Lacking grace, Javed Miandad was Javed Miandad was an epitome of a street fighter on a cricket field

By Harsh Thakor* 

Javed Miandad, more than any other cricketer of his era, epitomized the qualities of a street fighter, relishing a duel or a scrap in the manner of a hungry person consuming a sumptuous meal. In his day, no batsman was more adept at battling a crisis to resurrect a team from the doldrums. Javed would escalate his combative spirit to its highest pitch, scaling intensity in a tussle to heights rarely seen. He would literally "tickle" the most lethal of bowlers, being the ultimate scourge among batsmen with his sheer impetuosity. Javed lacked the grace of a Zaheer Abbas or Majid Khan or the technical solidity of Hanif Mohammad, but in a total package, he possibly overshadowed them all. Miandad was a batting genius in his own right.

Miandad did not belong to the classical school of batting, possessing a crude, uncanny style, basing his game largely on instinct. His strokes often appeared reckless, rugged, or flawed. He lacked a straight bat and would often shuffle across, making him prone to being trapped leg before wicket, but he compensated for this with his razor-sharp wrists and footwork, producing the most scientific cross-bat stroke play. He could manipulate a delivery in the manner of striking a squash ball. With nuanced craft, Javed could manufacture shots to bisect almost impenetrable gaps in a field. However, he possessed a beautiful square cut, and most of his shots went beyond the boundaries of the textbook. He was a fine early exponent of the reverse sweep and worked the angles and spaces most effectively. Javed would play fast balls right in front of his face in a convincing style, literally watching the ball come onto the bat, which very few could do. It exemplified that he was a model of control and courage.

Javed made a sensational Test debut against New Zealand in 1976, scoring an unbeaten 163 at Lahore, and became the youngest batsman to score a double century at Karachi in the third Test when scoring 206. In the Australasia Cup final in Sharjah against India in 1986, Javed scored a match-winning 116, taking Pakistan across the line with a six off the last ball. Until then, I had never witnessed an ODI innings in a run chase as calculated, tempered, and organized, one that transcended relentless spirit to domains not scaled. Spanning from 1987 to 1989, Miandad underwent the best phase of his career, climbing the pedestal to become the best batsman in the world. His batting was a perfect concoction of aggression, defense, improvisation, grit, and the soundest temperament. Arguably, Javed, in the 1987-1989 phase, was a batsman in the class of Viv Richards or Greg Chappell. In England in 1987, his 260 at the Oval sealed a series win for Pakistan, their first ever on English soil. In the West Indies in 1988, Miandad scored back-to-back centuries at Georgetown and Trinidad, coming to perfect terms with the Caribbean pace battery. Memories are embedded in my mind of the effortless ease with which he drove and cut the Calypso pacemen.

Javed retired with 8,832 runs at an average of 52.57, scoring 23 centuries in 124 Test matches. In ODI cricket, he averaged 41.70, scoring 7,381 runs and eight centuries. Miandad’s greatness could be marked by the power with which he propelled Pakistan, making it a habit to steer them out of the dark woods. His runs and the psychological effect of his batting approach were major factors in Pakistan climbing to the top of the ladder in Test and ODI cricket. Even if he did not win a match directly, he would play a pivotal role in shaping famous wins for his country. I can hardly name a batsman in one-day cricket as effective or organized in giving the final knockout punch to take a team across the line. It's remarkable that Javed averaged 66.24 in games Pakistan won in ODI run chases. He would allow the ball to come to him with high mastery, playing it late and using its pace to deflect or maneuver the ball through the gaps.

Javed is a strong candidate for the best Pakistani batsman ever, alongside Hanif Mohammad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Younis Khan. With a gun to my head, I would choose Javed when one considers his role in shaping his nation’s prospects, the standard of bowling he faced, and his performances in dire straits. Viv Richards chose him as the best batsman of his era alongside Sunil Gavaskar and Greg Chappell. Richard Hadlee and John Emburey classed him as the very best. I would select Miandad at number four in my Test World XI of the 1980s to join the likes of Viv Richards. Despite not having an outstanding overseas record, at his best he was a master on the bouncy West Indies and Australian strips and on the green English tops. He would just scrape into my 50 best selections of all-time cricketers.

---

*Freelance journalist