All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

259 Peshawar’s batting had been erratic so far during the season with only two innings (out of nine) passing 200. Their most consistent batsman, with a century and two fifties, was Sher Ali. At nearly 26 Ali was the second oldest member of the Peshawar side after 28 year-old-wicketkeeper Rafiq Ahmed. However he only made 12, as on the second day Akhtar took out the middle order with a trio of leg-befores. Peshawar’s top-scorer, Hameed Gul, showed considerable resolve in batting for an hour and a half, twice as long as anybody else. He was just a month past his eighteenth birthday and the youngest player in the side but would not go on to fulfil this early promise. He later played for Ilford CC in the Essex Premier League. Having given the umpires plenty of work to do Akhtar then cleaned up the tail without help from anybody and finished with record bowling figures in Pakistan. Last man, opening bowler Ijaz Elahi, had bowled Akhtar (for a second ball duck) when Rawalpindi had batted and Akhtar was probably pleased to return the compliment in completing his all-ten. Ijaz might also have been feeling pleased to make what would be his highest score in his four-match season! Eventually set an unlikely 271 to win Peshawar succumbed by 121 runs, Akhtar taking another three wickets, and the match, scheduled for four days, finished in three with Rawalpindi B completing their only win of the season. Peshawar would finally win the Trophy for the first time just three years later with a side including only three of those who faced Akhtar, but Rawalpindi (by now fielding just one side) would have to wait until 2013/14 before finally breaking their duck. Naeem Akhtar never played Test cricket, but his all-ten earned him selection for Pakistan A against Nasser Hussain’s England A side in a 40- over match later in the month. A very effective limited-overs cricketer, both with bat and ball, he scored 28 not out going in at number six and, opening the bowling, took nought for 9 in five overs. Unfortunately this would be the extent of his representative career. Nevertheless he continued to perform consistently for a number of seasons, culminating in 51 wickets in 2001/02. He also played for Khan Research Laboratories and when his first-class career finished two years later he had taken 322 wickets at 21 runs apiece. He played all of his first-class cricket in Pakistan, although he appeared in 50-over matches in England both for Cornwall and for the Derbyshire Cricket Board. Naeem Akhtar