Javed Miandad - 'Cutting Edge'

Entertainment Cricket and Other Sports
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Miandad has launched his autobiography "Cutting Edge’. Time to check the book store; and grab the first copy.

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Miandad - The Fighter

Miandad launches hard-hitting autobiography ‘Cutting Edge’

KARACHI: One of the most enduring characters of Pakistan and World cricket, Javed Miandad launched his autobiography “Cutting Edge” here on Sunday before an appreciative audience at the packed Bahria Auditorum.

The book launching ceremony was extremely well attended with the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board paying Miandad the ultimate tribute of being one of the greatest players produced by Pakistan.

“I don’t think Pakistan will ever produce a genius like Javed. He was one of our finest batsman who never came under pressure but always put the opposition under pressure with his never say die spirit and tough attitude towards the game,” said Tauqir Zia.

Leading luminaries of the game including Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, Little Master Hanif Muhammad, Rashid Khan, Jalaluddin, Saleem Yousaf, Sadiq Muhammad, Nasimul Ghani, Dr Muhammad Ali Shah, Munir Hussain, Sirajul Islam Bukhari etc were present at the auditorium, which was chosen by the publishers of the book, Oxford University for the launch.

The autobiography has been penned by Dr Saad Shafqat and has a foreword by former England captain Tony Greig who has made an interesting observation about Miandad, his former teamate at Sussex.

Ameena Saiyyid of Oxford University Press in her welcome address told the audience that it was an honor to publish the autobiography of such a great cricket personality and expressed confidence the book would be a best seller at home and abroad as well.

Saad Shafqat in his address said obviously everyone wanted to read about the intimate details of Miandad’s life and cricket career and he had been pretty candid in the book with his thoughts.

The book is made up of 23 chapters which include Miandad’s candid observations on the declaration by Imran Khan during the 1983 Hyderabad Test against India when Miandad was heading towards the world record score of 365 and how a conspiracy was hatched to remove him as captain after 1992.

Miandad is also pretty open and understandably bitter about the revolt against his captaincy in the early eighties recalling how the involvement of his close and some childhood friends had hurt him immensely. But he has also praised Imran Khan a lot and talks about the vision both shared about a new era in Pakistan cricket and the 1992 World Cup.

“Despite the injustices done to me and the conspiracies hatched against me I am still very happy with what I achieved in the game and what Pakistan cricket has given to me,” said Miandad.

**“I have tried to be fair in my feelings in the book and I know some people will not be happy with my comments. But I have been honest and at the same time I want to say I value the friendship of many, specially the love and honour given to me by the Pakistani people.”

“I am thankful that the Pakistan board has again reposed faith in me as coach of the senior team and let me tell you it has some good players who will improve in the future and the team will become a good one. The technical deficiencies will also be removed with time.”**

Tauqir Zia who was the chief guest said that the Board had appointed Miandad on a two-year contract as it had a lot of faith in his abilities to build a new and strong team.

**“We are confident that under his guidance this team will in the future be as good as the Australians. I have never seen a more committed and dedicated man than Miandad with the game.”

“He was a very big player and it is a fact that opposing teams were afraid of him when he was at the crease. I have always appreciated his advise and concern for Pakistan cricket.”**

Praising the publication of the autobiography, Tauqir said such books were necessary to record the history and careers of leading Pakistan players.

In a lighter vein Tauqir said the amount of information he had accumulated in the last three years as Chairman of the Board about the players their behaviour, their outings and performances and conspiracies, he could write a very interesting book in the future.

Miandad reveals all in new autobiography

  • Miandad on his infamous clash with Dennis Lillee: “I played a delivery from Lillee towards square leg and pushed off for a single. About three-quarters of the way down the pitch, I collided with him as he blocked my path and on his way back he kicked my pads and swore at me.”

  • Miandad on playing against India: “One of the greatest things about Pakistan-India cricket has been that despite the political uneasiness, relations between the players have always been excellent and players have come to loathe the mixing of politics and sports.”

  • Miandad on Indian supporters: “Rivalry with Pakistan apart, Indians are among the best cricket connoisseurs and know how to appreciate a performance.”

  • Miandad on sledging: “Sledging is one of the things that gives cricket an aggressive edge and it should be thought of as gamesmanship. Sledging is an art form in Australian cricket and Lillee used it better than most.”

Cutting Edge, My Autobiography is published by the Oxford University Press.

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Is it in English or Urdu, anyways I would love to get my hands on it, where can I order one.

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Umair, I believe its in English...

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i have been waiting for it for two months. i'll getting my copy as soon as i can.

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how is it an autobiography if he didn't write by himself? what a sham.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by sambrialian: *
how is it an autobiography if he didn't write by himself? what a sham.
[/QUOTE]

Darling, did you read this quote?

"I have tried to be fair in my feelings in the book and I know some people will not be happy with my comments. But I have been honest and at the same time I want to say I value the friendship of many, specially the love and honour given to me by the Pakistani people."

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The book will have lot of controversial stories i believe. How players forced him to resignbefore the WC 99 and famous indifferences with Wasim etc etc..

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KARACHI, June 1: Lt Gen Tauqir Zia described Javed Miandad as the most committed cricketer he had ever met during his tenure as head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

In his keynote address at the launching of Miandad’s memoirs - Cutting Edge My Autobiography, published by Oxford University Press (OUP) - at a crowded Bahria Auditorium on Sunday, the PCB chairman said: “Javed is the most committed cricketer I have come across in my three-and-a-half years association as board’s chairman.”

The PCB chief, who was the chief guest on the occasion, paid glowing tribute to the current national coach and the finest batsman produced by Pakistan. “Some players underachieved and never did justice to their talent but Javed was one exception. When I took over as PCB chairman on Dec 15, 1999, Javed was the first man that I discussed cricket with. Therefore, I am honoured to be here at this launching because Javed was one player who was feared enormously by opponents.”

“To know Javed one does not have to read the book because he is such a famous personality,” Gen Tauqir joked, but added, “there is a lot of secrets between us since we got to know each other. But I won’t reveal now what those secrets are, maybe years later I might come out in the open in a form of a book perhaps.”

The general acknowledged the tremendous contributions of Miandad for Pakistan cricket and remarked that a few batsmen had the ability to withstand the pressure when playing at the highest level.

“I can remember some names who really stood out and did Pakistan proud in times of crisis. Javed, Asif Iqbal, Imran Khan and Moin Khan come to mind as players who time and again rescued Pakistan team in adversity,” the PCB supremo noted.

General Tauqir further said that Miandad would stay as national coach for another two years but the deal was not yet signed.When Miandad came to the podium to offer a vote of thanks, the entire hall gave the legendary batsman a standing ovation.

Speaking on the occasion, the former Pakistan captain stated that the purpose of writing this autobiography was to narrate his side of the story since many people had misunderstood him.

“I wanted to express my feelings in this book since I had experienced a lot of difficulties during my career. I wish the current players don’t go through the ordeal that I had to face,” Miandad said. “If you go through the book you will know a lot about me which was never published in the past.”

Talking about his stint as coach, Miandad commented that the current lot of players were talented but would need polishing to reach international level. “There are players who have certain technical flaws, through no fault of theirs, but I will make sure they are rectified.”

Miandad also showered praise on the contribution of Hanif Mohammad, the ex-national skipper and the first batting great of Pakistan cricket in the 1950s and 60s.

"I learned a lot from Hanif bhai at the start of my career and am extremely grateful to him.“It is unfortunate that we don’t have videos/films of the Little Master in action which would have been very helpful for the younger generation,” he lamented.

Munir Hussain, president of Karachi City Cricket Association, in his brief speech spoke about Miandad’s early days and his subsequent association with him later as player and captain.

“I have known Javed since he was a schoolboy and used to play with us. Curiously enough, his father, a close friend of mine, had wanted to see his eldest son Bashir play at the highest level. But I am proud to say it was Javed who came through the ranks and became one of the most prolific batsmen in the history of the game,” Munir said.

Co-author Dr Saad Shafqat, who collaborated with Miandad in writing the autobiography, read a few lines from the book in which he described Miandad coming to the crease in the final of the 1992 World Cup against England in front of 87,182 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Needless to say Miandad, who scored 72 that day, consolidated Pakistan’s innings along with skipper Imran Khan which ultimately paved the way for the likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Wasim Akram to make useful contributions that guided the team to a defendable total. The rest, of course, is history as Pakistan won the match by 22 runs.

Ameena Saiyid, managing director of Oxford University Press (Pakistan), made the welcome address.Shrewdly or otherwise, Miandad has avoiding writing indepth facts on some tricky subjects such as match-fixing, the captaincy issues and his walking out of the team as coach on the eve of the 1999 World Cup.

The 344-page book, the foreward of which is written by former England captain and now a well-known cricket broadcaster Tony Greig, gives detailed accounts of ups and downs in the glorious but sometimes turbulent 19-year playing career of Miandad, who made a Pakistan record 8832 runs (ave 52.57) in 124 Tests with 23 centuries and 43 fifties and is the only man in Test history whose batting average never dipped below 50 since his debut.

In 233 One-day Internationals starting with the inaugural World Cup in England in 1975, Miandad made 7381 runs (ave 41.70) with eight centuries and 50 fifties. In a first-class career that spanned from 1973-74 to 1993-94, he accumulated 28,663 runs (ave 53.37) in 402 games, hitting 80 centuries and 138 half-centuries. He also played for English counties Sussex and Glamorgan.

One notable absentee at the star-studded gathering, which included five national past and present captains - Miandad, Hanif, Wasim Bari, Moin Khan, Rashid Latif - was squash legend and Miandad’s close friend Jahangir Khan, who was described in detail by OUP’s publication 50 Years of Pakistan Squash written by Dicky Rutnagar in 1997.

http://www.dawn.com/2003/06/02/spt1.htm

:frowning:

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:k:…

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Javed is in my view - and probably most others - Pakistan's greatest ever batsman. He's no doubt a great cricket brain, but not leadership material IMO. Too abrasive and falls out too quickly with team mates.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Mr Xtreme: *
Javed is in my view - and probably most others - Pakistan's greatest ever batsman. He's no doubt a great cricket brain, but not leadership material IMO. Too abrasive and falls out too quickly with team mates.
[/QUOTE]

lack of education perhaps or maybe just too fiery for his own good??

ps. the way Zia talks about secrets between him and Miandad - he makes the pair of them sound gay.

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Javed's fiery nature was great as a batsmen. Man-management requires different skills. Tauqir Zia just seems to jump on whichever bandweagon is in vogue at the time, can't really say much more than that.

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Javed and Imran Rivalry

Javed reveals Imran rivalry

Imran, from Lahore, was proud and aggressive - his detractors might even add arrogant.

Javed, from Pakistan’s other great cricket city Karachi, was by contrast, crafty, instinctive and willing to get under the skin of an opponent to try and gain an advantage.

Both had spells with English county side Sussex and both were named as Cricketers of the Year by Wisden - Javed earning the accolade a year before Imran in 1982.

But there was little else in common, apart from a mutual respect for their ability as cricketers, between two men who between them captained Pakistan in 82 Tests and 200
one-day internationals.

Since retiring as players, Imran has pursued a career in politics, while Javed has coached the national side on a number of occasions and is currently in charge again.

They could soon be brought together again, however, following Imran’s decision to offer his services to the Pakistan Cricket Board after the team’s disappointing World Cup showing.

How that will sit with Javed remains to be seen.

Imran hits out against England at the 1992 World Cup

He has lifted the lid on their relationship in a new book, although some of his views appear contradictory.

On the one hand, Javed asserted he and Imran had “always got along fine” apart from a keen professional rivalry.

Yet he also claimed Imran played a leading role behind the scenes in bringing about his downfall as team captain in 1992.

“I don’t know what Imran’s motives were, I can only guess at them. Perhaps he felt an undisturbed Miandad captaincy would overshadow his legacy,” he says.

Javed claimed during a tour to England, Imran threw a party for the team to which he and two other senior players, Salim Malik and Ramiz Raja, were not invited.

“My guess is that Imran’s efforts were aimed at trying to create an intrigue against my captaincy.”

He also accused Imran of deliberately denying him the chance to try and beat Gary Sobers’ then Test record score of 365 during a match against India at Hyderabad in 1983.

It was natural to feel a competitive edge with each other

Javed Miandad on Imran Khan

Javed was flabbergasted when, having reached 280 not out, Imran decided to declare.

"Off the field at the end of the second day, there was no talk of a declaration. Imran never brought it up overnight and gave me no specific instructions.

“I took this to mean I was being given a chance to go for all possible records. How wrong I was!”

Although Imran led Pakistan to their greatest achievement, victory over England in the 1992 World Cup final, Javed arguably proved the more successful leader in Tests.

They won 14 of the 34 Tests for which he was in charge, with the team winning 14 out of 48 under Imran.

Javed has now been charged with helping an inexperienced Pakistan team find their feet in international cricket, along with captain Rashid Latif.

The signs are encouraging, with victory in the four-nation Sharjah Cup, followed by a place in the final of a Tri-Series in Sri Lanka, where they lost to New Zealand.

Now they face a three-match series in England, where Javed’s knowledge of how the wickets behave will be vital to the young batsmen in the squad.

Pakistan supporters will be watching closely, and none more closely than Imran.

anybody who has followed cricket in the 80’s knows that
how much political rivealry was part part of pakistan cricket, i agree with javed over and i have felt that many times that imran had a huge part as promoting wasin akram as captin of pakistan after the WC 92, to keep a player from his side of that political group, as captain i.e. from lahore. this to me was the beginning of of downfall of pakistani cricket(i’ll write a full thread on that as i promised.)

I can not wait to get the autobiogrophy now.

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where can i buy the book online?

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**Javed was flabbergasted when, having reached 280 not out, Imran decided to declare.

"Off the field at the end of the second day, there was no talk of a declaration. Imran never brought it up overnight and gave me no specific instructions.

"I took this to mean I was being given a chance to go for all possible records. How wrong I was!" **

I think that sums Javed up, he did tend to look at things from a selfish viewpoint rather than what was in the interests of the team. Imran declared because there was enough runs and he wanted to try to win the match.

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http://www.connect2mall.com/oup/index.asp

Price $18.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Mr Xtreme: *

**Javed was flabbergasted when, having reached 280 not out, Imran decided to declare.

"Off the field at the end of the second day, there was no talk of a declaration. Imran never brought it up overnight and gave me no specific instructions.

"I took this to mean I was being given a chance to go for all possible records. How wrong I was!" **

I think that sums Javed up, he did tend to look at things from a selfish viewpoint rather than what was in the interests of the team. Imran declared because there was enough runs and he wanted to try to win the match.
[/QUOTE]

Can u give another example of selfishness of javed, even if he was, then why did he waited for 21 years to say that. U want to know what selfishness is? 9 seniors deciding to revolt against a captain just because he was junior, not because he was not a good captain. which also set examples for later revolts. Pulling out against the weaker teams like Newzeland to not to captain. what about the countery then???? Haann??? i guess these two ocassions dont come under any selfishness definition, or u just did not know about these.

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I can't believe he still cares enough to whine about this record after 21 years. Imran went for the win and rightly so.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by sambrialian: *
I can't believe he still cares enough to whine about this record after 21 years. Imran went for the win and rightly so.
[/QUOTE]

is this not what one is suppose to do while writing an autobiography???? to tell how things happen and what that person thinks of them.??????
try reading some autobiographies so that know what they are like.

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autobiographies are supposed to change with time too, my friend. that's what growing up is supposed to do - aka mature you. After 21 years, the incident perhaps did not merit much of a mention.

Seems to me like Imran gets more flak for his perceived arrogance in such situations. I as a Pak supporter definitely agree with Imran's decision. I don't care if Miandad scored 365 or whatever, I want the team to win. Plus why does he talk now about it - I mean Lara holds the record anyways. It's not like Miandad would have owned it forever.