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

7 Pakistan in 1980/81 Pakistan’s only Test commitment in 1980/81 and 1981 was a four-match home rubber. The visitors, West Indies, were at this time at the height of their powers as a cricketing force. But, like many another side before and since, they found Pakistani conditions challenging. They lost their first tour match and were far from having everything their own way in the Tests, in which they were handicapped by the absence of Gordon Greenidge and Michael Holding, both injured early in the tour. The rubber was dominated by the bowlers on both sides, the home side’s spin against the visitors’ pace, and also by the weather, which seriously interfered with each Test except the second. This match, at Faisalabad, a game of modest scores, was the only Test to reach a result as the visitors prevailed by the convincing margin of 156 runs. The final Test was marred by a deplorable incident when Sylvester Clarke of West Indies, his patience tested by being pelted with oranges by the crowd as he fielded on the boundary, picked up a brick and hurled it back, knocking unconscious a spectator (who happened to be the leader of a militant student group). The uproar that ensued interrupted play for twenty-five minutes. Clarke and the West Indies management later apologized to the injured man. The West Indies tour took place between early November and the beginning of January. It thus overlapped with the Quaid-e-AzamTrophy, the first time that such a clash had occurred in Pakistan. The nine matches of the West Indies tour were the only first-class games played apart from the domestic competitions. The Pakistan domestic season underwent one of its frequent restructurings in 1980/81. Compared with 1979/80, the Invitation Tournament was dropped, but the Pentangular Tournament was revived and revamped under the new title of the PACO Cup. With the QeA retained, indeed strengthened, the number of first-class competitions remained at two. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: The QeA was the principal beneficiary of the new structure. Now the centrepiece of the domestic season, it was reformed and extended with an enhanced league format so that it became in fact, and not merely in theory, truly Pakistan’s national championship. It was contested between October and December on a round-robin basis by ten teams, all but two of which (Karachi and Lahore City) were departmental. The first innings of each team was limited to 85 overs, and the Trophy was decided purely on league points with no knock-out element or final. It proved to be close-fought: Habib Bank actually had the best record in terms of wins and losses, but were relatively unsuccessful at accumulating bonus points and found themselves forced narrowly into third place behind United Bank , the champions, and PIA. Railways, after an impressive start in the competition, faded in the later stages and finished fourth. It was against Railways that lowly Karachi, having conceded a lead of 124, responded with a stand of 418 for the first wicket – the second highest first-wicket partnership in first-class cricket in Pakistan. Another notable occurrence, near the end of the QeA competition, was the concession by MCB of their game against Lahore City, on the implausible ground that so many of their players were injured that they could not continue. PACO Cup: This competition was in effect a revival of the Pentangular, last contested in 1976/77 but now sponsored by the Pakistan Automobile Corporation, and hence known as the PACO Cup. Like the QeA, it was subject to a first-innings limit of 85 overs. Contested as a round-robin league by the sides occupying the top five places in the QeA, it took place in February and March and was won by PIA , their success based largely on the towering batting performances of Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan. National Bank were runners-up, while QeA champions United Bank finished in last place without a win. The Patron’s Trophy continued in existence in 1980/81, but it operated as a feeder competition for the QeA and is not regarded as first-class. This is despite a ruling of the BCCP at the time,