Sparks fly when Australia meets Pakistan

Columnist

By Kersi Meher-Homji, 18 Apr 2009 Kersi Meher-Homji is a Roar Expert

Tagged:: Australian Cricket, Cricket, Dennis Lillee, Javed Miandad, Pakistan cricket

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Pakistani batsman Shoaib Malik sends a delivery towards the boundary during the Canada Cup 20/20 game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in King City, Ontario, on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Chris Young)

In the green and gold corner is seated the champ, exhausted after throwing his fists around for full fourteen rounds for months on end. He has that tired, “I wanna go home,” expression on his punched up face. His gloves are sweaty and have holes.

In the dark green corner is the challenger, rusty after hardly boxing in a year. His gloves have not been worn for a while and appear stiff and clumsy.

I refer to the Australia Vs Pakistan ODI series in United Arab Emeritus starting on Wednesday.

The Australian cricket team has been playing non-stop from October 2008, in three countries and against three countries (two of them formidable opponents: South Africa and India), home and away.

With stars and established performers Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Stuart MacGill, Brad Hogg and Matthew Hayden retiring, fast bowlers Brett Lee and Stuart Clark and all-rounder Shane Watson not always fit, Michael and David Hussey out of form, and Andrew Symonds having personal problems, Australia do not look as invincible as they did a few seasons ago.

And to make it worse, there is no quality spinner in sight.

Pakistan’s woes are entirely different.

While Australia is overdone and fatigued, Pakistan is raw and underdone. Countries have refused to tour Pakistan of late. And with good reason.

Nevertheless, Australia and Pakistan have provided exciting encounters on the field.

Result-wise Australia has triumphed, but with gladiators Imran and Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Sarfraz Nawaz, Intikhab Alam, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shoaib Akhtar, there were always punches and counter-punches.

The most unforgettable and unpleasant episode was the on-field altercation between Pakistan captain Javed Miandad and Australia’s fast bowler Dennis Lillee in the Perth Test of 1981.

Miandad claimed that Lillee had kicked him when he was completing a run.

Lillee defended that it was only an ankle tap.

Enraged, Miandad lifted his bat as if to strike the Australian quickie. Miandad later claimed that it was only a mocking gesture.

While Lillee was suspended for two one-day internationals, Miandad escaped without a reprimand.

There have been many other instances of rancour as both countries play aggressive win-at-all-cost cricket. But whereas Australians are mostly one-for-all and all-for-one, Pakistanis have had many factions and in-fighting in the past.

Only Imran could unite them and under him Pakistan won their only World Cup, at Melbourne in 1992.

With Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey resting, and Lee still unfit, will Pakistan topple the demoralized Aussies, the World Cup winners of 1999, 2003 and 2007 but now ranked number three in one-dayers?

Pakistan are terrific one day and terrible the next. Which Pakistan will Michael Clarke’s Australians encounter in UAE next week?

Who will deliver the knock-out punch?

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The Crowd Says (5) | Page 1 of Comments

Kersi Meher-Homji said | April 18th 2009 @ 8:38am | Report comment

Since writing this story late last evening, Australia beat South Africa in the fifth and final ODI. Now the Aussies are ranked no. 2 in ODIs and not no.3 as mentioned in my article.
Kersi Meher-Homji
kersi5@bigpond.com

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Rabbitz said | April 18th 2009 @ 3:11pm | Report comment

At the risk of sounding jaded and probably a bit like a fair weather supporter, but frankly I am really struggling to even generate a hearty “Who Cares?”.

The cricket season has dragged on interminably. It seems the Australians have been playing against South Africa for months and months now, with ragged and polar displays from both sides. Now we are to be presented with yet more games of unpredicable quality, from both teams.

We are in week 9 (?) of the Super Rugby season, week 6 of the NRL, round 4 of the AFL, so I seems to me that the cricketers should have faded back into “off-season obscurity”.

A series at a neutral venue, with a neutral crowd with play of a variable quality and intensity… Is this a case of “too much of a goood thing” and should probably be a time for “absense making the heart grow fonder”?

For one, I won’t be working out the time difference between Oz and the UAE or even setting the PVR to tape it. It really is a case of I just can’t be bothered.

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sheek said | April 18th 2009 @ 9:08pm | Report comment

Kersi,

My first Aussie-Paki series that I followed was 1972/73. Australia beat the Pakis by an innings in the first test, then won the 2nd & 3rd from improbable positions. Pakistan should definitely have won the 3rd.

In the 3rd test in Sydney, Pakistan only needed 159 for victory, but were bowled out for 106. Lillee did severe damage to his back, bowling through pain for 3-68, while Walker took an unbelievable 6-15 off 16 overs. In their 2nd innings, the Aussies gained breathing space that eventually saved them, when bowlers Bob Massie & test rookie spinner Johnny Watkins put on a 9th wicket partnership of 83. That ultimately saved them!

Rod Marsh recalls coming out to bat, & one of the Pakistani fielders politely wishing him “much success today”. He was so stunned he got a duck!

In 1976/&7 it was obvious the Pakistanis had found a new steel, levelling the series 1-1. Imran Khan had finally delivered on his promise, while a teenaged Javed Miandad struggled. In 1978/79, Sarfraz Nawaz did a ‘Mankad’ on an Australian batsman, with Aussie paceman Rodney Hogg threatening to knock his block off.

Then in 1981/82, alley cat Javed Miandad threatened to knock Lillee’s head off with his bat. Ahhhh, those were the days. I loved Javed, especially the way he could get Lillee so incensed. You knew it was a game with him, as he broke into that cheeky grin of his. If anyone lost their cool, then Javed knew he had won the mind battle.

I don’t know, it was different back then. Whether it was better might be a matter of biased opinion. But not only did you have quality cricketers, but you had extraordinary characters.

I’m sure Spiro can find an appropriate Greek anecdote, but isn’t sport about being at each other’s throats on the field, then retiring to the bar or restaurant together to relive the day’s events? Underpinning it all is deep, mutual respect.

Apparently, in Norse mythology, fallen warriors go to the great hall in the sky of Valhalla. There they fight all day, & that night they drink, eat, sing & make merry all night. Their wounds have healed, & the next day, they do it all over again.

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Brett McKay said | April 19th 2009 @ 3:00pm | Report comment

Rabbitz, I’m glad someone said it. The UAE series represents everything that is wrong with international cricket scheduling currently – who cares indeed…

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drewster said | April 19th 2009 @ 4:15pm | Report comment

Yes Brett and Rabbitz I think the word is “Overkill”, Even for a cricket tragic like myself this series just doesn’t do it for me. Too soon after the SA tour and too close to the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. I’ve shown more interest following the Afghanistan cricket team and their effort to make the world cup than this up coming series. Still: CARN! THE AUSSIES!!!

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