FIrst-Class Matches Pakistan 1980/81 to 1983/84

75 Pakistan in 1981/82 In November and December Pakistan undertook the demanding assignment of an Australian tour. They lost the first two Tests heavily, the low point being the side’s dismissal in first innings of the first Test for only 62, having been 26-8 at one point as Dennis Lillee and Terry Alderman ran riot. This match was notorious for the incident when Dennis Lillee, having impeded Javed Miandad as the latter completed a run, proceeded to aim a kick at him to which Miandad responded by brandishing his bat. The second Test likewise resulted in a big win for the home side, but Pakistan gained substantial consolation by claiming their first-ever innings win against Australia in the third and final Test on a sub-standard pitch at Melbourne. In March Test new boys Sri Lanka visited Pakistan for three Tests. It was their first overseas tour as a Test nation so it was not surprising that they struggled. They were easily beaten in the first and last Tests but unexpectedly had much the better of a draw in the second, a match they might well have won with a more enterprising approach. Pakistan had begun the rubber with a severely weakened side as several players refused to appear unless the captain, Javed Miandad, who had led the side since 1979/80, were replaced as captain for the forthcoming tour of England. This at least created an opportunity to blood some new players, one of whom, Saleem Malik, seized his chance with a century in his first Test. By the end of the rubber, however, player power had had its way: Javed reluctantly agreed to step aside and Imran Khan was recalled to lead the side in England. The three Tests against Sri Lanka were not the only first-class games of an international character in Pakistan in 1981/82. Apart from Sri Lanka’s planned game against a President’s XI, which fell victim to the weather, at the start of the season an International XI had played three first-class games against Pakistan. The touring side, led by the veteran West Indian Rohan Kanhai, was not overall a strong one despite the formidable presence of Michael Holding. Indeed, it was largely thanks to Holding that the tourists won the first match comfortably, but Pakistan fought back to win the other games by wide margins and claim the unofficial rubber 2-1. In the English season of 1982, Pakistan lost the first Test by an innings but roared back to take the second by ten wickets despite a famously obdurate 82 by Chris Tavaré. The third and deciding Test proved to be a real thriller, England eventually getting home by three wickets. Pakistan’s varied bowling attack coped well with English conditions; it was with the inconsistent batting, especially the poor form of Javed Miandad and Zaheer Abbas who showed nothing of their usual ruthless reliability, that the main responsibility lay for Pakistan’s defeat in a rubber that could have gone either way. (The Pakistan management, however, ascribed the blame to the home country’s umpires, as they previously had in Australia.) For once in a way, the BCCP made no changes on the domestic front for 1981/82, the restructuring of the previous season having been regarded as a great success. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: The competition was dominated by the departmental sides and in particular by the banks, which occupied the top three places and four of the top five. National Bank , a side studded with Test players, came out on top. No one could match their record of seven wins from nine matches, although they were chased hard by United Bank and Habib Bank. Railways’ record of five wins and two defeats would have earned a position in the top half of the table had they not been docked 21 points for fielding ineligible players. At the wrong end of the table, Karachi fared disastrously with nine straight defeats. The first innings in the QeA was again limited to 85 overs each side. PACO Cup: The PACO Cup was supposed to be contested by the top five sides from the QeA, but Railways were disqualified as punishment for fielding ineligible players, while PIAhad to withdraw because too many of their players had commitments overseas. MCB and Rawalpindi filled the vacancies. Habib Bank , winning three of their four matches, headed the table by a comfortable