Almanac Cricket: Pakistan visits Australia 1972

 

 

Pakistan visits Australia, 1972

 

When the touring Pakistan side stepped onto the Perth airport tarmac in the sun-drenched afternoon of 13 November 1972, the glare took most by surprise. It was unlike anything they had experienced, in stark contrast to the foggy, polluted, humid cities of their homeland. They arrived after a five-day tour of Sri Lanka. Two months of wet weather preceded the first international match following the country’s name change from Ceylon. Pakistan’s hope of avenging their 1964 defeat was thwarted by Duleep Mendis’s unbeaten 64 in the drawn stopover match.

 

Pakistan’s arrival in Australia drew minimal fanfare. No officials greeted them. Only press photographers captured the touring party, all in suits, led by a smiling, barrel-chested 31-year-old skipper, Intikhab Alam. In one photo, Sadiq Mohammad carries two Gray Nicolls bats; vice-captain Asif Iqbal holds a magazine and a carry-on bag; and the tall Asif Masood walks with a suit slung over his left arm. In the background, Majid Khan smiles.

 

Journalist and author Ray Robinson was surprised by Pakistan’s low-key arrival: ‘No team from the old world ever set foot so softly in Australia.’

 

Soon, the team coach was easing along the Great Eastern Highway, with the Pakistan players looking out the windows, wondering if they had just arrived in a big country town. The coach took them past service stations, car yards, and scrap metal yards, through Belmont, then through a mix of residential areas and emerging industrial estates. The city skyline, including its first ‘skyscraper,’ came into view, followed by 19th-century heritage buildings. Arriving in the late afternoon, the players were soon accommodated at the modern Parmelia Hotel, with its intimate lobby reminiscent of London’s Dorchester Hotel, a new swimming pool, a shopping mall, and a dedicated banquet floor. That night’s entertainment included a choice of television shows from the three city stations, ABC, Channel 7 and Channel 9, with options including current affairs – Four Corners, the Charles Schulz cartoon character Snoopy in an ice-skating show, and the 1966 American science-fiction horror film Seconds, starring Rock Hudson. Local cinemas had at least 15 movies screening, including the double feature of The Black Belly of the Tarantula and Weekend Murders. The R-rated Bedroom Mazurka, Clockwork Orange, and Percy were also playing. For the more cerebrally inclined, Roman Polanski’s Macbeth was screening at the Windsor cinema, which opened in 1937.

 

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Pakistan was led by 30-year-old all-rounder Intikhab Alam, with right-handed batsman Asif Iqbal as his deputy. The side consisted of: Asif Masood, Majid Khan, Majid Usman, Masood Iqbal, Mohammad Ilyas, Mushtaq Mohammad, Nasim Ul-Ghani, Pervez Sajjad, Sadiq Mohammad, Saeed Ahmed, Sarfraz Narwaz, Saleem Altaf, Talat Ali, Wasim Bari, Zaheer Abbass. The 17-man squad was a mix of youth and experience, with the oldest member aged 35 and the youngest 19.

 

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The following day, the Pakistan team’s coach pulled into the WACA car park. At the nets, Pakistan’s pace bowlers noticed the steepling bounce of the surface, made from alluvial black clay sourced from the banks of the Harvey River south of Perth. The batsmen, more accustomed to the slower, lower wickets of home, were grappling with steepling lift off a good length. Mushtaq Mohammad, who had faced Dennis Lillee for Northamptonshire just months earlier, wondered what it would be like to face Australia’s paceman on the hard, fast WACA pitch.

 

On the eve of their opening match against a Western Australian colts side, Mushtaq walked out to the middle of the ground. The rhythmic ch-ch-ch-ch of the sprinklers echoed as the Fremantle Doctor arrived, slowly cooling the interior after Perth’s mini heatwave. With the mercury still at 35 degrees Celsius, Mushtaq noticed Roy Abbott, the WACA groundsman, hosing down the pitch. The square was so soaked that Mushtaq couldn’t see a blade of grass. ‘Are we playing here tomorrow or somewhere else?’ he asked. ‘Don’t worry, mate, the pitch will be bone dry,’ Abbott replied. Mushtaq walked off, unsure whether the surface would be match-ready the following day. But it was, and Mushtaq scored an undefeated 100 in the drawn one-day encounter.

 

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Pakistan’s tour of Australia ran from November 1972 to mid-January 1973. There were 10 fixtures, including four first-class matches and three back-to-back Tests. The Australian Cricket Board did Pakistan few favours with the scheduling. Phil Wilkins described the tour as ‘ill-balanced and unimaginative, … prepared at short notice, the itinerary reflected the Australian Board of Control’s concern that it would not be a success.’ Despite this, Pakistan’s visit featured some of the most extraordinary Test match finishes in the game’s history. There was also plenty of controversy. By January 11, Australia had won the series 3-0, and two members of Pakistan’s touring side had been ‘ordered home’ for disciplinary reasons.

 

Barry Nicholls is writing about Pakistan’s 1972/73 tour of Australia, which has been largely forgotten.

 

Note that the location and road names are as they were in 1972.

 

You can read more from Barry Nicholls Here

 

 

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