Harsh Thakor
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There could be few sights in sport to behold more than witnessing the intensity of Javed Miandad fighting it out in the middle,resembling a soldier on the battlefield.He simply was the ultimate epitome of combative spirit or grit.He was not a purist as a batsmen or technically perfect nor so graceful .However to ressurect a team from the grave Javed was the ultimate batsmen-cometh the hour-cometh the man.Gavaskar was more technically perfect,Viv Richards more agressive,Azharudin more elegant or Lara more creative but it was still Miandad who would niggle opponents more.Javed was a master on bad wickets performing like a surgeon performing an operation.Above all he posessed the great tenacity or concentration to compile marathon scores ,scoring more double hundreds than any great batsmen of his time,including 3 250+ scores .
Statistically in test matches he had staggering figures amassing 8832 runs at an average of 52.27 with 23 centuries ,including six double centuries.However he had a much better average at home than away.Unlike many batting greats he had only one succesful tour of West Indies and was not so prolific in Australia.Border averaged around 45+ away in contrast to his 65+average away.Overseas New Zealand was the best hunting ground for Javed .Still he was at his best on the tour of West Indies in 1988 averaging over 57 with 2 centuries and average over 72 and 59 respectively on tours of England in 1987 and 1992.Although inconsistent in Australia he scored a classic 135 at Perth in 1978-79 and 133 at Adelaide in 1983-84.Although his figures were not outstanding few Asian batsmen ever were such a scourge for pace bowlers on Australian or Carribean tracks as Javed,who could play the ball very near his face as few could.When stroking the ball on fast Australian tracks he revealed his great ability in tacking the short,rising ball.His batting in West Indies all but enabled Pakistan to win their 1st test series on Carribean soil and the unofficial world championship.He also scored a 272 in New Zealand in 1989.and a 260 in England in 1987,which played major role in Pakistan winning their 1st series on English soil.He revealed his great strokemaking ability facing the likes of Malcolm Marshall on a difficult pitch at Trinidad that took his team on the brink of famous win.Dissension within the Pakistan team at important junctures prevented it blossoming into a unified unit and enabling Javed thus to win more games for his country,overseas.At home he had phenomenal consistency ,better than any great batsmen of his time.His most memorable performance were his back to back centuries in the same test match that took his side home in 1984,his 76 versus West Indies at Karachi in 1986 and his unbeaten 280 at Hyderabad in 1982-83.
In ODI's in my view Javed was only next to Viv Richards displaying supreme craft and determination.His batting was a revelation in run chases and took temperament and craftsmanship to regions of the divine when scoring a a match-winning 116 v India at Sharjah in the 1986 Australasia cup final .There are few adjectives in the dictionary which would do complete justice to that knock of Miandad which was close to the perfect ODI innings.In 1987 he scored 7 consecutive fifties in India,Sharjah,England and Pakistan which spoke volumes of his consistency,which he repeated in the 1992 world cup when he averaged over 62 including fifties in the semi-final and final and in South Africa in a tr-nation series in 1992-93.He was one of the major architects of Pakistan's win in the 1992 world cup being the perfect foil for Inzamam Ul Haq in the semi-final and Imran Khan in the final.No batsmen had a better repertoire of strokes or was as imaginative in drilling the final holes in the wall as Javed,who was the best batsmen to give the final finishing touches in a run chase. He posessed the mastery of wizard in finding the gaps and bisecting the field ,like few batsmen ever did.I never saw a better manipulator of the cricket ball in ODI's than Javed whose chip shot and pull had touches of a genius.To lift a side out of the depths of despair to reach the pinnacle of glory Javed would be my choice more than anyone.
At times he did get brash or reckless and had a tendency to play too much across the line or shuffle and was thus often a victim of leg before decisions .He also could be very cocky and arrogant on the field.However he also gave the game the vibrations of a great entertainer ,giving it its ultimate liveliness.Many were more artistic or technically correct but few ever overpowered opponents more in the mind than Miandad.His batting also had an element of genius,particularly in his pull shot,which had the touch of a magician..Few batsmen made better technical adjustments in accordance with the batting conditions.Although overshadowed greatly by Imran Khan as a captain it must be noted that he led Pakistan to win their 1st series against Australia in 1980 and led them to win a series in England in 1992.In ODI cricket he led Pakistan to secure the runners up berth in the 1985 world championship of Cricket.Significantly he could set a field for Abdul Qadir better than even Imran Khan could which was revealed in series in 1982 and 1997 when he led his country.Arguably he did not get sufficient chance to lead his country being a victim of politics.Javed did not win as many games as later stalwarts like Inzamam Ul Haq but still saved more games,playing in an era where test matches had half as many results.He also averaged 9 more than Inzamam away.More than stats I judge Javed by the psychological and physical impact he created in the middle.There could be few more batting spectacles than witnessing Javed bat with Zaheer Abbas whose batting style differed like chalk with cheese.I wish we could have seen Javed more at his best against the most lethal pacemen like Lillee,Thomson,Holding or Marshall.Unlike Gooch,Gavaskar and Border Javed did not play the great West Indian pacemen so frequently or in full 5 test series.Javed was very much in the mould of an Ian Chappell of his day,who would overshadow brother Greg and Viv in a crisis.Javed was ta his best from 1987-89 where he rose to the stature of toppling the great Viv Richards for the title of the best batsmen in the world displaying phenomenal consistency on tours of India,England,New Zeland and West Indies .
Where would Miandad rank when compared to the other great batsmen?In my book just a notch below the best like Bradman,Hobbs,Tendulkar,Viv,Sobers,Lara ,Hammmond,Hutton and Gavaskar and in strong contention with Greg Chappell,Graeme Pollock,Rahul Dravid ,Everton Weekes George Headley and Alan Border.Border was more prolfic and consistent than Javed with a significantly better record overseas but could not keep the scoreboard moving or pull the wool out of the eyes of opponents like Javed.In ODI's I would rank Miandad amongst the top 5 of all and in his time the best with Viv Richards.In the decade of the 1980s from 1987-89 Javed was the best test batsmen in the world a,height which Alan Border never reached in his career.Viv Richards ranks Miandad as the best batsmen of his time with Gavaskar and Greg Chappell.Dennis Lille rates Javed behind only Viv,Sobers,Pollock,Barry Richards and Greg Chappell amongst batsmen he bowled to.David Gower ranks Javed at 34th place amongst his 50 best cricketers of all time while .Richard Hadlee rated Javed to be amogst the most complete batsmen he ever bowled to,Cristopher Martin Jenkings places him at 55th place.Ian Botham picked Javed in his all-time XI.n the final analysis merging his ODI performance I may just scrape Javed in the top 15 batsmen of all time.Steve Waugh and Jacques Kallis had better records but I still feel Javed was more of a threat to opponents and would overshadow Kallis in playing to the tune of a situation.Had Miandad played in later eras I would have backed him to average around 57.
To me if the chips were down Miandad was my choice even in an alltime XI!.
Statistically in test matches he had staggering figures amassing 8832 runs at an average of 52.27 with 23 centuries ,including six double centuries.However he had a much better average at home than away.Unlike many batting greats he had only one succesful tour of West Indies and was not so prolific in Australia.Border averaged around 45+ away in contrast to his 65+average away.Overseas New Zealand was the best hunting ground for Javed .Still he was at his best on the tour of West Indies in 1988 averaging over 57 with 2 centuries and average over 72 and 59 respectively on tours of England in 1987 and 1992.Although inconsistent in Australia he scored a classic 135 at Perth in 1978-79 and 133 at Adelaide in 1983-84.Although his figures were not outstanding few Asian batsmen ever were such a scourge for pace bowlers on Australian or Carribean tracks as Javed,who could play the ball very near his face as few could.When stroking the ball on fast Australian tracks he revealed his great ability in tacking the short,rising ball.His batting in West Indies all but enabled Pakistan to win their 1st test series on Carribean soil and the unofficial world championship.He also scored a 272 in New Zealand in 1989.and a 260 in England in 1987,which played major role in Pakistan winning their 1st series on English soil.He revealed his great strokemaking ability facing the likes of Malcolm Marshall on a difficult pitch at Trinidad that took his team on the brink of famous win.Dissension within the Pakistan team at important junctures prevented it blossoming into a unified unit and enabling Javed thus to win more games for his country,overseas.At home he had phenomenal consistency ,better than any great batsmen of his time.His most memorable performance were his back to back centuries in the same test match that took his side home in 1984,his 76 versus West Indies at Karachi in 1986 and his unbeaten 280 at Hyderabad in 1982-83.
In ODI's in my view Javed was only next to Viv Richards displaying supreme craft and determination.His batting was a revelation in run chases and took temperament and craftsmanship to regions of the divine when scoring a a match-winning 116 v India at Sharjah in the 1986 Australasia cup final .There are few adjectives in the dictionary which would do complete justice to that knock of Miandad which was close to the perfect ODI innings.In 1987 he scored 7 consecutive fifties in India,Sharjah,England and Pakistan which spoke volumes of his consistency,which he repeated in the 1992 world cup when he averaged over 62 including fifties in the semi-final and final and in South Africa in a tr-nation series in 1992-93.He was one of the major architects of Pakistan's win in the 1992 world cup being the perfect foil for Inzamam Ul Haq in the semi-final and Imran Khan in the final.No batsmen had a better repertoire of strokes or was as imaginative in drilling the final holes in the wall as Javed,who was the best batsmen to give the final finishing touches in a run chase. He posessed the mastery of wizard in finding the gaps and bisecting the field ,like few batsmen ever did.I never saw a better manipulator of the cricket ball in ODI's than Javed whose chip shot and pull had touches of a genius.To lift a side out of the depths of despair to reach the pinnacle of glory Javed would be my choice more than anyone.
At times he did get brash or reckless and had a tendency to play too much across the line or shuffle and was thus often a victim of leg before decisions .He also could be very cocky and arrogant on the field.However he also gave the game the vibrations of a great entertainer ,giving it its ultimate liveliness.Many were more artistic or technically correct but few ever overpowered opponents more in the mind than Miandad.His batting also had an element of genius,particularly in his pull shot,which had the touch of a magician..Few batsmen made better technical adjustments in accordance with the batting conditions.Although overshadowed greatly by Imran Khan as a captain it must be noted that he led Pakistan to win their 1st series against Australia in 1980 and led them to win a series in England in 1992.In ODI cricket he led Pakistan to secure the runners up berth in the 1985 world championship of Cricket.Significantly he could set a field for Abdul Qadir better than even Imran Khan could which was revealed in series in 1982 and 1997 when he led his country.Arguably he did not get sufficient chance to lead his country being a victim of politics.Javed did not win as many games as later stalwarts like Inzamam Ul Haq but still saved more games,playing in an era where test matches had half as many results.He also averaged 9 more than Inzamam away.More than stats I judge Javed by the psychological and physical impact he created in the middle.There could be few more batting spectacles than witnessing Javed bat with Zaheer Abbas whose batting style differed like chalk with cheese.I wish we could have seen Javed more at his best against the most lethal pacemen like Lillee,Thomson,Holding or Marshall.Unlike Gooch,Gavaskar and Border Javed did not play the great West Indian pacemen so frequently or in full 5 test series.Javed was very much in the mould of an Ian Chappell of his day,who would overshadow brother Greg and Viv in a crisis.Javed was ta his best from 1987-89 where he rose to the stature of toppling the great Viv Richards for the title of the best batsmen in the world displaying phenomenal consistency on tours of India,England,New Zeland and West Indies .
Where would Miandad rank when compared to the other great batsmen?In my book just a notch below the best like Bradman,Hobbs,Tendulkar,Viv,Sobers,Lara ,Hammmond,Hutton and Gavaskar and in strong contention with Greg Chappell,Graeme Pollock,Rahul Dravid ,Everton Weekes George Headley and Alan Border.Border was more prolfic and consistent than Javed with a significantly better record overseas but could not keep the scoreboard moving or pull the wool out of the eyes of opponents like Javed.In ODI's I would rank Miandad amongst the top 5 of all and in his time the best with Viv Richards.In the decade of the 1980s from 1987-89 Javed was the best test batsmen in the world a,height which Alan Border never reached in his career.Viv Richards ranks Miandad as the best batsmen of his time with Gavaskar and Greg Chappell.Dennis Lille rates Javed behind only Viv,Sobers,Pollock,Barry Richards and Greg Chappell amongst batsmen he bowled to.David Gower ranks Javed at 34th place amongst his 50 best cricketers of all time while .Richard Hadlee rated Javed to be amogst the most complete batsmen he ever bowled to,Cristopher Martin Jenkings places him at 55th place.Ian Botham picked Javed in his all-time XI.n the final analysis merging his ODI performance I may just scrape Javed in the top 15 batsmen of all time.Steve Waugh and Jacques Kallis had better records but I still feel Javed was more of a threat to opponents and would overshadow Kallis in playing to the tune of a situation.Had Miandad played in later eras I would have backed him to average around 57.
To me if the chips were down Miandad was my choice even in an alltime XI!.
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