Top-drawer Inzi, middle-class star
Will Buckley
Sunday August 20, 2006
The Observer
Inzamam-Ul-Haq has probably played his last Test innings in England. Fourteen years ago he made his international debut at Edgbaston and he will bow out before England condescend to play Pakistan again here, other than in the forthcoming one-day series. In between he has fi rst been part of and then overseen a remarkable transformation in his country’s fortunes.Before this series Pakistan had defeated Sri Lanka, England and India in brisk succession to become the second-highest-ranked Test team in the world. This summer, with their bowling resources severely depleted, they may have lost but they have kept their dignity.
Before this series Pakistan had defeated Sri Lanka, England and India in brisk succession to become the second-highest-ranked Test team in the world. This summer, with their bowling resources severely depleted, they may have lost but they have kept their dignity.
This golden age has been studded with vintage performances from Inzi. In his hundredth Test he scored a wonderful 184 in Bangalore to inspire a victory over India. Against England last winter his run of fi ve consecutive scores of 50 or more included a pair of centuries in Faisalabad.
Even more important has been his leadership. Described by Steve Buckn or as the quietest captain he has umpired, he is not a demonstrative captain. He does not chide or berate his players publicly. When they train before a match he watches rather than leads. Yet his calm and gentle approach has reaped dividends. ‘He’s a terrifi cally respected captain and makes lots of wise decisions on the field that he’s not given credit for,’ says Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer.
‘He thinks things through and people interpret that as indecisive. He has a quiet presence.’ It is one that may provide a substantial legacy. On Radio 4’s Test Match Special, one of the talking heads suggested that if only Pakistan could be more organised they might rule the cricket world. Organisation has not hitherto been a feature of their cricket teams. Temperamental and somewhat shambolic have been nearer the mark.
They were not a team who might be said to have their affairs in order; a team who opened their envelopes and paid their bills; a team who knew exactly where they would be in a month’s time ; a team who could be relied upon. They were entertainers, not grafters.
However, this might be in the process of changing. A talent for organi sation is particularly prized by the middle classes and the middle classes are burgeoning on the Indian sub continent. As the balance of economic power continues to move eastwards they will proliferate. The result may be that the Pakistanis will add discipline and order and general Australian grit to their natural talent for their game.
If so it will be, of all people, Inzi who was in at the start of it. A player given to the foot-in-the-mouth pratfalls that the middle classes fi nd so shaming - being given out for obstructing the field. And falling on his wicket. And the run-outs, the chaotic run-outs.
Inzi’s reaction to his extraordinary hit-wicket dismissal in the third Test, however, showed the true measure of the man. Less contemplative players might have been humiliated by making such a public disorganis ed spectacle of themselves.
They might not have taken kindly to being awarded a bottle for providing the champagne moment for playing the unathletic fool. Inzi not only accepted the award with good humour he also accepted why he was its recipient.
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I missed my balance,’ he explained, thereby showing himself to be that endearing rarity - a hero with feet of clay. It is a quality that probably helps him be forgiving of others. Shoaib Akhtar , who in the past was wayward and diffcult, on and off the pitch, has become a transformed character under Inzamam’s leadership and speaks of the sense of togetherness he has inculcated in the team. A spirit Inzi has engendered without having to shout at anyone.
Yesterday morning Inz i was swiftly into his stride, leaning back and stroking the third ball of the day, from Matthew Hoggard, through the covers . He continued to impress with two boundaries off a Steve Harmison over - a pull and an off -drive. All these shots played in that beguiling lethargic way that is his hallmark. Even when he ducked, he did so with a notable economy of effort.
His batting has always been a thing of grace and beauty. The rain delays that irked the crowd did not seem to bother him. Until, resuming perhaps one too many times, he edged a ball from Harmison to Andrew Strauss.
it had been a much-interrupted cameo, but because of its probable signifi cance was worthy of being marked. And yet Inzi’s long walk back to the pavilion - and with Inzamam it is pretty long - was greeted not by rousing cheers but by near silence. There were a few claps, but no one stood. The quiet captain was ending this segment of his career not with grandstanding but understatement.