On This Day: June 4, 1971 - Zaheer Abbas scores 274 in just his second Test

[Gotham Cronie]

After scoring 12 and 27 on Test Debut vs. New Zealand in Karachi, Zaheer Abbas had to wait almost another two years before his second Test.

He showed the world what it was missing as he came in at #3 vs. England in Birmingham and smashed 159* on Day 1 and was finally dismissed for a career high of 274 on Day 2.

Abbas' innings lasted over 9 hours and included 38 Fours. The score at the time was the second highest by a Pakistani batsman and stands at 4th place on that list today.

Highlights of this epic inning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGKwVrpsM1w
​

Scorecard: http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/engine/match/63073.html

 

[saiyan0312]

it was also imrans test debut.

 

[HamzaSaeen]

what a stylish player.

 

[saiyan0312]

one of my favorite players of old. all that saw him in the past rate him very very high.

 

[Gotham Cronie]

Fans running onto the field after he reached a milestone!

 

[MenInG]

On this day 1971 : Zaheer Abbas in his second Test made 274 vs England

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>On this day 1971. Zaheer Abbas in his second Test made 274 vs Eng. It's the 5th highest score in Tests by a Pakistani <a href="http://t.co/C1Cqh71KLS">pic.twitter.com/C1Cqh71KLS</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/statuses/473911687721263105">June 3, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Mamoon]

Arguably the best player of pace we have ever had.

 

[Abdullah719]

What a knock.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Mind boggling achievement

 

[Mirpur express]

Treat to watch

 

[Mirpur express]

*6th highest score by a Pakistani in tests

 

[Xoib]

Arguably the best player of pace we have ever had.

reason Zaheer never averaged 50 was his issues vs genuine pace Lillie, Tommo and the westindians had a wood on him was a beast vs spin and medium pacers

 

[MenInG]

Sublime genius, Zaheer Abbas

==


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1971. In only his second Test match, Zaheer Abbas scored a brilliant 274 against England at Edgbaston, an innings that included 38 fours <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/BEHkgGXM2K">pic.twitter.com/BEHkgGXM2K</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1268460269073809409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[gazza619]

Sublime genius, Zaheer Abbas

==


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1971. In only his second Test match, Zaheer Abbas scored a brilliant 274 against England at Edgbaston, an innings that included 38 fours <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/BEHkgGXM2K">pic.twitter.com/BEHkgGXM2K</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1268460269073809409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Those back foot punches were out of this world. I wonder if God will ever send another Zaheer Abbass to this world.

Tall, nerdy looking, simple stance, but man when he would hit the ball, it sounded like as if Muhammad Ali was knocking out his opponent.

 

[Bhaijaan]

If I had to pick one batsman from yesteryears who batted like KL Rahul, it would be Zaheer Abbass. Breathtaking strokeplay.

 

[Markhor]

Great knock. Pakistan should've won that 1971 series vs England.

Pakistan had two major Test chokes in the early 70s - the 1971 Headingley Test and 1972/73 Sydney Test.

 

[Hasan123]

The Asian Bradman.

 

[MMHS]

That back lift & bat swing ... almost as good as like Azhar Ali .......... sweet memories.

 

[MenInG]

The master at work! I cannot understand how we could not have produced more players like Zaheer.

 

[Majid Khan]

The master at work! I cannot understand how we could not have produced more players like Zaheer.

Because he was special and a one-off, players like Zaheer Abbas don’t grow on trees

Just recently watching some highlights of Zaheer Abbas’s batting , makes you realise how gifted a stroke player this guy was — the way he timed , placed and executed his shots with such style and precision... is it just me being biased as an admirer of Zaheer’s batting or anyone else agree that modern batsmen just don’t come close to that level of skill and finesse.

Of course modern day batsmen can play the helicopter shot, the scoop shot , slog big sixes — but watching Zaheer Abbas , he made batting look like a fine art that requires a lot of skill.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

That knock of 274 set the tone for Zaheer's entire career who was the ultimate master in compiling marathon innings.Zaheer Abbas gave the game of cricket its soul or ethereal beauty. He ressurected cricket’s golden age like no one else. His strokes were a manifestation of the divine, executed with timing of surreal proportions and magical touch.In my view for sheer style and elegance no batsman ever surpassed Zaheer Abbas.,who held a bat like a wand. No batsman as gloriously drove a cricket ball on other side of extra cover or looked more like a painter making curves on board. It is hard to find an adjective to do full justice to the sheer poetry in Zaheer's batting whose strokes resembled the touches of a painters brush. His mere deft touches would send the best of balls scuttling to the boundary. No batsman possessed the God gifted artistry of a cricketer more. Few batsmen ever took inventiveness to such mystical regions. Even when desecrating a bowling attack to pieces his strokes never lost the elements of composure or technique, like a boxer, poet and surgeon rolled into one. No batsman touched the core of your soul more than Zaheer who conjured up visions of reflection of moonlight in water.

Technically he was master, with shades of unorthodoxy because of his great inventive capability. Few batsman were better positioned when driving as Zaheer,who exhibited a flow that at times looked surreal. At his best he could improvise like a magician. He was an absolute master against fast-medium and spin bowling. Zaheer bewildered the purists with his very high back lift, with his bat coming down at the very last moment, to send ball crashing to the fence which looked inevitably like piercing the gate.

. His monumental 274 was amongst cricket's classics. taking aestheticism to regions of the sublime. For nine hours, ten minutes spectators were virtually put into a trance witnessing the glorious strokes all around the wicket, be it drives cut shots, pull or hook shots. Arguably No Asian cricketer ever took grace to such divine proportions, with the sheer flow in his strokes .The bowling attack was reduced to mere submission, but the ball simply caressed in the manner of a mother putting a ball to sleep. No innings before posed such a threat to the eclipsing of Gary Sobers' record test score of 365.One literally got vibrations of famous monument being constructed that day or a musical symphony being performed, with Zaheer blending the skill of a surgeon with the creativity of a poet. Sadly it failed to win Pakistan a test, in which they were overwhelmingly superior. His glorious drives executed through cover that day flash in my mind like a Ghazal.



Like all great players, his method was most uncomplicated with most rhythmic synchronization of body movements in the manner of a ballad dancer. It was based first on correct footwork, positioning himself perfectly to the length and line of each delivery. His backswing opposed the purists with its unorthodoxy, but his bat traversed the most vertical path, pleasing the most accurate geometrician..His power was obtained from his semi-circular high backlift, effervescent timing and subtle twist of the blade of the bat at the moment of impact. It is the blending of his wristiness, with a free follow-through that made his batting blossom like a lotus. In the manner of a ballad dancer he could move backwards and forwards in the execution of a single stroke. When watching him, I was constantly reminded of a Ghazal sung by Jasjit.