Harking back to a more dangerous era
With Pakistan set to begin their tour today against the West Indies, Sohaib Alvi, writing for Dawn, looks back to a different era, when Pakistani players feared for their lives against a fearsome pace bowling contingent, and had to suffer with cond
14-Jul-2013
With Pakistan set to begin their tour today against the West Indies, Sohaib Alvi, writing for Dawn, looks back to an era when Pakistani players would fear for their lives against the pace contingent the islands produced. Alvi mentions that back then, scoring a century felt like a double with the prevalent conditions, and batsmen could not hide behind their protective shell as they can today.
"Hanif Mohammad batted in an era of fearsome fast bowlers. There were no fancy laboratories at Perth to decipher how much the fast bowler's elbow was bending on delivery. When you toured in a place like West Indies, there were home umpires who smiled at you when you were hit on the chest. Remember, there were no chest guards, wrist protectors and, would you believe it, no helmet; just a cotton cap that helped to shade the searing heat from burning your skin."