Waistline whittled as Inzamam looks for a diet of runs

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the solid Pakistan middle-order batsman, destroyed New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup semi-final at Eden Park, but as the years passed his waistline grew, and the wags reckoned Inzamam was now the perfect judge of the well-planned single.

Fast-runs twos and threes were to be left for the slim speedsters - as Inzamam was in 1992.

Yet Auckland Airport this morning brought a slimmer, trimmer Inzamam-ul-Haq in the Pakistan side for the coming New Zealand.

The weight had gone, said Inzamam, through a course of diet and exercises.

Javed Miandad, the Pakistani coach, was concerned that Inzamam might also have lost some of his hitting power along with the excess kilos.

So what was Inzamam's weight, now?

Inzamam measured the question as if it was a jammy long-hop.

"A secret" said Inzamam - as the question raced away to the fence.