Commanders of Pakistan Cricket

Commanders of Pakistan Cricket by Dr Tariq Raz.
Published by Saad Publications, Karachi

It was a pleasant surprise to read a new book on Pakistan cricket that crossed my desk the other day; another in a series by Dr Tariq Raz. His "Commanders of Pakistan Cricket" is a welcome addition to the few good books on this game published in Pakistan.

Commanders of Pakistan Cricket

He has chosen a novel way to survey Pakistan cricket - through all the Pakistan captains over the years. It has a chapter on each captain who led Pakistan in test matches and One-day Internationals.

First comes a biographical sketch on each captain, his achievements in the field, and the essential statistics about his performance, without which no book can be called complete.

Pakistan's famous cricket commentator and a former ambassador, Jamsheed Marker, while writing the book's foreword has said, "All might not be in complete agreement with all of the author's assessment".

A book about Pakistan captains is bound to flare emotions for the fact there have been so many, so often changed after short stints, and at times several playing in the team at the same time.

Even the Pakistan President has had something to say about this in a remark to the team currently touring England: "You can run your unit when you have one commander and I am glad that this team has one captain who calls the shots."

Tariq Raz has tried to avoid controversial remarks or subjective observation that could termed in bad taste, but still his appreciation of Imran Khan, Mushtaq Mohammad, Javed Miandad and AH Kardar is tinged by his admiration for the quartet. The book leaves no doubt these four were the best of the lot that led Pakistan but there were others not far behind.

Before penning the achievements of Pakistan captains, Tariq had written "Cricket Scene", on cricket in Sharjah, "Focus on Pakistan Cricket", a summary of cricket played by Pakistan, "Winning Account of Pakistan", a book encapsulating the wins achieved by Pakistan in Tests and one-day cricket and "Pakistan Test Cricket Sojourn", a summary of all Tests played by Pakistan.

All his books were well received and "Focus on Pakistan Cricket" has found an important place in International Cricket Council's (ICC) library at Lord's.

Going through the book one discovers that in all 25 captains have led Pakistan in both forms of cricket and have their own chapters. The write up is quite comprehensive despite being brief and highlights the high or low points of each one.

Their performance as a player and as a captain has been surveyed. Career records of the players as captain in both forms of cricket have been given at the end of the write-up. Each captain's sketch is accompanied by couple of his photographs in action.

Some of these photos are rare and help enhance the value of the volume. The one showing Hanif Mohammad returning to the pavilion after his memorable 337 is one such. Another interesting photo is the one in which Hanif Mohammad and Inzamam-ul-Haq, the two Pakistan triple-hundred makers are seen standing together. However, some of the photos are rather small and the reader has to make an effort to recognize the faces.

A very interesting feature of the book is the statistical section at the end that should interest any cricket statistician. It covers the individuals' performance in great detail as a captain against each country in tests and one-day internationals. It also provides a summary of their performance in all matches they played as captain.

The hardbound book is neatly laid out with an attractive cover, naturally the Pakistan green.

To me it is obvious Tariq and his team has taken pains to compile the volume and it's not just a cut-and-paste job. A venture involving records and statistics is tough in itself and one must appreciate the effort involved especially in Pakistan where very few books of this nature are published or researched.

All cricket lovers would hope Tariq Raz will continue his mission of enriching the stock of cricket books about Pakistan.