The saga of the 1988 Pakistan Tour of the West Indies
Part 1 – Still in the game In this week’s edition of In Search of West Indies Cricket, the first of three parts, Roger Seymour reviews the 1988 Pakistan tour of the Caribbean, which was filled with great cricket and drama.
On 8th January, 1987, it was announced that the 1988 Australia Tour of the West Indies had been cancelled. President of the Australia Cricket Board (ACB) Dave Richards said the West Indies Cricket Board had called off the tour, but undisclosed sources related that the West Indies were very disappointed. The sources suggested that with the West Indies scheduled to play five Tests in Australia during the 1988/89 season, the ACB was reluctant to expose Allan Border’s young side to the West Indies for ten Tests in a calendar year. Australia had won only one match in the previous ten Tests.
14Th - 16th May, 1987: West Indies Cricket Board of Control (WICBC) Meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. Following the confab, the board released a provisional itinerary for the 1988 Pakistan Tour of the Caribbean. It was a packed schedule of three four-day games, five one day internationals and three Tests. It was the first time that only three Tests were slated for a home series, which was sandwiched between the West Indies visit to India (1987/88) and the 1988 summer tour of England.
6th - 11th August, 1987, Fifth Test, Pakistan vs England, at The Oval, London, England: Pakistan, 708; Javed Miandad, 260, Imran Khan, 118, Saleem Malik, 102. England, 232; Abdul Qadir, 7 for 96. England, 315 for 4, M.Gatting, 150*. Match drawn. Pakistan won the series 1 – 0.
Imran Khan, following his flawless fourth Test century, walked off to a standing ovation, and announced his retirement from Test cricket. He had achieved his two major goals in Test cricket; leading Pakistan to victory in India, (1 – 0, 1986/87 Five Tests series) and in England.
Wednesday, 4th November, 1987, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan. First Semi-final of 1987 Reliance World Cup (jointly hosted by India and Pakistan). Scores: Australia, 267 for 8 off 50 overs; D Boon, 65. Imran Khan, 3 for 36. Pakistan, 249 off 49 overs; Javed Miandad, 70, Imran Khan, 58. C McDermott, 5 for 44. Australia won by 18 runs.
Khan announced his retirement from international cricket following the extremely disappointing loss. The co-hosts were huge favourites after the preliminary round, in which Pakistan had reeled off five successive victories over Sri Lanka, England, West Indies, England, and India, before faltering against the West Indies in the final round of matches. Alas, Khan was totally dejected as his dream of finishing his career with the World Cup held aloft, lay shattered in his hometown. Later he conceded that at 35 years old and past his peak as a fast bowler, he wished to leave the game at the top, before the selectors got to him.
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While Pakistan was embroiled in a three-Test battle with the visiting English team in November and December 1987, Khan was savouring his retirement with a hunting trip north of Lahore. Peter Oborne, in his 624-page epic, “Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan” (2015), related the following anecdote, “After the shoot, the host suggested that they should go and visit a holy man, Baba
Chala, who lived in a village just a few miles away from the Indian border. The host asked Baba Chala how Imran should spend the rest of his life. But Chala looked at Imran and said that he had not yet left his profession. ‘It is the will of Allah, you are still in the game’.”
Khan’s return
Riding the wave of three consecutive series wins, and now undefeated in six series – the other three resulting in one victory and two draws – Pakistan’s deeply passionate cricket fans were chomping at the bit at the prospect of conquering the mighty West Indians on their home turf. However, despite leading Pakistan to victory, Khan’s replacement as skipper, Javed Miandad, resigned, citing the burden of captaincy affecting his batting, as he managed only 84 runs in the series. A national campaign was initiated to have Khan return to the Test arena. Processions and hunger strikes were held pleading for his return. He refused to waver from his decision.
Here’s an excerpt from Imran Khan. An outstanding orator, he appeared to be speaking off the cuff, delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s in 2010, “...Why did the Australian team cancel their tour? Because in those days - you wouldn’t believe it when you look at the current West Indies team - but in those days, it wasn’t a question of winning against the West Indies team, it was a question of losing with dignity [ripple of laughter from the captivated audience], and clearly the Australian team thought they would lose their dignity, so they cancelled and Pakistan were inducted. So, anyway, I had already retired, but my great desire was ..was to have one last go at this great team, which I thought was the greatest team in cricket history. I cannot still imagine any team being better than that… You can’t - people who played against them, and I think Mark [Nicholas, past Hampshire captain who never won an England cap, and host of the post lecture Question and Answer session] played against them at some level, he knew. [Another ripple of laughter]... If David Gower was here he would sort of tell you what it was like after losing ten zero against