A great piece by Rob Smyth in The Guardian (UK), on the unheralded Pakistan Cricket Team of the 80s.

On second thoughts: Imran Khan's Pakistan

The legendary West Indies side of the 80s never managed to beat them, yet Pakistan's greatest side are nowhere near cricket's pantheon.

June 14, 2007 11:17 AM

Modern Test cricket can be akin to the school playground: the batting bullies prey upon frail bowlers who are given little or no support by both the authorities and their culture. But at least the damage has a natural limit: sticks and stones may break your bones, but X-rated figures will never hurt you. It was different in the 1980s, when West Indies' army of fast bowlers turned Test cricket into a war zone. They were armed with so much more than sticks and stones - when they brutalised England inside three days in Sabina Park in 1986 Wisden Cricket Monthly described it as "cricket's equivalent to the Somme". But amid the rubble and bodies left in their wake, one opponent stood proud and unbeaten. In three Test series against the otherwise omnipotent Windies in the late 80s and early 90s, Pakistan drew 1-1 each time.

That West Indies side is justly in cricket's pantheon, along with the contemporary Australians, the Invincibles, the lost South Africans of the 70s and England in the mid 50s. Yet the side they could not break are nowhere to be seen. The cornered tigers of 1992, who won the World Cup in such spectacular style, are the most celebrated side in Pakistan's history. But they only peaked for 15 giddy days: Imran's side did it for nearly 15 years. And, without Imran, the new breed were savaged in the Caribbean in 1992-93. Although there was crossover between the sides, they were essentially different in nature: the World Cup winners had an injection of youth in Inzamam-ul-Haq, Aqib Javed, Mushtaq Ahmed, Aamir Sohail and Moin Khan. Imran's 80s outfit were not so much cornered tigers as streetwise foxes, experienced, cute, and trusted by very few.

The only other sides to draw a series with West Indies in that period were India and New Zealand, each at home, but when they went to the Caribbean they were mangled. Not Pakistan. Their bald record suggests a very special side: they were the only team to win a Test in the Caribbean in the 80s, the only team to avoid defeat in a series in the Caribbean between 1974 and 1995, the only team to win a series in India between 1985 and 2000, and they did not lose a series outside Australasia (which, given the appreciable bounce, is the most unnatural habitat for a subcontinental batsman) between 1982 and 1993.

In that 11-year period they lost just 10 out of 80 Tests and, if their win-ratio in that time (33%, or 26 out of those 80 Tests) precludes the award of greatness, they were still an extremely formidable side. And at home - two defeats and 18 wins from 39 games - they were almost unbeatable. That leads us to the other, inevitable, caveat: umpiring. Before the advent of neutral umpires it was felt that outsiders were about as likely to get an LBW against Pakistan in Pakistan as they were a warm welcome in a redneck bar. Yet the statistics are not too damning. While Pakistan were given 164 LBWs to their opponents' 78 in the 80s, those only accounted for 21% of Pakistan's wickets as against 17% of their opponents. The statistics lend some support to a long-held view of partial officiating, but they cannot discredit this side's achievements.

This was a team that had almost everything, based around their two contrasting champions: Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, lover and streetfighter, stallion and rapscallion, regal leader and rascally lieutenant. Not that they were alone; quality and ruggedness oozed from every pore. There was an ultra-patient top order, including Mudassar Nazar, the resourceful Ramiz Raja and Shoaib Mohammad, whose methodology made Chris Tavare seem skittish; the majestic middle-order pair of Miandad and the bad-wicket genius Salim Malik, buttressed by Imran at No7 and the wicketkeeper-hitter Saleem Yousuf at No8. Then there was the most beautifully varied bowling attack imaginable: Imran and Wasim Akram, swinging and reverse-swinging the ball at paint-stripping pace from different angles, and the magical legspinner Abdul Qadir. So lean was the rest of the body that they could even carry traces of flab: the roles of sixth batsman and fourth bowler were never really filled.

Their battles with West Indies, in three series in 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1990-91, are forgotten epics of the game. In an age when flat pitches and high scores predominated, these were revelatory dogfights, low-scoring scraps of such quality and artistic integrity that they might have been produced by HBO: in four of the nine Tests the first-innings difference was 25 or under, and only one of 35 innings exceeded 400. Each time Pakistan won the first Test of a series; each time West Indies roared back like champions; each time Pakistan resisted an almost violently turning tide to emerge from the series with a draw. It is important to note that Viv Richards missed four of those nine Tests but, by the same token, Miandad, every bit as central to his side's runscoring - and, almost more importantly, identity - as Richards, and Malik also missed games.

All three were present for the first Test at Faisalabad in 1986-87 when Pakistan recovered from a first-innings deficit of 89 to rout West Indies by 186 runs, with Imran (4 for 30) and Qadir (6 for 16) shredding West Indies for 53, then their lowest-ever total. They fought back to batter Pakistan in the next Test, hustling them out for 131 and 77, and the series was drawn when Pakistan, chasing 213 to win the final Test, held on grimly at 125 for seven, with Imran and Tauseef Ahmed surviving the last hour and a half as the walls closed in.

Seventeen months later Pakistan began the return series with another crushing victory, by nine wickets, thanks mainly to stunning performances from Imran (11 for 121 in the match) and Miandad (an epic seven-hour 114). The second Test was drawn, with the last man Qadir surviving the final five deliveries after Pakistan had called off their improbable chase of 372 to end on 341 for nine. Then came a classic third Test: Pakistan's 309 played West Indies' 306 before Pakistan sneaked to 262. Chasing 266, West Indies looked dead and buried at 207 for eight, but Jeff Dujon stonewalled and the No10 Winston Benjamin cuffed them to an improbable victory that kept their proud unbeaten record alive. Ironically it was Pakistan who had cause to doubt the umpiring: Qadir had three huge shouts for the ninth wicket turned down and was so piqued that he punched a heckler, eventually settling out of court so that he could return to Pakistan.

When West Indies returned to Pakistan, in 1990-91, the hosts had lost a Qadir and found a Waqar Younis. It turned out to be a decent trade, and he took nine wickets as Pakistan breezed to victory by eight wickets in the first Test despite only three players reaching double figures in their first innings: Shoaib (86 in eight hours), Malik (102) and Imran (73 not out). History repeated as West Indies cantered home by seven wickets in the second Test, and again in the third as Imran - just as in 1986-87 - ensured a draw by batting five hours for an unbeaten 58 on the final day.

It was fitting that the last word went to Imran, because he lorded over these contests like a colossus. Despite a series of ailments he was Pakistan's only ever-present in those three series (West Indies had five). Nobody on either side got near his 45 wickets at the blistering average of 14.87, and he added 356 runs at 32.36 for good measure. At the age of 38, this was his last significant act in Test cricket. He could retire safe in the knowledge that he had not lost the final battle, and that he had never lost the war.

MUSH: Pakistan’s Dictator

If Gen. Pervez Musharraf were the democratic leader he indignantly insists he is, he would not be so busy threatening independent news outlets, arresting hundreds of opposition politicians and berating parliamentary leaders and ministers from his own party for insufficient loyalty to his arbitrary and widely unpopular policies.

But nobody takes General Musharraf’s democratic claims seriously anymore, except for the Bush administration, which has put itself in the embarrassing position of propping up the Muslim world’s most powerful military dictator as an essential ally in its half-baked campaign to promote democracy throughout the Muslim world. Washington needs to disentangle America, quickly, from the general’s damaging embrace.

Ever since his high-handed dismissal of the country’s independent-minded chief justice in March, the general has been busily digging himself into an ever deeper political hole.

Last week, he issued a decree giving himself increased powers to shut down independent television channels, but under mounting pressure he withdrew it over the weekend. More than 300 local political leaders in Punjab were arrested in an effort to head off protests against the decree. Still, thousands of lawyers, journalists and political activists gathered to protest the firing, the censorship and the general’s continued rule. Pakistan seems to be rapidly approaching a critical turning point, with a choice between intensified repression and instability or an orderly transition back to democratic rule.

Were Washington now to begin distancing itself from the general, it would greatly encourage civic-minded Pakistanis to step up the pressure for free national elections. That’s a process the chief justice was trying to make possible when he was fired. And that is what Pakistan’s last two democratically elected leaders — Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif — are both campaigning for from abroad. The United States should be supporting these efforts, not continuing to make excuses for General Musharraf.

Pakistan has its share of violent Islamic extremists, military and civilian. But they are clearly in the minority. The best hope for diluting their political, and geopolitical, influence lies not in heating the pressure cooker of repression, but in promoting the earliest possible democratic elections.

NYTimes: Editorial 14/06/2007

THE ART OF WAR
If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War


"The art of using troops is this:
......When ten to the enemy's one, surround him;
......When five times his strength, attack him;
......If double his strength, divide him;
......If equally matched you may engage him;
......If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing;
......And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him,
..........for a small force is but booty for one more powerful."
- Sun Tzu, the Art Of War

"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys.
Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!"
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to w in or lose.
-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

Some Quote..UnQuote's from Paulo:

... intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it's all written there.

people need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want.
"We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."


"I'm alive," he said to the boy, as they ate a bunch of dates one night, with no fires and no moon. "When I'm eating, that's all I think about. If I'm on the march, I just concentrate on marching. If I have to fight, it will be just as good a day to die as any other.

"Because I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. You'll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living right now


Meanwhile, the boy thought about his treasure. The closer he got to the realization of his dream, the more difficult things became. It seemed as if what the old king had called "beginner's luck" were no longer functioning. In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, nor impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path.

God placed them along my path. He had surprised himself with the thought. Until then, he had considered the omens to be things of this world. Like eating or sleeping, or like seeking love or finding a job. He had never thought of them in terms of a language used by God to indicate what he should do.


... meaning of love without ownership.


He felt sleepy. In his heart, he wanted to remain awake, but he also wanted to sleep. "I am learning the Language of the World, and everything in the world is beginning to make sense to me… even the flight of the hawks," he said to himself. And, in that mood, he was grateful to be in love. When you are in love, things make even more sense, he thought.

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"I make my living forecasting the future for people," he said. "I know the science of the twigs, and I know how to use them to penetrate to the place where all is written. There, I can read the past, discover what has already been forgotten, and understand the omens that are here in the present.


"When people consult me, it's not that I'm reading the future; I am guessing at the future. The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it, under extraordinary circumstances. How do I guess at the future? Based on the omens of the present. The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.

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"It's not what enters men's mouths that's evil," said the alchemist. "It's what comes out of their mouths that is."

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"You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love… the love that speaks the Language of the World.

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If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return."

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"There is only one way to learn," the alchemist answered. "It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey. You need to learn only one thing more.


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The boy continued to listen to his heart as they crossed the desert. He came to understand its dodges and tricks, and to accept it as it was. He lost his fear, and forgot about his need to go back to the oasis, because, one afternoon, his heart told him that it was happy. "Even though I complain sometimes," it said, "it's because I'm the heart of a person, and people's hearts are that way. People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly."


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"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."


"Every second of the search is an encounter with God," the boy told his heart. "When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I've known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I've discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve."

So his heart was quiet for an entire afternoon. That night, the boy slept deeply, and, when he awoke, his heart began to tell him things that came from the Soul of the World. It said that all people who are happy have God within them. And that happiness could be found in a grain of sand from the desert, as the alchemist had said. Because a grain of sand is a moment of creation, and the universe has taken millions of years to create it. "Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him," his heart said. "We, people's hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them—the path to their destinies, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.

"So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won't be heard: we don't want people to suffer because they don't follow their hearts."

"Why don't people's hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?" the boy asked the alchemist.

"Because that's what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don't like to suffer."
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What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up. It's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.'

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the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.

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When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed."

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'Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.' "


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