Pakistan announce themselves
14-Jul-2014
A new cricketing force arrived at the Oval in 1954, when Pakistan, inspired by Fazal Mahmood, beat England for the first time. Peter Oborne recalls the dramatic events of that low-scoring Test match in this extract from his new book Wounded Tiger, published in the Telegraph.
Wazir's determined innings owed much to an inspired piece of amateur dramatics, which he recalled with relish nearly 50 years later. "I was hit on the front foot by an inswinging full toss from Statham. It was painful, but I could have carried on. However, I decided to stay on the ground, pretending that I could not get up ... I glimpsed the wicketkeeper, Godfrey Evans, from the corner of my eye and could see that he was taken in. He told Brian Statham to pitch it up because I would not be able to play on the front foot. In fact, I wanted the ball pitched up, because short balls on that wicket were much harder to face ... Statham and the other bowlers did pitch it up and I remembered to groan in pain and hop about when I used my front foot."