Reliving the more competitive Pakistan
Nadeem F Paracha, in the Dawn, recollects Pakistan's tour of Australia and the West Indies in 1976-77, when Pakistan, led by Mushtaq Mohammad, played some of its finest cricket
ESPNcricinfo staff
01-Mar-2013
Pakistan may have come undone under the attack of Dale Steyn & Co. on fast pitches of South Africa, but there was a time when they handled fast bowling of genuine quality on challenging pitches well. Nadeem F Paracha, writing in the Dawn, recollects Pakistan's tour of Australia and the West Indies in 1976-77, when Pakistan, led by Mushtaq Mohammad, played some of its finest cricket.
Though this was a highly talented side, it had been underachieving until the 1976-77 series against Australia and West Indies. It was only after these series that Pakistan cricket finally managed to be taken a lot more seriously and the international worth of a number of their cricketers grew two-fold.
Secondly, Australia and the West Indies were the top two Test sides in the world. And most of the grounds in Australia and the Caribbean islands had some of the quickest wickets - quicker even than the ones found today in South Africa.