WHO WERE THE FIRST RADIO COMMENTATORS IN PAKISTAN CRICKET SCENARIO? WHEN WAS THE RADIO COMMENTARY FIRST BROADCAST AND FROM WHERE?
Formal cricket commentary in English on Radio, was first broadcast live from National Stadium, Karachi in 1958-59 during the TEST match between Pakistan and West Indies. The commentator box was a sole large room on a tall minaret kind structure right in front of the pavillion also forming itself as the ‘side screen’ for batsmen. The first ever commentators were Omar Kuraishy and Maharaja Vizi ( A famous hunter of Tigers from India ) who were a little later.. joined by Jamshed Marker who rose to be a diplomat and held important assignments as Ambassador and Pakistan’s permanent rep. at the U.N. Omar himself held senior assignments at PIA and retired as a Director. He died last year
There was no Urdu commentary then. Just about fifteen minutes of the broadcast of day’s play proceedings by Badre Alam after the end of day’s game.
FAMOUS CRICKET PLAYERS OF FIFTIES AND THEIR PERKS AND ALLOWANCES THEN..?
Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Hanif Muhammad, Ajaz Butt, Blue Dreamy Eyed Fazal Mahmood, Nasimul Ghani, Khan Muhammad ( the then Shoaib Akhtar on speed not in character!), Rais Muhammad, Alimuddin, Wing Cdr.Imtiaz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), Saeed Ahmed, Wallis Mathias, Mahmood Hussain..the list goes on…, were the cricketers to reckon with. Their match fee was Rs.25/-. A public bus hired by the BCCP ( Board of Control of Cricket in Pakistan… now PCB ) use to pick up the players from their houses. Our current PM-Shaukat Aziz and myself were next door neighbors (for ten years) at the Garden Road Officers Colony right in front of Karachi’s famous Zoo ( then Gandhi Gardens ) where Hanif Mohammad and his four brothers also lived besides Alimuddin and Kardar and this colony had over 100 two storey blocks of four flats each. Me, Shaukat and our buddy Hafeez (now Country Head Asian Dev.Bank-Manila) , use to get into the bus which use to come to pick Hanif Bhai, Rais Bhai and Alimuddin and we use to be at the players enclosure, pavillion and all areas as free as a lark..! The ‘packed’ crowd at the NSK was around 2000 then…!!! at the TEST with West Indies where I saw Wes. Hall, Charlie Griffith, Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Nurse, Garfield Sobers, Alexandar, Ramadhin and Gilchrist ( no relation to Adam the Kangaroo ). Wow.. what run up for that six footer Wesley Hall…half more than Shoaib’s..!
THE FAMOUS BALL THAT FAZAL BOWLED…?
It was Pakistan against Australia at the NSK. The season 1959-60.
Neil Harvey was flogging us left, right and forth. When he came to 96, Fazal took a new ( Jinnah Sports Manufactured ) ball and blew off the center wicket of Harvey ( current Harvey’s Dad ) for 96. What a scene it was…!!! we were literally dancing and running around Richie Benaud who stood there at the pavillion side watching us smilingly. I can never forget that smile. When I toured Australia as PCB’s Media Manager with our team in 1999, I met Benaud at Gabba-Brisbane and talked about it and he was quite mused and talked of his Dhaka and Lahore visits also.