WINNING RECOGNITION   

Pakistan and England’s rivalry in Tests goes back to 1951 where the Green Caps came out on top

England’s Test tour of Pakistan is underway in Rawalpindi after a gap of 17 long years.

The rivalry between the teams is not a new one and not everyone will know that the Green Caps’ journey of securing a full-Test status was down to their historic win against the visiting English team more than seven decades back.

It was December 1951. The Karachi Gymkhana was all decked up for the event. A full-fledged England side (MCC as England touring teams were then called) tour of Pakistan was sandwiched between the Test Matches they were playing in India.

The visitors had already played a drawn four day unofficial ‘Test’ in Lahore. Now it was Karachi’s turn to host the tourists. Karachi was at the time the capital city of Pakistan. And from there the tourists were scheduled to leave for India again to continue their tour.

The matches were titled in apostrophes because Pakistan was not yet a full member of the ICC (at the time it stood for Imperial Cricket Conference) and hence the Test match statistics and result would not feature the performances in the Official Test records.

Pakistan were led by Abdul Hafeez Kardar and England by Nigel Howard.

The visiting team’s captain won the toss and decided to bat, sending in Robertson and Lowson against the opening bowlers of Pakistan, Khan Mohammad and Anwar Hussain.

The pitch of course was coir matting, as was the tradition in Pakistan in those days.  There was slow progress as both the opening bowlers bowled accurately to a good line and length with Khan Mohammad bowling the occasional bouncer.

The fielding was on edge too with Hanif Mohammad behind the stumps neat in his gathering. Hanif was at the time a schoolboy and his talent as opener and wicketkeeper had been picked up early by the selectors.

When the score reached 11 Pakistan rejoiced in its first success as Khan Mohammad shot down the stumps of Lowson with the last ball of his fifth over. Tom Graveney came in next and immediately get into his groove by driving Khan Mohammad twice with immaculate timing.

Kardar decided to make a change and brought in Fazal Mahmood for Anwar Hussain from the Club Road End. It proved an expensive change as Robertson cuts him to the point boundary and later in the over Graveney glanced him for four to fine leg. Nine runs came in Fazal’s first over.

From the other end, UR Chippa replaced Khan Mohammad who had given away only nine runs in his seven overs. Fazal had his revenge not too later. And in quite incredible circumstances.

He pitched one outside leg and left Robertson stunned as he uprooted his leg stump. It had been a fast leg cutter and the world was going to know more about it. But for now, Robertson walked back shaking his head. England were now 35-2.

Donald Kenyon was the next man in and Kardar brought back Khan Mohammad a while later after Chippa had bowled two maidens. Both batsmen played and missed and employed a cautious approach as the bowlers reigned supreme.

Then at 11 am, the crowd which had swelled to 8,000, stood up for a two-minute silence in memory of Quaid-e-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan who had been assassinated some six weeks earlier in Rawalpindi.

When play resumed Graveney was caught brilliantly off Fazal by Imtiaz Ahmed who was at the time not keeping wickets for Pakistan. England now were at the mercy of Khan Mohammad and Fazal Mahmood with the latter taking three wickets in succession to make England 59-5 including the wicket of Allan Watkins who had made a defiant hundred against India in the first Test there.

At one time, Fazal had figures of 11-3-20-3 and considering his first over had gone for nine, these were remarkable figures.

English captain Nigel Howard now walked out to join vice-captain Donald Carr who had come in at the fall of the fourth wicket and the two took England to lunch.

But after the interval, both fell within a run of each other to Khan Mohammad to left England reeling at 86-7.

After Shackleton left with the score 90, caught and bowled by Fazal, some crafty batting by Brennan and Statham primarily through cuts and glances steadied the tourists.

Then a snicked boundary through slips off Khan Mohammad brought up the tourists 100 after which Brennan hit another four. At the other end, Statham glanced Fazal for four and both tailenders were now on the aggressive.

Kardar brought in the spinner UR Chippa who was soon hoisted for a six by Statham. The Pakistani captain decided on another tactic and replaced Fazal, who had bowled 24 overs without a stretch, with Amir Elahi and brought him on from the other end.

His first ball from the other end brought success as Fazal got one to crash into Statham’s stumps. At that point, a small boy ran onto the field and gave Fazal one rupee! Perhaps an overjoyed father had sent him as his messenger. Fazal smiled and returned the ‘tip’.

The England innings was soon wrapped up as Amir Elahi snared Brennan in giving a dolly catch to Chippa and MCC were all out for 123 in 63.3 overs, a score that was embarrassing for the Englishmen whose Test side was playing against a side not recognized by the ICC despite playing against visiting teams for the last three years.

For Pakistan Fazal had bagged 6-40 in 24 overs and Khan Mohammad 3-45 in 20.

Pakistan now started their innings through Nazar Mohammad and Hanif Mohammad who faced Statham and Shackleton.  In Statham’s very first over, Nazar hurt his middle finger as he tried to fend away a ripper.

Hanif opened his account with a square cut for two but clearly, the batsmen were having a torrid time as they played and missed some stifling bowling by the English pair.

Hanif was the first to go after Tea as he was held in the slips off Shackleton who clean bowled Ghazali next ball. Pakistan were struggling at 9-2 and soon after Statham snared Nazar in the slips to make it 15-3. England were on a roll and were giving back as good as they got from the Pakistani pacers.

It was now that Imtiaz Ahmed and Maqsood Ahmed got together to steady the rocking ship. Imtiaz especially decided that an attack would be the best form of defence. He dispatched Shackleton to the boundary on the leg side and next over again sent him to the ropes.

Maqsood taking his cue from the belligerent Imtiaz, played a flashing late cut to the boundary and the two continued taking more runs off the pair.

When the score reached 40, Howard substituted Shackleton with left arm spinner Watkins from the Pavilion End but to no avail.

Eventually the 50 of the innings came up as Maqsood, off the back foot, drove Watkins to a boundary amidst loud cheers from the packed crowd.

In desperation, Howard brought back Shackleton from the Club Road end and Maqsood greeted the change with a ferocious four. That was not working Carr came on and for the first time, the attack was in the hands of two left-arm spinners.

However, runs came fluently from the batting pair and by stumps there was no further loss; Pakistan finished on 73-3 with Imtiaz and Maqsood unbeaten on 38 and 20.

The next day, the Pakistan government announced that its offices will close at 2 pm on Saturday to enable the employees to go and watch the cricket match. Such was the excitement in the city about this game.

 Imtiaz and Maqsood resume the innings. However, Maqsood’s leg has been badly bruised after a straight ball from Statham hit him a day earlier and he came out with a runner.

Nevertheless, he took a four off Shackleton, a lovely cover drive while Imtiaz uncharacteristically played a maiden over from Statham. But being uneasy in his footwork, he tried to attack from the crease with two bold tries and missed until Statham cleaned him up with an inswinger. Maqsood out for 24 and Pakistan were 78-4.

Kardar didn’t last long, caught in the slips by Carr off Statham and Pakistan suffered a serious blow when Watkins at leg-slip brought about a spectacular catch inches from the ground. It was an unfortunate dismissal and against the form that Imtiaz was in, batting unperturbed by the speed and swing of Statham and Shackleton.

The two English pacers then ran through the lower middle-order, dismissing Anwar Hussain and Khan Mohammad and Pakistan suddenly lost the initiative at 86-8.

 Umpire Daud was to say later that Anwar’s dismissal was unusual. He had gone on the back foot and tried to pull Shackleton and his back foot hit his wicket in the process, microseconds before the ball also crashed onto his stumps.

The scorecard showed Anwar clean bowled but it actually should read Hit Wicket as that mode of dismissal occurred first. Whatever it was an irresponsible shot that ended up costing Pakistan. At the other end, Khan Mohammad was bowled off his pads.

Fazal Mahmood then came to Pakistan’s rescue with some fine batting. He hit fours off both bowlers and in partnership with Chippa, who was content to rotate the strike, added 39 for the ninth wicket.

Fazal was eventually caught by Graveney off Watkins for 29 and though last man Amir Elahi hit his very first ball from Watkins for a four, he was induced into hitting Tattersall to the fine leg fielder.

Pakistan were thus all out for 130 in 44.2 overs. Though disappointed but considering they were at one time 86-8, a seven-run lead seemed a psychological plus. And they had scored their runs at a much faster rate.

The visitors started their second innings cautiously 15 minutes before lunch and after the interval, the approach was more about wait and see.

It was clear they did not want to make the mistakes the home side had made that morning with a couple of adventurous shots.

However, Robertson was caught behind when the score reached 21 off Khan Mohammad. Could Pakistan repeat their first innings breakthrough at the top of the innings?

The fact that Kardar had to take off Fazal Mahmood after he had bowled some 10 overs showed that Lowson and Graveney were in a more commanding mood.

That didn’t necessarily mean they scored faster but they were in control of the bowling.  Both Lowson and Graveney took fours off Amir Elahi and Khan Mohammad showed that they had by now read the pitch well as well as the line and length of the bowlers.

Eventually, Kardar changed Khan Mohammad for Chippa and launched an all-spin attack.

However, nothing seemed to work. Elahi’s 3 overs ended up costing 17 but then he had Lowson dropped at slip with the score 74 and just failed to reach a return catch offered by Graveney.

Just how much the tourists were in command of the bowling could be seen by the fact that the 100 came up in just 105 minutes of batting.

Nevertheless, Pakistan struck soon after through Amir Elahi. He had Lowson caught behind by Hanif and off the very first ball of his next over, Hanif repeated the moment by also catching Kenyon for a duck.

The score was now 110-3 and Pakistan were back in the game. The crowd had by then swelled to around 14,000 and all vantage points had been taken. Some spectators had perched themselves on trees to watch the match and some were watching from the balcony of the nearby Palace Hotel.

Watkins had now joined Graveney and almost immediately cover drove Elahi to the boundary. Graveney by comparison had a life as he attempted to drive Fazal and Hanif behind the wickets this time was unable to grasp the chance. With that snick Graveney reached his half-century in 75 minutes.

Watkins meanwhile was getting on top of the bowling and fiercely drove Fazal to the ropes and at tea England were 123-3, equal to their first innings score but now with 7 wickets in hand and in front by 116 runs. Things were looking difficult for the home side.

After Tea, Fazal and Khan Mohammad started the proceedings but with little success; in fact, they were pretty expensive. Watkins especially took the task to them. In Fazal’s second over, he hooked him twice to the boundary and then turned on Khan Mohammad for two more fours.

 Graveney was content to give the strike to Watkins who was monopolizing the batting. The 150 of the innings came up and there seemed no respite until Fazal produced an absolute beauty and with an off-cutter drew Watkins forward to send his stumps flying. Watkins had a short stay but got to 29 and the score was 151-4 with Graveney batting on 61.

That was to be the last wicket Pakistanis got on the second day. Carr, the next man, moved in singles as did Graveney until he opened up pulling Amir Elahi to the boundary and then off the back foot cover driving Fazal for another four.

Carr eventually opened up and mimicked Graveney by taking similar boundaries off the two bowlers. By the close of play, the score had reached 189-4 with Graveney batting on 81 and Carr on 16.

The next day was Saturday and the crowd built up throughout the day, especially after 2 pm. They were not disappointed as some exciting cricket was in the offing if the Pakistani bowlers could take some quick wickets.

Predictably, Kardar threw in his two ace pacers and the first to go was Carr after he had hooked Fazal for four. He tried it again against the faster Khan Mohammad and was easily gobbled up at deep fine leg by Ghazali.

The 200 of the innings came up as skipper Howard, the next man in, drove for three. But the Pakistani bowlers persisted even though there were some gaps in the fielding quality. Not too long after Khan had Howard lbw, Graveney was playing him with a great deal of aggression, driving him twice to the boundary.

But the good thing was that Pakistan were getting wickets at regular intervals.  Only Graveney now stood between them among the specialist batsmen. He soon reached his century, compiled in 150 minutes and with eight fours.

The crowd numbering around 9,000 cheered his effort. It had been a tremendous knock, not without chances but under the circumstances crucial to his team keeping their nose ahead.

Now he had Shackleton as a partner and the pace bowler was all pumped up. He took two fours off Fazal and was on course for a cameo when Chippa got him to sky one and Anwar Hussain held the catch near the boundary line. The tourists were now 259-7, ahead by over 150 which was already a tough target for a fourth-innings chase.

 Kardar was struggling. Many felt his bowling changes were faulty and that Amir Elahi and Chippa should have bowled more. Plus he has not used himself and Ghazali as a bowler. There has been too much reliance on Fazal and Khan Mohammad.

The ball was in Chippa’s hand nevertheless and he tosses one up to Graveney. He took the bait offered and lifts the ball high. Anwar Hussain at deep mid-on gulped it down and the mainstay of the MCC has departed for a crafty 123. It was now 275-8.

Brennan was now looking for partners in the tail. He lost Tattersall quickly caught at short-leg by Chippa off Khan Mohammad and three balls after lunch went Statham, again to Khan Mohammad, who shattered his stumps to finish with 5-88 in 25.3 overs. Chippa and Amir Elahi finished with a couple of wickets each and the visitors finished on 291 in 99.3 overs.

 Pakistan had been set a target of 285. It was a difficult one and all the more improbable because of their puerile performance in the first innings.

Nazar and Hanif came out to open again and this time Nazar was looking more assured of himself and in his capabilities. He twice drove Statham to the ropes in his first two overs.

The crowd had grown to around 12,000 with the news reaching the city that Pakistan were batting. Each run was cheered as it meant each run less to get.

Nazar especially was getting the crowd’s support as he was the aggressor. But cheering fell to silence as Shackleton completely beat Nazar to bowl him for 19 and Pakistan lost their first wicket at 23.

Ghazali, who had gone the first ball in the first innings, now joined Hanif. This time, like Nazar before him, he was in a more positive mood.

After settling in, he cut Tattersall for four. He continued playing more leg side and his sweeps unsettled the English bowlers. Then Hanif brought up the 50 of the innings with a fine cover drive for four off Watkins.

Now the score was moving at a run a minute, and the 16-year-old schoolboy, Hanif, was batting with absolute authority against everything that Howard threw at him.

Fours were coming at will and the strike rotation was good. Though Ghazali was more outgoing, his defence was strong too. Tea was taken at 76-1, another 209 to get with nine wickets standing. Pakistan had gotten the start they had wanted.

After tea, Hanif began scoring at a faster rate, cutting and driving with increasing fervour. The score neared 100 but it took some 16 minutes to go from 99 to 103 as Hanif pulled one from Shackleton to the boundary.

Crossing the 100 had taken 150 minutes. Hanif’s next ball square cut Shackleton again to the boundary to bring up his individual fifty with some 10 minutes to go for the end of the play.

Sadly for the home team, Ghazali got out at the time, caught at leg slip off Tattersall. He had batted defiantly for his 35 and had taken the battle to the Englishmen with a second wicket stand of 84 in just over two hours.

Pakistan ended the day 108-2 and to be sure, the match had become wide open with another 177 to get by Pakistan and eight wickets in hand.

 The fourth and final day fell on a Sunday and the holiday crowd began building up from the early morning. The gates were being overpowered and police had to come in to sort things out.

The Pakistanis were in a positive mood and believed they could pull it off. If they could not, they’ll certainly give a good fight. It is to be remembered that no English national cricket team was beaten till that day in the sub-continent.

England started with spin as Watkins bowled from the Road End and Roy Tattersall from the Pavilion End. The Pakistani batsmen played them with caution as they had time on their hands and did not want to lose a wicket early. When the score reached 124, Howard opted for a new ball.

 This was the moment of truth. How the Pakistanis played the new ball hurled by Statham and Shackleton on a coir matting strip would determine the course of the day. If these two batters could survive till lunch, Pakistan would have a clear shot at the target.

Both Hanif and Imtiaz handled the new ball with adroitness as both were used to batting in the top order. The score moved gradually, mostly through singles and doubles, to 144 when tragedy strucked; Imtiaz was bowled off his glove.

Still, there was not much to worry as Hanif was there and Maqsood Ahmed came out to join him. He was still hurting in the leg and once again came out with a runner.

In a while, 150 of the Pakistan innings came up but with it went Hanif, caught by Howard at slip off the spinner Tattersall for 64. The schoolboy had played the sheet anchor even as he exhibited the wide variety of strokes he had.

For four hours, he defied the Test class bowling attack. With his departure, Pakistan were in a fix. Do they attack or defend and allow the English bowlers to get more on top?

It was good for Pakistan that their skipper Kardar came out to bat so the decision could be taken on the field as the game progressed. The two mixed boundaries with singles as they took lunch at 174-4, still 111 runs short of the target and six wickets in hand.

England then struck almost immediately after lunch as Shackleton had Maqsood caught at short leg by the captain, Nigel Howard. Now Pakistan were in trouble. The remaining six batsmen had contributed just 42 in the first innings with 29 of them coming from Fazal’s bat. England seemed to have gained the advantage.

Now Kardar was joined by Anwar Hussain. The two had got two and nought respectively in the first innings but both had played irresponsible shots then. Could it be that if they played sensibly the tiring English bowlers could be seen off?

The two however played their shots on merit this time. Singles and doubles coupled with the odd boundary saw Pakistan reach 200 without further loss. Anwar was the faster of the two but this time was less adventurous in his shot-making.

As for Kardar, he was being worried by Statham in one case beaten three successive times as the English bowlers flung everything to break the partnership which touched 50 in only 55 minutes with Anwar scoring 35 of that.

Anwar was finding the boundaries and pulling and cutting with command even as Kardar played two consecutive maidens from Statham. But the Pakistani captain was nevertheless accumulating runs at his own pace and punched in the odd boundary.

Howard was ringing the changes bringing in spin and then pace to unsettle the batsmen. The score eventually crossed 250 and grew to 261 when Anwar, on 48, tried to pull Watkins but only got a top edge to be caught by Howard. Was the game taking another twist? Only 24 to get but the tail exposed.

Fazal joined Kardar who now took over the charging responsibilities and cut Watkins for four. Tea was taken at 266-6 with Kardar on 40. The crowd was growing restless but watched with awe at the Pakistanis fighting to secure a win.

The 20 minutes interval seemed like an eternity to the crowd which by then had increased to an estimated 20,000.

Howard and his team came out all aggressive after tea. They were not going to let this go without a fight. All through the day, their fielding had been fantastic, not just in taking their chances but also in saving runs. If not for that, Pakistan may have been home by now.

 Kardar and Fazal walked out to loud clapping from the crowd. They were on the cusp of history but Pakistan could collapse at any time. 

Howard took the second new ball and Statham and Shackleton gave it one last go. In their eagerness for pace, a ball went down the leg side and for four byes! What a time for that extra. Now 15 were needed to secure a historic win.

Kardar and Fazal exchanged singles and the odd couple comes around. The target eventually reached single digits as Kardar came down the wicket to heave Statham and missed. Such is the adrenalin rush that a responsible man like Kardar wanted to finish with a bang. 

The crowd sensed the hunt and in order not to disturb the concentration fell silent every time the bowler comes into bowl and break into a roar at every run. 

Kardar eventually reaches his 50 to a loud cheer. He played a captain’s innings. Slowly but surely, without going overboard, he levelled the force with which Howard attacked him and his mates. 

Fazal had different ideas though. He smashed Shackleton for four and then took a single to level the scores. The crowd stood up to cheer and it didn’t stop until Fazal smashed a cover drive off Statham to seal a memorable and historic victory.

Fazal Mahmood recalls in his autobiography, From Dawn to Dusk,” “At the end of the match, Prime Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin, who was also watching the match, called Kardar and me over. The PM was jubilant. He held our hands and said ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.

Indeed that was the spirit of the moment. Pakistan had defeated a full-fledged Test team and one of the strongest in the world at the time. The euphoria was unimaginable. Now Pakistan had grounds to apply for full Test membership which was granted the same year. And all because of this famous victory.

Sohaib Alvi has been covering cricket at home and abroad for over 40 years as columnist, editor, analyst, TV expert/host. An MBA from IBA he has simultaneously had a 35-year career in the corporate sector, having worked in C-Suite positions. He now advises clients on leadership, business strategy, marketing and organisational planning.