Daily Times

Cricket Year-Ender 2022

Australia and England visiting Pakistan for full series, skipper Babar Azam and his men reaching the Twenty20 World Cup final in Australia and unceremonious removal of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja, with Najam Sethi replacing him, dominated the Pakistan cricket scene in the year 2022. Perhaps the biggest news of the year was underdogs Pakistan qualifying for the T20 World Cup final. No one expected that Pakistan would be able to go through the final after losing to India and Zimbabwe. And zero points from two games left them needing something approaching a miracle to make it through to the final four. But miracles do happen. Lady luck smiled on the Pakistan side when the Netherlands shocked South Africa to open the semifinals’ door for Pakistan. Pakistan defeated the Netherlands, South Africa and Bangladesh in the Super-12 round, and in the semifinals New Zealand for a spot in the final. In the final against England, Pakistan faltered.

Lahore Qalandars won their maiden Pakistan Super League title in the seventh edition in February. Touring Pakistan after 24 years, Australia won the Test series 1-0 while lost the ODI series 2-1. Two of Pakistan’s finest batsmen Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali put curtains on their international careers. England visited Pakistan after 17 years for a seven-match T20I series and a three-match Test series. The visitors won the T20I series 4-3 and blanked the hosts 3-0 in the Test series.

The sacking of Ramiz was imminent because of his arrogance and behaviour, and with his patron Imran Khan no more at the Prime Minister House. Ramiz should have quit his post as the chairman once Imran had been ousted. Many chairmen in the past had left the post with the ouster of the patron who had appointed them and Ramiz should’ve followed suit. But he wanted to complete his three-year tenure at all costs, which was not possible due to a changed political scenario. The writing on the wall was very loud and clear. But Ramiz, who started to consider himself as indispensable, failed to listen or read it and was ultimately shown the door in an ungraceful manner. It is lamentable that majority of people were unhappy during Ramiz’s time at the top as he ran the PCB as a one-man show and neither the players, franchises of the PSL nor the PCB employees were happy with his attitude and performance.

The sacking of Ramiz was imminent because of his arrogance and behaviour, and with his patron Imran Khan no more at the Prime Minister House. Ramiz should have quit his post as the chairman once Imran had been ousted. Many chairmen in the past had left the post with the ouster of the patron who had appointed them and Ramiz should’ve followed suit. But he wanted to complete his three-year tenure at all costs, which was not possible due to a changed political scenario. The writing on the wall was very loud and clear. But Ramiz, who started to consider himself as indispensable, failed to listen or read it, and was ultimately shown the door in an ungraceful manner. It is lamentable that majority of people were unhappy during Ramiz’s time at the top as he ran the PCB as a one-man show and neither the players, franchises of the PSL nor the PCB employees were happy with his attitude and performance.

Star batsman Mohammad Hafeez hangs up his boots: The year 2022 started with Pakistan star batsman Mohammad Hafeez announcing his retirement from international cricket on January 3, ending a Pakistan career spanning more than 18 years. “Today I want to officially retire from the beautiful journey I started 18 years ago with Pakistan cricket,” Hafeez said while announcing his retirement at a press conference in Lahore.” While announcing his international retirement, Hafeez reiterated that his greatest disappointment as a cricketer was that players found guilty of corruption were allowed to return to the national team. Hafeez retired from Test cricket in December 2018, with the selectors later deciding to look past him in ODIs after the 2019 World Cup, where he played his last match of the format — against Bangladesh at Lord’s. But, after being dropped from the T20I side in 2018, he was recalled in 2020 for the home series against Bangladesh, and ended the year with a remarkable run: he was the leading run-getter in the format that year, scoring at an average of 83 and a strike rate of 152. He also ended the year as the overall sixth-highest run-scorer across all T20s, with the third-highest average and the third-best strike rate. Hafeez’s international debut came in an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2003, with his last match turning out to be Pakistan’s defeat against Australia in the T20 World Cup semi-final November 2021. He played 55 Tests, 218 ODIs and 119 T20Is, amassing 12,780 runs across formats, and finished with 32 Player-of-the-Match awards, the fourth-highest among Pakistan players in all international cricket, with only Shahid Afridi (43), Wasim Akram (39) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (33) above him. Hafeez also earned nine Player-of-the-Series awards across formats. He is the only Pakistan player to have played in all but one T20 World Cup so far — incidentally, the one they ended up winning in 2009 — and holds the Pakistan record for most T20 World Cup appearances.

Lahore Qalandars’ maiden Pakistan Super League title: The year for Pakistan cricket started with the Pakistan Super League (also known as PSL 7), Pakistan’s flagship Twenty20. Played between six teams in a double round robin format with strict COVID-19 protocols, the league began on January 27 with the first phase taking place in Karachi. The second phase including the playoffs took place in Lahore, with the final played on February 27 where Lahore Qalandars defeated Multan Sultans by 42 runs to win their maiden PSL title. Once the league’s eternal wooden-spoon — finishing last in the first four editions before reaching the final in 2020 — Lahore finally completed the set of winners. All six teams have now won the league. Islamabad United won in 2016 and 2018, Peshawar Zalmi in 2017, Quetta Gladiators in 2019, Karachi Kings in 2020 and Multan in 2021. Chasing a formidable victory target of 181, Multan, the most successful team of the seventh edition, could muster only 138 and were all out in 19.3 overs.

Australia’s historic visit to Pakistan for first their tour in 24 years: In March-April, Australia toured Pakistan in nearly quarter of a century amid tight security for their six-week stay. Pakistan had struggled to attract visiting sides since a fatal terror attack on the visiting Sri Lanka team’s bus in 2009. Australia last played in Pakistan in 1998, winning a three-Test series 1-0 and blanking the hosts in the three one-day internationals. Almost half of Pakistan’s 220 million people were not even born the last time Australia toured. In 2022, Australia played three Tests, three one-day internationals, and one Twenty20 match before leaving on April 6. Australia won the Test series 1-0 with two Tests were drawn. Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1 with Australia winning the first ODI by 88 runs, second was won by Pakistan by six wickets and third by nine wickets. The only T20I was won by Australia by three wickets.

Pakistan blank West Indies 3-0 in ODI series in Multan: The West Indies cricket team toured Pakistan in June 2022 to play three ODIs in Multan. Originally, the matches were scheduled to be played in December 2021 but were postponed after multiple cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the West Indies team and support staff. The ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020-23 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. Pakistan won the opening ODI by five wickets with their captain Babar Azam scoring a century. Pakistan won the second match by 120 runs. The third and final ODI was temporarily suspended during Pakistan’s innings due to a dust storm. Despite the interruption, Pakistan went on to win the match by 53 runs, winning the series 3-0.

Pakistan in Sri Lanka for two-Test series: In July, Pakistan toured Sri Lanka to play two Tests. The Test series formed part of the 2021-2023 ICC World Test Championship. Pakistan won the first Test by four wickets after they were set a target of 342 runs to win the match. It was Pakistan’s second-highest successful run chase in Test cricket, and the highest successful run chase for any team playing a Test in Galle. Sri Lanka won the second Test by 246 runs to draw the series 1-1, with Dhananjaya de Silva scoring a century. Player of the series Prabath Jayasuriya took his fourth five-wicket haul in six innings.

Pakistan lose Asia Cup final to Sri Lanka in UAE: In August and September, Asia Cup was held in the United Arab Emirates. The tournament — which began for Sri Lanka with tumult at home — ended with them taking home the winners’ trophy. Sri Lanka, the original hosts before the tournament was moved to the UAE due to the political and economic situation in the country, were helped by Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s batting pyrotechnics and Wanindu Hasaranga’s all-round brilliance to secure the victory in the final at Dubai Stadium. Pakistan were the side at the receiving end of this thumping, outclassed with the bat, outsmarted with the ball, outdone in the field, and out-thought in the captaincy department by an electric Sri Lankan performance which wrapped up a commanding 23-run win. Pre-tournament favourites India, who lost two of their three Super Four matches, crashed out after Afghanistan lost to Pakistan.

England thump Pakistan 4-3 in T20I series: In September- October, England finished their first tour to Pakistan in 17 years with 4-3 victory in an exciting seven-match T20I series. The matches were seen as a preparatory series before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia. The first leg of the home series, comprising four matches, was played in Karachi, with each side bagging two wins. England won the first (by six wickets) and the third (by 63 runs) while the home team won the second (by 10 wickets) and the fourth (by three runs). During the Lahore leg, Pakistan won the fifth contest (by six runs) while the sixth (by eight wickets) was won by England. The final game was won by the tourists by 67 runs.

T20 World Cup in Australia: England’s five-wicket win in the Twenty20 World Cup final against Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 13 (Sunday) was one their finest performances in white ball cricket. No doubt, they were clinical and outplayed skipper Babar and his men in all departments of the game. England had enough depth and efficiency in their bowling, their fielding was brilliant and they also had the batting that was equipped with armory to tame rivals with ease and aggressive stroke play. From the underperforming low of a loss to Ireland, to victory on the biggest stage of all, England enjoyed a rollercoaster ride to the ICC T20 World Cup title. For the second time in their history, England were T20 champions of the world. England won the first title in 2010. England’s triumph over Pakistan in the final also made them the first team in history to hold both one-day and T20 World Cups at the same time, following their 50-over triumph in 2019. Their efforts were all the more impressive given they were without five first-choice players due to injury.

Pakistan women clean sweep Ireland in ODI series: In November, Pakistan women claimed a 3-0 win over Ireland in the ICC Women’s Championship matches at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Pakistan had won the opening match by 128 runs, the second game by nine wickets and the final game by five wickets. Pakistan had entered the three-match ODI series against Ireland with four ICC Championship points from three games, and proceeded to register a clean-sweep over the Irish side to pocket six vital points. They occupied second spot in the ICC Championship with 10 points. India were leading the chart with 12 points from six outings. During the series, Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof broke the record of most number of women’s ODIs for Pakistan, surpassing Sana Mir’s 120 appearances when she stepped onto the field in the third ODI. Bismah later scored 57 off 70 balls in the match, becoming the first Pakistan batter to score 3,000 runs in women’s ODIs and completed 1,000 runs as captain in the format. A positive development for the Pakistan side was the way young players shone throughout the series. Two players made their ODI debut in Ireland’s maiden tour of the country.

England in Pakistan for first Test tour in 17 years: In December, Skipper Ben Stokes and 15 of his teammates touched down in Pakistan for the three-match Test series which was played in Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi. While England played a seven-match T20I series in Pakistan prior to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, this three-match Test series was the first time the two sides had played a red-ball fixture in the country since 2005. The series was part of the current World Test Championship period. England took the wind out of Pakistan sails by winning the series 3-0. The visitors outplayed the hosts in the first Test by 74 runs in Rawalpindi, second in Multan by 26 runs and the third in Karachi by 08 wickets to hand Pakistan their first home whitewash. England’s series win secured only their third Test series success in Pakistan, and the win also marked the first time they’ve won multiple Tests in one series on Pakistan soil.

Star batsman Azhar Ali takes retirement from Test cricket: Azhar Ali, Pakistan’s one of the most successful batsmen, hanged up his boots following the third Test against England. With 7142 runs in 97 matches at an average of 42.26, Azhar is Pakistan’s fifth leading Test run-getter behind Younus Khan (10,099), Javed Miandad (8,832), Inzamamul Haq (8,829) and Mohammad Yousuf (7,530). In 2010, Azhar, as a 25-year-old, made his Test debut in England against Australia at Lord’s and scored his maiden Test half-century in only his second match. He would score 34 more half-centuries and went past the 100-run mark on 19 instances. Azhar, 37, is the only Pakistan batter to score a triple-century in a pink-ball Test — a feat that he achieved against the West Indies at Dubai in 2016. That unbeaten 302 remains his highest score in Test cricket. Over the course of his 12-year career, Azhar also made two double-centuries — 226 against Bangladesh in Dhaka (May 2015) and 205 not out against Australia in Melbourne (December 2016) — and has, at least, one century in Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Against Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2014, Azhar scored a century in each innings (109 and 100 not out) to help Pakistan win the second Test by 356 runs and two-Test series 2-0. Azhar captained Pakistan in nine Tests in two separate tenures from 2016 till 2020. Azhar retired from one-day internationals in 2018 — a year after helping Pakistan win the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Azhar scored 1845 runs in 53 ODIs with an average of 36.90. He hit three centuries and 12 half centuries in ODIs.

Najam Sethi takes over reins of PCB, once again: In the last week of December, PCB chairman Ramiz was sacked by the federal government. His removal from the post was formally initiated by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif who is also patron of the cricket board. A 14-member management committee, headed by former PCB head and prominent media analyst Najam Sethi, took interim charge of affairs. The committee was given 120 days to change the PCB’s constitution, bringing back the 2014 version to replace the current one, which was put in place in 2019. Sethi was head of the PCB in one capacity or another from 2013 until 2018, though the stint was initially embroiled in legal battles with his predecessor Zaka Ashraf; he resigned once Imran Khan became Prime Minister in August 2018. As the first chairman of the league, he oversaw the birth of the Pakistan Super League and was in charge when the very first visits by international sides were made to Pakistan, ending a period of isolation that began after the 2009 terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore. The day Imran was ousted from power, it was written on the wall that Ramiz’s days in the PCB were numbered. Getting rid of departments was insisted upon by Imran who had for long wanted Pakistan’s domestic scene to replicate that of Australia’s — a provincial model, with six teams made up of Pakistan’s provinces playing in all tournaments. But with Imran’s exit in April 2022, a group of former board members has begun urging the government to go back to the previous domestic structure in which departmental teams. The PCB had been criticised for abolishing departmental cricket, as it rendered hundreds of cricketers jobless at a stroke.

Usually, with a change of government, a change of the chairmanship and board administration is inevitable and immediate. But as the new government, with a vast coalition of several political parties, worked its way through the most pressing priorities in the country — not least a spiralling economic crisis — Ramiz stayed under the radar and continued in the position. However, momentum against him built after Pakistan’s 0-3 loss to England at home — a run that now includes the Test side losing four Tests in a row at home for the first time in the country’s history and not having won any of the six home Tests played in 2022.

(The writer is Editor Sports at Daily Times. He can be reached at mali319@hotmail.com)