Pakistani Cricket Players

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Zaheer Abbas

Zaheer Abbas Biography
Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani (Urdu: سید ظہیر عباس کرمانی) (born 24 July 1947) is a former Pakistani cricketer regarded as one of the finest batsmen produced by that country. Zaheer played his first Test in 1969, and in his very second Test he scored 274 against England, still the fourth ever highest score by a Pakistani batsman. This was the first of four double-centuries Abbas made; only six men have scored more. Abbas, fondly called the 'Run Machine', also had great success in first-class cricket, and is the only Asian batsman to have scored one hundred first class centuries. He also had a long stint with Gloucestershire; joining the county in 1972, he remained there for thirteen years. During that time he scored over a thousand runs in the majority of his thirteen seasons. He also made over two thousand runs in a single season on two occasions for the club (1976 and 1981). During those thirteen years at Gloucestershire he played 206 First Class games, scoring over 16,000 runs. He averaged 49.79, hitting 49 100s and 76 50s. Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian Test captain, has said while commentating that the Indian players would often say to Zaheer, \"Zaheer Ab-bas karo\", which means \"Zaheer, stop it now\" in Urdu and Hindi, referring to Abbas' free scoring. He remains the second highest on the all-time ICC ODI batting rankings. Zaheer retired from international cricket in 1985, and has officiated as a match referee in one Test and three ODI matches. Zaheer is known in Pakistan as the \"Asian Bradman\", a reference to former Australian great Sir Donald Bradman.

Zaheer Abbas

Zaheer Abbas 274 vs England 1st test 1971

Zaheer Abbas 108 off 110 balls V Australia

1981 world series

Moin Khan

Moin Khan Biography

Mohammad Moin Khan (born September 23, 1971) popularly known as Moin Khan is a Pakistani cricketer (wicketkeeper and batsman) and member of the Pakistani national cricket team since 1990. He has also captained the Pakistani side. He was born in Rawalpindi, Punjab. He made his international debut against the West Indies at Multan. He has taken over 100 catches in Test cricket. He has scored over 3,000 ODI runs and taken over 200 catches in ODI cricket. He is the credited with coining the name of the mystery delivery of Saqlain Mushtaq that went from leg to off as the doosra. He is no longer part of the national side, and has returned to playing first class cricket. In 2005 Moin scored the first century in Pakistan domestic 20-20 cricket when he smashed 112 off 59 balls for Karachi Dolphins against Lahore Lions in the ABN-AMRO 20-20 Cup. At the end of the season he retired from cricket finishing with 200 not out against Hyderabad, his highest first class score. In January 2007 he was arrested in Pakistan for assaulting his wife, Tasneem Khan.In 2007, Moin signed with the unofficial Indian Cricket League and coached the Hyderabad Heroes. In the 2008 edition of the competition he coached the expansion team, the Lahore Badshahs.

Moin Khan

Moin Khan 63 v South Africa WC 1999

Moin Khan 31* of 12 Vs Australia 1999 World Cup

Monday, June 18, 2012

Mohammad Asif

Mohammad Asif Biography
Mohammad Asif is a professional cricketer born on December 20, 1982 in Sheikhupura, Punjab, Pakistan. He is a specialist right-arm fast-medium bowler and is also a left-handed batsman.
On January 2, 2005, Mohammad Asif made his Test debut for the Pakistani side in a match against Australia at Sydney. In the following year, he was included in the squad for the home series against India. During this series, Mohammad Asif took his first Test wicket of Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh. He proved his bowling skill in the third Test and finished with the bowling figure of 4 for 78 in the first innings that gave his team the necessary lead and contributed to his team’s victory by scalping four major wickets in the second innings, which include Virender Sehwag, V V S Laxman, and Sachin Tendulkar. With his impressive performance, Mohammad Asif made a name for himself in the international cricketing world. He carried on this good form in the next series in Sri Lanka, and achieved his career best figure of 11/71 that contributed to his side’s victory in the second Test. During Pakistan’s tour to England, he made an impact in the fourth Test at Oval by picking up five wickets. He maintained his winning momentum in the following series against South Africa in 2007. In this series, Mohammad Asif claimed 17 wickets and was soon ranked eighth in the LG International Cricket Council (ICC) Test player rankings after only nine appearances, a record, which was previously achieved by former Pakistani cricketers Waqar Younis and Pervez Sajjad. For his impressive bowling display in this series, he received appreciations from various cricketing greats such as Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan and late Pakistan coach, Bob Woolmer. As of 2008, Mohammad Asif has taken a total of 51 wickets from 11 Tests at an average of 23.13 with an economy rate of 3.03.

Mohammad Asif made his One Day International (ODI) debut on December 21, 2005 in a match against England at Rawalpindi. As of 2008, he has taken a total of 36 wickets from 31 ODIs at average of 33.27 with the career best figure of 3/28. Mohammad Asif made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut against England on August 28, 2006 in which he became the first bowler in cricketing history to bowl a maiden in T20I and also scalped the wickets of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss. In 2008, Mohammad Asif signed with the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Delhi Daredevils on a contract worth $650,000. During the first season of IPL, he took 8 wickets from 8 games with a personal best of 2/19 versus Deccan Chargers.

Mohammad Asif

Mohammad Asif

mohammad asif wickets

Mohammad Asif 5/77 against England 2010

Misbahul Haq

Misbahul Haq Biography
Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi (born May 28, 1974) is a Pakistani cricketer. Misbah is known for his cool headed batting especially under pressure. Outside of cricket he has done an MBA from the University of Management Technology, Lahore. Misbah was initially noticed for his technique and his temperament in the Tri-nation tournament in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002, as he scored two fifties in the three innings in which he played, however, over the next three Tests he played against Australia, he failed to score more than twenty runs and was soon dumped from the team. Having witnessed Pakistan being eliminated in the opening phase of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Misbah was part of the changes made to the team in the aftermath of these results, but failed to make much of an impact and was soon dropped again. At the age of 33, Misbah was chosen to play in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, filling the middle order spot vacated by Inzamam-ul-Haq. He had been regularly making runs in Pakistani domestic cricket and in the years before his recall he was consistently one of the top run scorers at each season's end, with his first-class average briefly climbing above 50. Misbah was one of the stars of the tournament, playing a large part in many thrilling run chases. The first was in the group stage against India where he scored a half century in a tied match. He was run out attempting the winning run off the last ball of the match. In their Super 8s encounter with Australia he was named Man of the Match with an unbeaten 66 off 42 deliveries to see his side home with 5 balls to spare. Another unbeaten innings in the semi final against New Zealand saw Pakistan book a spot in the final against India. He played an instrumental role in Pakistan's recovery in the inaugural 2007 ICC World Twenty20 final against arch-rivals India, with 3 consecutive sixes. The sixes came off Harbhajan Singh's last over of the match. With 6 runs needed to win off 4 remaining balls, Misbah tried to scoop the ball over short fine leg, but was caught out by Sreesanth. Misbah scored his maiden Test hundred against India at Kolkata in the 2nd Test of the 2007 series. After India managed 616 in their first innings, Pakistan were at 5 for 150 in reply and in danger of following on when Misbah and Kamran Akmal put together a match saving 207 run stand. Misbah finished on 161 not out. In the 3rd & final Test of the series, Misbah made another fluent century this time finishing on 133 not out. 2008 began with some high points for Misbah as he was elevated to the post of Vice - Captain of the Pakistan team and was awarded a Grade A Contract. Since returning to International Cricket for Pakistan, Misbah has gone through a sustained patch of prolific run scoring. In his last 5 Test Match innings for Pakistan, he has notched up 458 runs at a very high batting average of 152.67 against India.In his last 5 ODIs as well, Misbah has made 190 Runs at an average of 63.33 & in Domestic Cricket for Punjab, he has amassed an astounding 586 runs at an average of 195.33 with 2 centuries and his highest first-class score of 208 not out.

Misbah-ul -Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbahul Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq 70* v India - Asia Cup 2008

Misbah ul Haq Brilliance vs Harbhajan
Singh Video

Javed Miandad

Javed Miandad Biography
Javed Miandad was Pakistan’s enfant terrible and a batting warrior for Pakistan cricket. He became famous after hitting the winning six on the last ball of the match in the April 1986 match at Sharjah against the Indian bowler Chetan Sharma [ who no doubt was trying to bowl a Yorker , instead let loose with the famous ball type exemplified by the joke "umpire to batsmen taking guard – yes what do you want – batsmen – a full toss on the leg side" ]. This led many a Pakistani calling up their Indian friends on the phone and saying, " This is Miandad speaking ". His other memorable, gritty performances, and there are many, are documented in this delightful book which is a must for every South Asian cricket lover for a rainy day, weekend/ bedtime as well as a serious cricketer’s reading.
Miandad will always be remembered in the annals of Pakistan as not just a street fighting cricketer but a world class batsman and one whose understanding and deep knowledge of the game has led him to become the coach for the present Pakistan team. His current task [not an easy one] is to lead the Pakistani batting line-up out of the woods.
"Cuttting Edge" is his biography written with the help of his friend Dr. Saad Shafqat .For a cricket lover this is a gem of a book, describing how time and again, the Pakistan cricket team has been blessed with raw unknown outsiders who have made their mark in International cricket. From the anecdote of Wasim Akram, who bowled to him in the nets at Karachi in 1984 [ and was so green that he asked Miandad how much money he should take when he got selected for England] , to Miandad’s early childhood days playing street cricket in Ranchore Lines in Karachi [ using the secret weapon of a tennis ball wrapped up in plastic insulating tape to give extra bounce / swing ] and making his first Test hundred [ 163 ] in his first Test appearance in Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium on October 9, 1976 against a pace attack of Hadlee [ which reduced Pakistan to 44 for 3] , this book is Miandad’s way of telling the story of his rise and rise from the humble streets of Karachi to the sophisticated cricket grounds of Lords in London. Miandad writes endearingly of how his father [a cotton expert and grader at the Karachi Stock Exchange ] and his father’s best friend A.R.Mahmood [ who taught him to play straight bat in the V area between cover and mid-wicket in the early opening of an innings] became the influences of his boyhood cricket days as a batsman, although he would do everything – bowling off-breaks, and wicket keeping in school. There are 23 Chapters , with a chapter on the "Sharjah" match with India , another one on "Wars with India" , his batting in the World Cup of 1992. There is one entitled " In search of 365 " [ how to get into the bowlers frame of mind and anticipate his next type of ball ] another entitled " Tit for Tat with the West Indies " [ 1987-88 when West Indies and Pakistan were at their peaks –with players such as Lloyd , Richards , Walsh , Ambrose, Marshall . In all these chapters what finally comes through is that Miandad fought for his mark as a world class batsman [ in the league of the top 10 - ]. There are places where Miandad gets stuck on a sticky issue , where he is at pains to show that there was no squabble between him and Imran Khan, but this is contradicted in another chapter called " Picking the gaps " where he rants and raves against the "Oxbridge complex ".
His apologies to Amarnath in the Jaipur match show his character. Many of his words make him come out as a God fearing humble human being. In fact what comes out of this book and this is what Miandad also says is that character is what makes a batsman. Miandad’s praise for other cricketers – especially Gavaskar, his sense of humor and his famous remark to an opposition bowler to provide him with his hotel room number for he wanted to dispatch the ball straight there. Miandad’s opinion on the best batsmen, bowlers are interesting insights into the extreme competition within the sport [ only 8 countries play this game - 4 from south Asia]. These are wonderful joyous words that make one feel the game of cricket is indeed a great game – slightly colonial in its five-day test series - and that South Asians know that and have produced masters such as Miandad.

Javed Miandad

Javed Miandad last ball sixer

Javed Miandad 107 Vs South Africa 1993