Previous Australian tours of Pakistan (5 October 1998)

5 October 1998

Previous Australian tours of Pakistan

Arshad Chughtai

PAKISTAN are playing host to an Australian cricket team for the eighth time. No other team has visited this country more than the Aussies. Their previous visits were in 1956, 1959-60, 1964, 1979-80, 1982, 1988 and 1994-95. Records from the previous trips prove that Pakistan has not been a happy hunting ground for the Aussies. They are yet to win a Test series on this soil in 39 years since Richie Benaud's team won their first extended series against Pakistan by 2-0 in 1959, which incidentally was also Pakistan's first ever defeat in a home series.

Pakistan's record on the Australian soil is equally dismal. Though they have toured Australia for equal number of times out of 23 Tests played they could win only 4 against 12 defeats and are yet to record a Test series victory there. Yet Pakistan's overall performance against Australia is quite competitive since out of 40 Tests played they have won 11 against 14 by their rivals.

Here under is a brief account of Australian teams' previous tours to Pakistan. 1956.

The Australia-Pakistan ties began in October 1956 when the inaugural Test match between the two countries was played at Karachi. Ian Johnson's Australian side on its way back from an unsuccessful tour of the Mother country were completely outplayed by Fazal Mehmood, one of the greatest bowler in the world at that time. By virtue of his performance the home team romped home with a magnificent 9 wicket victory. Though fascinating but interestingly it was also the slowest match on record by every reckoning as its first day produced only 95 runs, still a record for the fewest runs scored in a full days play (Australia 80 all out and Pakistan 15/2). The run out put on subsequent days was not much higher 184, 138 and 112. The match also market the end of the illustrious career of famous all-rounder K.R. Miller.

The Australians next visited Pakistan under the astute leadership of Richie Benaud in the winter of 1959. This time they were not tormented by Fazal Mehmood but on the contrary the home teams myth that they were invincible on a matting wicket was exploded when they were squarely beaten at Dacca by 8 wickets followed by another defeat by 7 wickets at the newly built stadium in Lahore, though on a turf wicket. The drawn third Test was highlighted mainly by the presence of the United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The series again produced record low scores for a complete days play 104 (4th day) at Karachi and 124 (4th day) at Dacca. Richie Benaud claimed 18 wickets and Norman Oneill, Saeed Ahmed and Hanif Mohammad scored centuries.

The third Australian visit to Pakistan was played characterised by a drawn game in Karachi with a record opening stand of 249 between debutantes "Billy" Khalid Ibadullah (166) and Wicket keeper Abdul Qadir (95) and two magnificent hundreds 153 and 115 by the Aussies skipper R B. Simpson. This was also the first of the 11 Tests Little Master Hanif Mohammad led Pakistan. The home team fielded six new comers, Asif Iqbal, Majid Khan, Shafqat Rana, Pervaiz Sajjad, Abdul Qadir and Khalid Ibadullah.

It took an usually long interval of 16 years for the next visit of Australians to this country when a strong team led by G.S. Chappel visited Pakistan and lost the Test series by 1-0. The present Pakistan coach Javed Miandad had just taken over the reins of captaincy from Asif Iqbal after the letters exist from the game at the end of an unsuccessful tour of India to become the youngest Pakistan skipper ever. This was perhaps the worst Test series for the great fast bowler Dennis Lille with figures of 0/98, 0/91 and 3/114 in 3 Tests. For Pakistan Iqbal Qasim, Tauseef Ahmed, Taslim Arif and Majid Khan were the outstanding performers.

The fifth Australian visit to Pakistan marked the 12th instance in entire Test cricket history when Pakistan clean swept the 3 Test series convincingly with victories by wide margins of 9 wickets, an innings and 3 runs and 9 wickets at Karachi, Faisalabad and Lahore respectively. Pakistan were led by Imran Khan and the visitors were skippered by Kim Hughes. Such great player like A.R. Border, R.W. Marsh, G.F. Lawson and T.M. Alderman were also included in the visiting side.

By the time Australians visited Pakistan for the sixth time A.R. Border's era of captaincy had already been well past 3 years and Pakistan were climbing back after their surprising failure in the 1987 World Cup semifinal. The Australian team comprised such great players as G.R Marsh, D.C. Boon, D.M. Jones, S.R. Waugh, I.A. Healy and B.R. Ried. Pakistan led by Javed Miandad recorded their victory by the largest margin ever, an innings and 188 runs at Karachi. Pakistan went on to win the series by 1-0.

Present skipper Mark Anthony Taylor commenced his captaincy tenure when he led the Aussies for the seventh visit to this country. Skippered by Saleem Malik who led from the front and scored 557 at an average of 92.83 the home team narrowly won the Karachi Test by one wicket and consequently the series, as the remaining two Tests were drawn.

Source :: The Dawn