In September 1994, Pakistan and Australia shared one of the most nail biting Test climaxes of the modern era.
Here's some quotes from 4 of the players that were playing in that brilliant encounter.
Mark Taylor - "Our preparation was a fair way from being perfect. We hadn't played test cricket for about 6 months. Rather than just be a side that would play well at home, we wanted to win some of these tours. We knew we had a side that could win in these places".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "With home advantage, we always believed we could win. Playing in Pakistan meant that the pitch was going to suit us. Our conditions are totally opposite to Australian cricket. We always respected the Aussies because they were a strong side and could destroy anybody, wherever they played".
Ian Healy - "We had a very strong team but Pakistan did too. We knew it was going to be a tough series, but one we were relishing".
Rashid Latif - "We were very confident in the build-up. We'd had a turbulent period before the series, but had regained our rhythm. Wasim and Waqar were bowling well, and when these two bowled well we knew we had a chance to beat the best, especially in our own den".
Mark Taylor - "To win the toss and bat first was a good start, but then making a duck put a bit of a dampener on it. I was very keyed up, keen to do well, nervous. And then I was caught and bowled by Wasim for nought. It was a loosener/half-volley down the leg side-and I got a leading edge back to him".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "If you have Shane Warne, Tim May and Glenn McGrath in your side, even 300 on a flat wicket can be enough".
Mark Taylor - "We were pretty happy to make 300 plus, and then we bowled them out for under our score. At that stage, we were right in the box seat".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "Their two spinners (May and Warne) bowled absolutely brilliantly. Warnie was young, but was well established by then. He knew how to play against any team".
Rashid Latif - "The feeling in the dressing room was that we mustn't get disheartened by the fact that we were trailing. We were a good batting unit and Wasim and Waqar were bowling well. Michael Bevan played a lovely knock, so we thought if Beavan can play like that, a dogged innings, we can play in the same manner. Saeed Anwar had played beautifully in the first innings, so our hopes were pinned on him".
Ian Healy - "I think I might even have packed my cricket bag up for the day when we were 171 for 2. I remember Michael Bevan was hardly ready to go into bat- a wicket had fallen and he was nowhere. The next thing I knew, I was in and rushing to get my shoes on. It was a bit of a blitz that afternoon".
Rashid Latif - "David Boon (114 not out) played a gem of an innings. He was a solid batsman and was ably assisted by Mark Waugh. But once Waugh was out, and the typical Karachi sea breeze started, we were back in the game. Wasim and Waqar - "the wreckers", we called them - ran through the Australians. We got them out for 232. It was wonderful keeping wicket to those two, they were just unstoppable".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "From a team and the nation's point of view, you were happy if you had the 2 Ws - you knew they'd do the job for you. Playing with them gave me huge confidence. I would take one or two wickets and always knew they would take over and get the opposition out".
Mark Taylor - "Wasim was brilliant with the new ball, Waqar just as destructive with the old one. They were a terrific combination. We lost 8 wickets for 61 runs. For middle - to lower order batsmen going in with those two bowling at good pace with a ball that was reverse swinging, it was bloody hard. I don't think a ball seamed all game - it just shows you how good those two bowlers were".
Rashid Latif - "We'd never achieved that target before. So it looked scary. When Saeed and Aamer gave us a good start of 45 we thought we could achieve that, but then there was a collapse. When Basit got out we were tottering at 184 for 7. Then Inzamam and myself put on 52 to raise some hopes. I got out lbw to Steve Waugh and while walking back, was so sad we were going to lose. When Waqar was out we thought despite McGrath being unfit to bowl - it was all over".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "Everybody was tense in the dressing room. I could see the tension, with Warne and May bowling so well and the wicket turning a lot. We thought we had no chance".
Rashid Latif - "Warne was turning the ball, "he'll dismiss Mushtaq soon". Suddenly Mushtaq hit two boundaries and Taylor decided to take the new ball. I think it was his first test as captain and it was a big mistake. The new ball helped us - by the time Warne returned we had come very close to winning".
Mushtaq Ahmed - " I wasn't even using my bat. For some reason, I had asked Asif Mujtaba if I could use his. He said : "it's a very bad bat. Use yours". But I took it and I felt no pressure. When I got out to the middle, Inzi said : "how are we going to get these runs?" I said : "Look Inzi, don't you worry about it. Let me face Warnie and you face the others". I don't know why I said that. I still remember his reply : "Hang on, I'm the main batsman !" But I didn't have any pressure. From then on, it was an awesome partnership".
Mark Taylor - "I remember when Mushtaq was on strike and Warnie was bowling, we had fieldsmen all over the bat. A couple of balls hit the shoulder of the bat and flew over the guys close".
Ian Healy - "That partnership was extraordinary. Mushtaq probably never batted that well again. We took the new ball, tried spinners with it... we tried everything. We were throwing everything at them and Inzamam came alive".
Mark Taylor - "They got within 3 to win. Inzamam was on strike. We knew he'd try to win it. I remember walking down the wicket and having a chat with Warnie. We said we should leave the on side a little bit open. We had a mid on in, but no one else at mid wicket. He said he'd try to get him to hit one across the line...."
Ian Healy - "Warnie came around the wicket and bowled for the gap Taylor had left. Inzi played the shot and I remember his bat coming through. That's a bad sign in itself, as I should just remember seeing the ball coming through and thinking, "you beauty".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "When Inzi missed the ball, I thought he was going to be stumped, as it went through to Healy. But then it went through Healy's legs for four byes".
Ian Healy - "I became distracted with the pressure of the situation and the job at hand, and missed the ball that kept a bit low".
Rashid Latif - "It was very chaotic, sentimental and tense. We were biting nails, some of the players didn't want to watch, but I was outside the dressing room. Some of the players were shouting : "do it Inzi, do it Mushy". We knew it could be all over in one delivery, but we were praying and wishing Mushtaq would last until the 314th run was scored. When that happened we just ran to the ground. Healy was a great keeper, but I think Inzi charged at the ball and Healy was blinded. Fortune favours the brave, they say. On that day we were the braver side - and were helped by the Almighty".
Mark Taylor - "Mushtaq made 20 batting last to get them over the line. If you look at the scores in the next Test, he made a pair. It was just an extraordinary Test match. I think if we'd played the last hour again a hundred times, we'd have won the test 100 times".
Here's some quotes from 4 of the players that were playing in that brilliant encounter.
Mark Taylor - "Our preparation was a fair way from being perfect. We hadn't played test cricket for about 6 months. Rather than just be a side that would play well at home, we wanted to win some of these tours. We knew we had a side that could win in these places".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "With home advantage, we always believed we could win. Playing in Pakistan meant that the pitch was going to suit us. Our conditions are totally opposite to Australian cricket. We always respected the Aussies because they were a strong side and could destroy anybody, wherever they played".
Ian Healy - "We had a very strong team but Pakistan did too. We knew it was going to be a tough series, but one we were relishing".
Rashid Latif - "We were very confident in the build-up. We'd had a turbulent period before the series, but had regained our rhythm. Wasim and Waqar were bowling well, and when these two bowled well we knew we had a chance to beat the best, especially in our own den".
Mark Taylor - "To win the toss and bat first was a good start, but then making a duck put a bit of a dampener on it. I was very keyed up, keen to do well, nervous. And then I was caught and bowled by Wasim for nought. It was a loosener/half-volley down the leg side-and I got a leading edge back to him".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "If you have Shane Warne, Tim May and Glenn McGrath in your side, even 300 on a flat wicket can be enough".
Mark Taylor - "We were pretty happy to make 300 plus, and then we bowled them out for under our score. At that stage, we were right in the box seat".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "Their two spinners (May and Warne) bowled absolutely brilliantly. Warnie was young, but was well established by then. He knew how to play against any team".
Rashid Latif - "The feeling in the dressing room was that we mustn't get disheartened by the fact that we were trailing. We were a good batting unit and Wasim and Waqar were bowling well. Michael Bevan played a lovely knock, so we thought if Beavan can play like that, a dogged innings, we can play in the same manner. Saeed Anwar had played beautifully in the first innings, so our hopes were pinned on him".
Ian Healy - "I think I might even have packed my cricket bag up for the day when we were 171 for 2. I remember Michael Bevan was hardly ready to go into bat- a wicket had fallen and he was nowhere. The next thing I knew, I was in and rushing to get my shoes on. It was a bit of a blitz that afternoon".
Rashid Latif - "David Boon (114 not out) played a gem of an innings. He was a solid batsman and was ably assisted by Mark Waugh. But once Waugh was out, and the typical Karachi sea breeze started, we were back in the game. Wasim and Waqar - "the wreckers", we called them - ran through the Australians. We got them out for 232. It was wonderful keeping wicket to those two, they were just unstoppable".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "From a team and the nation's point of view, you were happy if you had the 2 Ws - you knew they'd do the job for you. Playing with them gave me huge confidence. I would take one or two wickets and always knew they would take over and get the opposition out".
Mark Taylor - "Wasim was brilliant with the new ball, Waqar just as destructive with the old one. They were a terrific combination. We lost 8 wickets for 61 runs. For middle - to lower order batsmen going in with those two bowling at good pace with a ball that was reverse swinging, it was bloody hard. I don't think a ball seamed all game - it just shows you how good those two bowlers were".
Rashid Latif - "We'd never achieved that target before. So it looked scary. When Saeed and Aamer gave us a good start of 45 we thought we could achieve that, but then there was a collapse. When Basit got out we were tottering at 184 for 7. Then Inzamam and myself put on 52 to raise some hopes. I got out lbw to Steve Waugh and while walking back, was so sad we were going to lose. When Waqar was out we thought despite McGrath being unfit to bowl - it was all over".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "Everybody was tense in the dressing room. I could see the tension, with Warne and May bowling so well and the wicket turning a lot. We thought we had no chance".
Rashid Latif - "Warne was turning the ball, "he'll dismiss Mushtaq soon". Suddenly Mushtaq hit two boundaries and Taylor decided to take the new ball. I think it was his first test as captain and it was a big mistake. The new ball helped us - by the time Warne returned we had come very close to winning".
Mushtaq Ahmed - " I wasn't even using my bat. For some reason, I had asked Asif Mujtaba if I could use his. He said : "it's a very bad bat. Use yours". But I took it and I felt no pressure. When I got out to the middle, Inzi said : "how are we going to get these runs?" I said : "Look Inzi, don't you worry about it. Let me face Warnie and you face the others". I don't know why I said that. I still remember his reply : "Hang on, I'm the main batsman !" But I didn't have any pressure. From then on, it was an awesome partnership".
Mark Taylor - "I remember when Mushtaq was on strike and Warnie was bowling, we had fieldsmen all over the bat. A couple of balls hit the shoulder of the bat and flew over the guys close".
Ian Healy - "That partnership was extraordinary. Mushtaq probably never batted that well again. We took the new ball, tried spinners with it... we tried everything. We were throwing everything at them and Inzamam came alive".
Mark Taylor - "They got within 3 to win. Inzamam was on strike. We knew he'd try to win it. I remember walking down the wicket and having a chat with Warnie. We said we should leave the on side a little bit open. We had a mid on in, but no one else at mid wicket. He said he'd try to get him to hit one across the line...."
Ian Healy - "Warnie came around the wicket and bowled for the gap Taylor had left. Inzi played the shot and I remember his bat coming through. That's a bad sign in itself, as I should just remember seeing the ball coming through and thinking, "you beauty".
Mushtaq Ahmed - "When Inzi missed the ball, I thought he was going to be stumped, as it went through to Healy. But then it went through Healy's legs for four byes".
Ian Healy - "I became distracted with the pressure of the situation and the job at hand, and missed the ball that kept a bit low".
Rashid Latif - "It was very chaotic, sentimental and tense. We were biting nails, some of the players didn't want to watch, but I was outside the dressing room. Some of the players were shouting : "do it Inzi, do it Mushy". We knew it could be all over in one delivery, but we were praying and wishing Mushtaq would last until the 314th run was scored. When that happened we just ran to the ground. Healy was a great keeper, but I think Inzi charged at the ball and Healy was blinded. Fortune favours the brave, they say. On that day we were the braver side - and were helped by the Almighty".
Mark Taylor - "Mushtaq made 20 batting last to get them over the line. If you look at the scores in the next Test, he made a pair. It was just an extraordinary Test match. I think if we'd played the last hour again a hundred times, we'd have won the test 100 times".
in this game?
)
