Did you know...

[Richard]

That between 1972\73 (England) and 1994\95 (Australia) Pakistan lost just 3 Tests at home, all to West Indies. Only 1 of those cost them the series (1980\81).
This, presumably, tells us several things...
1, Pakistan had "compliance" of Umpiring for most of that time.
2, Pakistani pitches tend to be rather flat (72 played, 40 drawn)
3, Pakistan did not used to be the easiest place to tour, and top players often used to skip said tours
4, Pakistan had some rather good batsmen (Mushtaq Mohammad, Asif Iqbal, Majid Khan, Sadiq Mohammad, Zaheer Abbas, Imran Khan, Wasim Raja, Javed Miandad, Mudassar Nazar, Mohsin Khan, Salim Malik, Shoaib Mohammad, Ijaz Ahmed, Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail, Inzamam-Ul-Haq) during the times.

 

[Jamee999]

And I think Wasim, Waqar and Imran might have helped.

 

[steds]

And I think Wasim, Waqar and Imran might have helped.

Wasim and Waqar weren't around since 72/73. Nor was Imran

 

[Richard]

Well... actually Imran made his debut in 1971 in England.
Barely played for the 6 years after his debut, mind.
Still - the point was bowlers don't give you an outstanding non-losing record - they help you win lots.
Batsmen are what stop you losing.

 

[wpdavid]

Well... actually Imran made his debut in 1971 in England.
Barely played for the 6 years after his debut, mind.
Still - the point was bowlers don't give you an outstanding non-losing record - they help you win lots.
Batsmen are what stop you losing.

Not playing also helps, and there weren't many series in Pakistan in the 1970's. After a weakened England's tour in 1972/73, we see 0-0 with WI in 1974/5 before the all-out pace attack had really emerged (IIRC Roberts & Holding had only just arrived on the scene) and then Australia in 1976/7. Without checking, I'm pretty sure that Imran played in that series and had a mighty effective time of it in the 1-1 draw.

Of course, the other absolutely vital presence in the late 70's and throughout the 80's was Qadir.

 

[Richard]

Indeed...
To think people talk about lack of cricket in Pakistan of late...
Maybe that's why the Test crowds drifted away (along with the flat pitches)? Too much home Test-cricket in the 1990s.

 

[Tapioca]

1, Pakistan had "compliance" of Umpiring for most of that time.

Or that certain other teams were not good enough to avoid defeat at home, despite the compliance of their umpires.

 

[Richard]

Well, obviously - but the compliance of the Umpires was one of the contributory factors to them not being good enough.
That was what I said.

 

[Armadillo]

Wasim and Waqar weren't around since 72/73. Nor was Imran

Yes but all three played a vital role up to 94/95 (the date richard stated)

 

[Richard]

Well - Waqar (and Wasim mainly) only in winning matches, not helping avoid defeat.

 

[Smudge]

Or that certain other teams were not good enough to avoid defeat at home, despite the compliance of their umpires.

Although the Pakistani umpires took it to extremes, considering Javed Miandad wasn't out LBW at home until 1985...

 

[Richard]

It was well known that Tony Crafter was nearly lynched after giving Javed out lbw in Pakistan.
Everyone reacted with complete astonishment.