Part 2 (Continued)

1984-85 Pakistan in New Zealand
On reaching New Zealand the situation reversed in a dramatic fashion. On seaming wickets the Kiwi attack spearheaded by Richard Hadlee sliced the Pakistani batting line-up time and again. After being saved by rain in the series opener, Pakistan crashed to an innings defeat at Auckland. John Reid continued his run-spree against Pakistan hitting two centuries in the first two Tests. The final Test played at Dunedin proved to be the most exciting encounter of the rubber. New Zealand just managed to clinch the issue by a narrow two-wicket difference, thanks mainly to a defiant stand between Jeremy Coney and Ewen Chatfield, which saw them home. Wasim Akram, playing only his second Test match, had figures of 10-128 and was named Man-of-the-Match for his efforts. The tour proved to be really testing one for the Pakistani batsmen, none of whom scored a hundred, the highest being 96 by Qasim Umar.

Torrential rain in Wellington caused the abandonment of this first Test match when no play was possible on the last day, although the state of play at the end of the previous day was such that a draw seemed the inevitable result. Only once during the proceedings had any other result seemed possible. In reply to New Zealand's massive total of 492, Pakistan at one time were 187 for 6, but defiant batting by the Pakistan tail on the fourth day and then, an economical two-wicket spell by Iqbal Qasim prevented New Zealand from contriving a winning position. The cornerstone of New Zealand's innings was a marathon innings of 148 by John Reid (his 4th Test hundred) who batted for 551 minutes and shared a record 6th wicket partnership of 145 with Hadlee (his 11th 50). Pakistan's troubles were still not over as Smith and Cairns gave the innings a late flourish adding 74 for the 8th wicket. It was Boock, the left-arm spinner who troubled Pakistan's batsmen. At the end of the third day his figures were 5 for 117. When New Zealand batted for the second time with a lead of 170, quick runs were the order, but when Howarth and Wright went quickly a more sober approach was necessary. It was 103 for 4 when night came and the rain fell the next day. Abdul Qadir hit his highest Test score.

At Auckland in the second encounter, fine bowling by Cairns and Chatfield (who passed 50 wickets) on the fourth day, inspired New Zealand to their first Test victory over Pakistan on New Zealand soil before tea with over a day's play remaining. It was New Zealand bowlers on the first day exploiting a green pitch in damp conditions who first put Pakistan under pressure. There was a half an hour's delay at the start of play and just over an hour and a half lost at the end. The second day moulded the pattern of the game - Pakistan 169 all out and New Zealand 248 for 3. This was built into a substantial total of 451 with Reid scoring 158 not out. Reid batted all day on the third day for his second consecutive century in Tests. Just after his hundred. Reid reached 1,000 Test runs in only 20 innings. His scores in the last four Tests against Pakistan had been 106, 97, 148 and 158. When he had made 123 he was hit on the chin by a viciously rising ball from Azeem Hafeez and the wound required five stitches, but he batted on undeterred. Howarth declared at the overnight score of 451 for 9 at the end of the third day, and only Mudassar Nazar (89 out of 183) offered any sort of resistance to the New Zealand bowlers. Mudassar passed 3,000 runs in the process.

In the third Test at Dunedin, a serious injury to Lance Cairns who suffered a suspected hairline skull fracture (happily, later not confirmed) marred yet another New Zealand success to record a 2-0 victory in the series. Cairns was not wearing a helmet when he was hit on the back of the head by a bouncer from Wasim Akram, collapsed, was helped from the field and taken to Dunedin hospital where he was kept under observation. New Zealand achieved this victory in their second innings in fits and starts. Needing 278 to win, New Zealand were 23 for 4 and appeared to be heading for disaster. A superb innings by Coney (111 not out) and another by Crowe (84) producing a partnership of 157, which looked a winning one, but the position was reversed at 228 for 8 - still 50 needed, but Coney found a willing partner in Chatfield and together they saw New Zealand home. Yet it was Hadlee, on the first day, who gave New Zealand the chance of victory at a time when Pakistan were 241 for 2. Hadlee then took four wickets in his last three overs to finish with 5 for 43 - the four wickets were all in the final thirty minutes and they cost only five runs.

1988-89 Pakistan in New Zealand
The 1988-89 rubber between Pakistan and New Zealand was played on New Zealand soil too. But for cricket followers it proved to be an anticlimactic affair as no Test could even reach the decisive stage. The first one, to be played at Dunedin was abandoned thus reducing the series to a mere two-match affair. Two hundreds each were by Shoaib Mohammad and Javed Miandad while for New Zealand Martin Crowe excelled with the bat. Miandad's innings of 271 at Auckland was the highest score in Pakistan-New Zealand series. This time it was Pakistan's turn to fire at the New Zealand umpires, whom they thought deprived them of a certain win at Auckland.

In the first Test, of now a 2-Test Series, New Zealand reached 447 in their first innings largely thanks to 174 from Martin Crowe, the highest score by a New Zealander against Pakistan. It was his 10th Test century but his first against this opposition. He shared partnerships of 149 for the third wicket with Jones and 114 for the fifth with his brother Jeff. Pakistan's reply was based upon a third wicket stand of 220 between Shoaib and Miandad, a record for either side in this series. Shoaib's 163 was his highest Test score, and he batted in all for 720 minutes, making it the fifth longest innings in Test cricket, a list headed by his father Hanif. It was also the longest first-class innings in New Zealand, beating Clive Radley's 648-minute stay at the crease in the Auckland Test in 1977-78. It was his second Test 100 and he eventually recorded the slowest ever Test 150, a record also previously held by Radley, reaching the landmark in 624 minutes. Miandad made his 20th Test 100 and his 6th against New Zealand. The batsmens dominance ended on the fifth day, no fewer than 11 wickets falling in the day's play after bowlers had managed only 14 in the first four days: Saleem Jaffer was the main beneficiary, recording his best Test figures in the New Zealand second innings. Aaqib Javed, although finishing with figures of 0 for 160, will remember his Test debut as, aged 16 years and 189 days, he became the second youngest Test player after Mushtaq Mohammad (15 years and 124 days).

In the second Test, Pakistan's total of 616-5 declared was the highest in Tests between the two countries, beating Pakistan's 565-9 at Karachi in 1976-77. Shoaib and Miandad improved their record third wicket stand to 248. This time Shoaib made his third Test 100 and Miandad's 21st, his 7th against New Zealand, the 271 was his 6th Test double century and the highest score for either side in Pakistan v New Zealand Tests. He also shared a fourth wicket stand of 147 with Aamer Malik, and Saleem Malik added 136* for the sixth with Imran, who completed 3000 runs to become the third player to complete the Test treble of 3000 runs and 300 wickets, after Ian Botham and Kapil Dev. There were two century partnerships in New Zealand's first innings: Vance, who made his first Test 50, and Jones added 109 for the second wicket, then Martin Crowe, who became the fourth New Zealander to score 3000 runs in Test cricket, and Greatbatch added 154 for the fifth wicket. Although Jeff Crowe and Smith also put on 94 for the eighth wicket, the home side were 15 short of saving the follow on, Qadir took five wickets in a Test innings for the 15th time, as he returned his best figures against New Zealand, but he could not produce any miracles on the fifth afternoon to prevent the match ending in a draw. It was New Zealand's fifth successive draw in home Tests, but it ensured that they had not lost a series at home in the 1980s, winning five and drawing four.

1990-91 New Zealand in Pakistan
Two years, later Javed Miandad was the Pakistan captain in the 1990-91 series against New Zealand at home. The Kiwi skipper was Martin Crowe. Once again, it was Pakistan who emerged on top gaining a 3-0 win over the Kiwis. This was only the second time when Pakistan won all the Tests in a three-match rubber, the previous occasion being the white-wash in September-October 1982 of Kim Hughes's Aussies who were decimated at these same three venues Karachi, Faisalabad and Lahore. Waqar Younis, the hero of the series, his aggregate of 29 wickets (avg 10.86) is the best-ever on either side in the series, surpassing Pervez Sajjad's 22 wickets (avg 15.63) in the 1969-70 home rubber.

In the first Test, on a pitch favouring seam bowling, Pakistan needed only ten balls on the fifth day to maintain their unbeaten record in Karachi. Shoaib's 203* (656 minutes, 411 balls, 23 fours) equalled his highest score and recorded his third hundred in successive innings against New Zealand. His stand of 172 with Rameez Raja established a series record for the first wicket. Crowe, in his first Test as captain, batted for 250 minutes (143 balls) in the second innings for 68.

In the second Test, Pakistan completed another comprehensive victory with more than a session to spare after New Zealand had opted to bat on another pitch favouring fast bowling. In New Zealand's first innings, extras contributed the highest score for the eighth time. Shoaib Mohammad (351 minutes, 223 balls, a six and 15 fours) scored his fourth hundred in successive innings against New Zealand. Martin Crowe hit 108 (552 minutes, 306 balls, a six and 14 fours) and recorded his 12th hundred in 53 Tests, rated the bowling of Waqar Younis (match analysis 10 for 106) as the highest quality of pace and swing he had ever faced.

In the third Test, Pakistan overcame the ignominy of being dismissed for 102, their lowest total against New Zealand to gain three wins in a rubber for only the third time (also v Australia and v India 1982-83). Shoaib's third hundred of the rubber, 142 (527 minutes off 368 balls with 20 fours) was his fifth hundred in seven innings against New Zealand. During his second innings, Javed Miandad became the fifth batsman to score 8000 runs in Tests. Waqar, who claimed 29 wickets in the rubber, improved upon his best innings analysis for the third match in succession, and returned Pakistan's record match figures in this series. Pringle returned New Zealand's best innings and match analysis against Pakistan and became only the second New Zealand bowler to take 11 wickets in a Test. In contrast to Morrison's 242-minutes vigil for 25, Smith's 42-ball innings of 61 included 50 off 34 balls. In the first innings, Horne retired at 7 after ducking into a ball from Waqar and resumed at 166, but when Smith was taken ill, he kept wicket for five over before Adam Parore substituted for the remainder of that second innings. Waqar became only the fifth bowler to dismiss all eleven batsmen in a Test.

1992-93 Pakistan in New Zealand
In the one-off Test match played between Pakistan and Kiwis in 1992-93 season at Hamilton, Pakistan were shot out for a mere 176 in the second innings but the bowlers didn't lose heart and their remarkable efforts brought about a sensational 33 runs win for Pakistan. Waqar Younis got nine wickets and his partner Wasim Akram eight in a match. Inspired fast bowling by Waqar Younis, took his 100th wicket in 20th Tests, and Wasim Akram earned Pakistan a remarkable victory after New Zealand had required only 127 to win in an ill-tempered encounter. Rutherford became New Zealand's 22nd Test captain after Wright and Crowe had withdrawn through injury. A tenacious hundred by Greatbatch (133 in 427 minutes, 317 balls, 16 fours), his third in 38 Test innings, contributed most to the hosts' first innings lead of 48. Wasim completed 1,000 runs and the Test 'double' in his 45th Test. For the tenth time extras were the main contributor to a Test innings.

1993-94 Pakistan in New Zealand
The First Test match of the 1993-94 series was dominated by fast bowlers and ended shortly after lunch on the third day, 30 wickets having fallen on the first two. The highest partnership of the match was 75 from only 47 balls for the fourth wicket by Jones and Greatbatch (48 off 34 balls with a six and 8 fours). In his 51st Test, Wasim became the third Pakistan bowler to take 200 wickets. Subsequently, he bowled unchanged for 16.1 overs to return a career-best (then) 6-43. Earlier, Waqar had claimed his 150th wicket in 27 matches. Saleem Malik, captaining Pakistan for the first time in his 72nd Test, held his 50th catch. Rashid's nine catches in the match created a Pakistan record, while Young's six catches set a match fielding record for New Zealand. Both umpires were guilty of some rare miscounting: Dunne managed an eight, two fives and two sevens, while Bird permitted a five-ball over.

The second Test match played at Basin Reserve, Wellington. Pakistan, their fast bowlers accounting for all 20 wickets on a blameless pitch, secured the match and the series after tea on the fourth day. Wasim, who dismissed Young with the fourth ball of the match, took seven wickets in an innings for the first time to claim his third ten-wicket match analysis. Pakistan recorded the highest total against New Zealand at Basin Reserve. Saeed Anwar (307 minutes, 248 balls, 26 fours) scored his maiden hundred in his fifth innings, Saleem Malik (286 minutes, 200 balls, 20 fours) his 11th in 106, and Inzamam-ul-Haq (251 minutes, 195 balls a six and 19 fours) his second in 21.

In the third test at Christchurch, New Zealand mustered their highest fourth innings winning total to end their run of four successive defeats. Saeed was dropped off the first ball of the match. Basit (197 minutes, 139 balls, three sixes and 9 fours) scored his maiden Test hundred and his fourth hundred in his 14th innings, Jones, who was run out in both innings of the final Test before retirement (subsequently reduced to a sabbatical), reached his 50 off 46 balls. Waqar acquired his 17th five-wicket prize in 29 Tests as 15 wickets fell on the second day. With just over two days to score 324, Young (416 minutes, 314 balls, 7 fours) and Shane Thomson (233 minutes, 167 balls, two sixes and 15 fours) shared a fifth-wicket stand of 154 and made their first Test hundreds as New Zealand completed their demanding task with more than five hours to spare. Wasim set a series record for Pakistan in New Zealand with his tally of 25 wickets at 17.24.

1995-96 Pakistan in New Zealand
After a successive run of poor results in both Test and one-day cricket, Wasim Akram replaced Rameez Raja for his second run at the captaincy. Saleem Malik was back in the team after being cleared by the inquiry commission set up under Justice (Retd.) Fakhr-ud-din Ebrahim for the tour to Austrlia and New Zealand. Change at the top, however did not bring any positive changes in the fortunes of the side. Pakistan lost the Australia series without a whimper after losing the first two matches of the three-Test rubber. The visitors' were saved from further blushes, when they came back strongly to turn the tables on the traditional slow wicket at Sydney. An end result of 2-1, however, was not what the Pakistan squad would have aimed prior to their arrival on their tour of Down Under.

On the New Zealand leg of the tour, the visitor's won their one-off Test at Christchurch without much of a hassle. New Zealand introduced one new Test cap, Spearman, and brought back Young, Patel and Larsen. New Zealand's ploy of putting Pakistan in to bat appeared to backfire when the visitors reached fifty in the ninth over and hundred in 105 balls before the departure of Rameez Raja signalled a dramatic collapse. Pakistan lost all ten wickets for a further 73 runs as the New Zealand bowlers improved on their earlier erratic form. Cairns, who took the first three wickets, was the most successful. Aamer Sohail had taken 51 balls for his fifty while Rameez required 65. New Zealand batted circumspectly, reaching fifty in 17.3 overs. Twose and Cairns added 102 off 169 balls for the fifth wicket. Twose's first Test fifty came from 121 balls in 180 minutes while Cairn's third Test half-century in 118 minutes and 80 balls. New Zealand lost its last four wickets for 24 runs to finish with a lead of 78. Before the deficit was wiped off, Rameez retired hurt and Aamer was dismissed. Ijaz and Inzamam compiled a new Pakistan second wicket record against New Zealand of 140 off 241 balls. Inzamam reached fifty from 60 balls with Ijaz needing 71 for his fifty and 197 for his fourth Test century. Rameez returned and reached fifty from 104 balls before becoming Morrison's 150th Test victim. New Zealand had to score 357 to win but after the openers reached fifty in 84 balls, the team lost 5 wickets in 75 runs. Only Twose offered any resistance, reaching another fifty in 247 minutes from 162 balls. Mushtaq's 7-56 was his career best and he took ten wickets in a Test for the first time. Nash became Waqar's 200th Test victim in 38 Tests.

1996-97 New Zealand in Pakistan
With regular captain Wasim Akram unavailable due to shoulder injury, the reins of captaincy passed on to Saeed Anwar in the 1996-97 series in Pakistan. The absence of the ace all-rounder, who had played such an influential part in the last series, proved decisive. In a two-match series, Pakistan went into deficit in the first match before springing back in the second to level the series. For Pakistan, two promising cricketers, playing their first-ever Test matches, made significant contributions.

In the first test it was the turn of Mohammad Wasim, to become the fourth Pakistani batsman to score a century on debut. He batted with lot of poise, elegance, and maturity, which belied his young age. His innings had added significance as it was scored under tremendous duress with Pakistan chasing 276 runs in the second innings after being bundled out for just 191 the first time round. In the end, however, he was left stranded as none of his teammates could provide him with the support he needed to guide his team to victory. Nonetheless, a batting star had emerged who was tipped to succeed the great Zaheer Abbas. Sadly the prediction never materialised, some say he has been given rough treatment by the selectors and has never been allowed to settle down in the side.

Mohammad Zahid stole the limelight in the second Test at Rawalpindi. In the absence of the two W's (Wasim and Waqar), he got the chance of his lifetime and he made sure that the God-gifted opportunity did not go waste. On a placid pitch, he made life extremely uncomfortable for the New Zealand batsmen with his torrid bowling spells in both the innings. His match figures of 11-130 were the first instance by a Pakistan bowler of taking 10 wickets on debut.

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