All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

248 Imran Adil unimpressive figures of 11 overs, one for 69, although as Mushtaq, in a foretaste of the future, took 12 wickets, none of the other bowlers got much of a chance to shine. Adil was another bowler whose all-ten probably came as a bit of a surprise. His first-class career had begun slowly: used sparingly his maiden wicket didn’t come until his fourth match. Progress continued to be slow. Prior to becoming the second Pakistani to take all-ten in an innings he had played 15 first-class matches and only taken 24 wickets (only Moss (0) and Hinkly (9) had fewer wickets before taking an all-ten), and with best figures of four for 68 he had not yet even taken five in an innings. In his previous match he had taken two for 209 in 42 overs against Multan, at the wonderfully named Biscuit Factory Ground in Sahiwal. Eight teams contested the BCCP Patron’s Trophy in 1989/90, meeting each other once on a league basis before the top two played off in a final. Karachi fielded two sides, with their Blues eventually finishing top of the table above their Whites, but then losing to them in an exciting final by one wicket. The Iqbal Stadium is named in honour of poet and philosopher Allama Iqbal. It has hosted 24 Test matches. England’s record there is played four, drawn four, although the second of their visits might have achieved a result if it hadn’t been for the infamous Shakoor Rana Mike Gatting ‘disagreement’. Despite the effects of smog generated by the city’s industries the ground was not unattractive. One side was open, and although there was concrete terracing on the other side, it was not quite as obtrusive as at some other subcontinent grounds. The slow pitch meant that bowlers had to work hard for their wickets (not least in the ground’s second Test in March 1980 when Pakistan responded to Australia’s 617 with 382 for two – match drawn!). Both teams in BCCP Patron’s Trophy match were very young, with nobody in their thirties, and only three having reached 25. In the absence of regular captain Abdur Rahim, Imran Adil, the team’s third youngest member, led the Bahawalpur side. Nobody in the match would play Test cricket although Wasim Haider and Shahid Anwar would appear in one- day internationals. Faisalabad had finished above Bahawalpur in the Trophy the previous season, and probably had the greater strength in depth. However in long careers, Bahawalpur opener Shahid Anwar would score 26 centuries, a total which the whole of the Faisalabad line-up would fail to emulate, and left-arm spinner Mohammad Zahid would take 563 wickets, more than twice the total that would be achieved by any of the Faisalabad attack. Adil made a good start by winning the toss. Reading the conditions well he put his opponents in. Having bowled 252 balls to get just two wickets in his previous match, he didn’t hang about this time, quickly reducing Faisalabad to one for three. Aamer Nazir was his first victim, bowled without scoring, the first half of a pair that he would help him complete the following day. After such a good start Adil had to work harder for his wickets as solid contributions by a number of batsmen, led by captain