When I started watching cricket in the early 80's, it was all Imran, Miandad and to an extent, Qadir, but really those two. Sarfraz was a medium paced containing bowler in the 80s and I never saw his fearsome side. Mohsin Khan had the glamor although you didn't see much of that because he'd keep getting out to Marshal early doors. Saleem Malik overshadowed him with some outrageous innings which took the attack to the opposition. Wasim Raja even more so, but in the 80's, he was more Afridi'esque in his batting prowess (six and out) than the sparklier version of Gower/Sobers he was in the 70's.
Miandad was monstrous. Scored hard runs, everywher. Was always coming in at 12/2 or something. Those who judge Miandad only by his stats against West Indies (which by the way, were all put to rest in that 88 tour where he was a colossus on murderous fast bowling paradises and even moe bloodthirsty umpires), they just don't know what he was to Pakistan cricket in that decade - in fact all the way till 93-94. Carried them like Atlas on his shoulders, all the while goading the opposition. 50 average from start to finish, over 125 tests home and away, with a team that won more than it lost, doesn't happen in vacuum.
Imran of course was something else. My real memory of his bowling is just one: he would get wickets in each spell he came on and the opposition knew he was the only real threat Pakistan had in bowling that they had to see through, before someone like Jalaluddin or Mohsin Kamal would come on. For much of 80's, this was the case (together with Qadir to some extent) until Wasim came along. But they just couldn't. He would inevitably get someone out, and then the ball would start talking and he'd have a bunch of wickets and Pakistan would be out batting in no time. It happened in England, in West Indies home and away and all other countries. That is when he was bowling. He didn't bowl in 85 tests against Australia because of injury but I remember him scoring a pair of 70's in a test there when the rest of the team scored not much at all. Despite being highly rated, his batting is severely underrated today, and I'd argue so is his bowling. He was better, more effective than Akram even if he had fewer tricks. The couple of tricks he did know, the vicious in dipper, the suddenly rising snorter and the subtle away swinger, were in my opinion, the equivalent of Messi being only a left footed player, but then, what a left foot.
If you believe cricket was invented in 1992, you'd ignore what Pakistan was, how it fought cricket wars and how much it owed to its stalwarts.
It contained those battles fought in England, India and West Indies. But when Imran wasn't playing for 3 years, it also contained stalemates that would make watching paint dry an olympic sport by comparison.
This includes those 5 day borefests, in India and Pakistan (3 tests each in both countries, all drawn), which Zaheer speaks so fondly of 'not losing', and which I must also admit I watched with open mouthed amazement because to me they were pinnacles of sport (simpler days). But to a neutral, they were excruciating. I mean Tahir Naqqash was our opening bowler. Azeem Hafeez once took 5 wickets in an innings and I thought we had found left handed Dennis Lillee. Most of the matches used to be spinners (Iqbal Qasim, Tauseef, Random) bowling maidens until maidens. Those were the games where slowest hundreds and double hundred records were created ad nauseum. Qasim Omer and Shoaib Mohammad with strike rates in single digits on their most swashbuckling days were our trump cards to ensure draws.
Zaheer I don't recall doing much unfortunately. He was a fading force from early 80's. I don't even recall his one day exploits of which he was one of a kind talent. All I remember is his style which was beautiful. One Sri Lankan player I read in 'Akhbar e Watan' recalled how Zaheer adjusted from front to back foot in a flash to a rising ball, and how he caressed it through the covers to the boundary in one languid motion; left the entire Sri Lankan squad in awe.
And you can't ignore his style. As close to Richards as possible in imperiousness - before fading away.
It's a shame I didn't see him in his prime but from what I have read of his endless double centuries in England, his total domination of India, his hundred 100's, his partnership with Majid in that iconic world cup chase that faded away in the end and his pioneer white ball craft, must have been some player.
Pakistan desperately needs documentaries of its genuine greats in their lifetimes.
Or we'd continue thinking our cricket was invented from 92 onwards - which is such a disservice to that calypso squad of the 80's.
