|
Qadir, the little leg-spinner from Lahore, brought excitement back to
International cricket. He was the first match-winning wrist-spinner for
nearly 20 years and brought art back into the game after a long period
of quick bowlers battering away, often at batsmen's heads. He made his
debut as a 22 year-old when England went to Pakistan under Mike Brearley
in 1977-78. His bounding approach to the wicket put joy into
spectators' hearts. Don Mosey described it to a T: "The left hand goes
up in salute, then he swaggers two steps, looking rather like a
self-conscious child at a Sunday School concert, bounds in, bounces to
the wicket and bowls. "At one time he reckoned he had four different
googlies, as well as a host of other varieties and a young Shane Warne
flew to Lahore to learn at the feet of the master.
He came to England in
1978 but, still learning his trade, he did not get a Test. It was
several years before he was a regular in the Pakistan side. He saved his
best performances for tentative England batsmen: 7-96 at the Oval in
1987, followed by 9-56 in Lahore a few months later. In that 3-match
series he took 30 wickets. Australia were perplexed by 7-142 at
Faisalabad in the early 1980s, when they lost by an innings. Qadir
confounded the experts by playing a major role in two World Cups - in
England in 1983 and in India in 1987. Again, England were favourite
victims, with 4-31 in 1987. He took 5-44 against Sri Lanka at Headingley
in 1983, proving he was not just a force on his home wickets. (Bob Harragan)
Abdul Qadir died on 5th. September 2019 in Lahore following a cardiac arrest, aged 63.
|