close-fought first game at Perth on the back of an all-round performance from Wasim Akram. Ata-ur-Rehman debuted as Pakistan put the West Indies in to bat, and they finished on 197 for 9, Akram snaring four wickets while Ata only gave 29 off his 10 overs. Brian Lara top-scored with 59 in a run he would keep going for many years against a team he regularly performed well against. Captain Miandad anchored Pakistan’s reply with an unbeaten half-century, which featured contributions from Raja, Malik, and Inzamam before Wasim added the final flourish to take the side home.

After Australia and the West Indies played each other for the next two games, Pakistan took on the hosts in Hobart; Mark Taylor deputized as captain as Australia made 228 for 7 with the late Dean Jones making a half-century. Pakistan’s reply seemed to stutter along, with only Saleem Malik putting up a fight on his way to scoring 64 as Craig McDermott took four wickets. Asif Mujtaba and Rashid Latif added runs, but when last man Aqib Javed joined Mujtaba, Pakistan were still 16 behind and looking unlikely to win. With seven needed off the last ball bowled by the experienced Steve Waugh – who had been doing the job since the 1987 World Cup, where he helped Australia win the final – Mujtaba hit a six to tie the scores and stun the home fans.

Pakistan’s bowling was in good form as they dismissed the West Indies for 177 at Adelaide in the next match of the series, Akram taking three wickets as captain Richie Richardson scored an unbeaten half-century to take his side to a below-par total. A strong start from the openers, Raja scoring 52, and further contributions from Malik and Miandad saw Pakistan at 148 for 3 and looking odds-on favorites to win. However, Carl Hooper’s off-spin accounted for the captain, and suddenly, the Pakistanis collapsed with Hooper and run-outs, six in total, seeing them lose by four runs with a ball to spare.

Pakistan had to pick themselves up as they played hosts Australia at the same venue the next day in a game reduced to 47 overs per side. Despite the strange decision to play Saeed Anwar at 6, Pakistan rode on a half-century from Inzamam and contributions from Mujtaba and Akram to make a decent 195 for 6. Australia comfortably chased the total as no Pakistani bowler was able to make inroads, Taylor making a half-century and both Boon and Jones contributing as they won by eight wickets.

Pakistan then played their last game of this leg before they would fly off to New Zealand and the other two sides resumed their Test series. The day-night game at Sydney saw the West Indies choose to bat first and make 214 for 9 on the back of an excellent 96-run knock by the experienced Desmond Haynes, while Waqar Younis took three wickets. Chasing 215 to win, Pakistan did manage to play 48 overs but ended up being dismissed for a paltry 81 all out; but for Inzamam, Waqar, and Mushtaq reaching double figures, it could have been much worse. Part-time medium-pacer Phil Simmons picked up a world record 4 wickets for 3 runs in his 10 overs, still the most economical spell in one-day cricket history; he bowled 8 maidens, and his economy rate was 0.30 in a feat unlikely to ever be matched or broken again. Rashid Latif tried to resist with a 72-ball innings where he made 8 runs, but all that did was prolong the inevitable.

New Zealand ODIs

A shell-shocked Pakistan side arrived in New Zealand for a 3-match ODI series which would be followed by a one-off Test match before they would go back to Australia to finish the tri-series. The last game between the two sides had been the semi-final of the World Cup as Pakistan broke Kiwi hearts on their way to winning the trophy with a backs-to-the-wall performance that knocked the best side in the tournament out.

The late New Zealand captain Martin Crowe had missed the second half of the semi-final to rest his injured hamstring, something he said he never forgave himself for, and after winning the toss, he put the visitors in to bat. Ramiz Raja’s 50 and Javed Miandad’s 46 were the two highest scores as Pakistan made a disappointing 158/8 with Chris Harris taking three wickets. New Zealand’s top two scorers were the captain and vice-captain, but Crowe’s 28 and Rutherford’s 18 could only help the hosts to a partly 108 all out, Akram taking a 5-fer with a superb display of swing bowling while Aqib chimed in with three wickets.

At Napier in the second ODI, Crowe again put the touring side in to bat, and they again made a sub-par total in a rain-reduced game, finishing with 136 for 8 off their 42 overs as Malik top-scored with 39. Crowe and Rutherford again top-scored for their side, who comfortably chased the total this time to win by six wickets and square the series at one win apiece. Pakistan had recalled all-rounder Shahid Saeed to the side after three years, and he took his career-best figures of 2 wickets for 20 runs to end up as the best bowler for the losing side.

The final one-day match, Pakistan’s last game of a quite extraordinary year, was played at Auckland, where Pakistan had beaten the home side in the World Cup semi-final some nine months earlier in an unforgettable game. Unfortunately, this one was nowhere near as exciting, following the same path as the last one, with Crowe winning the toss and putting Pakistan in to bat before they made yet another disappointing total. Captain Miandad’s 30 was the top score of his side’s sub-standard 139 all out as Willie Watson picked up four wickets for 27 runs. Crowe and Rutherford were once again the top scorers, the captain making an unbeaten half-century which might have helped him exorcise some demons from the semi-final loss as New Zealand chased the total to (again) win by six wickets.

Pakistan’s year started with a Test match against Sri Lanka in Faisalabad and ended with a one-day game in Auckland. Along the way, the team spent almost four months on a long and unforgettable tour of England as well as nearly two months Down Under, where they fought back from near elimination to end up as World Champions for the first time. The second part of our Defining Decade article for 1992 will look at that historic tournament that shaped a nation’s cricketing conscience.