Australian cricket team in Pakistan in 1982–83

The Australian cricket team toured Pakistan in the 1982–83 season to play a three-match Test series against Pakistan. Pakistan won the test series 3–0, and one day series 2–0. Australia failed to win a single game on the entire tour.

Australian squad

Australia had just defeated Pakistan 2–1 at home during the 1981–82 summer season and several of the players had previously toured Pakistan.

Captain Greg Chappell and fast bowlers Dennis Lillee and Len Pascoe who had all just toured New Zealand were all unavailable for selection on the tour.

The original squad selected were as follows:

• Batsmen - Kim Hughes (captain), Alan Border (vice-captain), Graham Yallop, Graeme Wood, Bruce Laird, John Dyson, Greg Ritchie, Wayne Phillips (also back up wicketkeeper)
• Fastbowlers - Jeff Thomson, Geoff Lawson, Ian Callen, Terry Alderman
• Spinners - Bruce Yardley, Peter Sleep, Ray Bright
• Wicketkeeper - Rod Marsh
• Manager - Col Egar
• Tour doctor - Dr Paul Koenig
• Tour physiotherapist - Fergus Nelson

Rod Marsh refused to serve as vice captain under Kim Hughes, saying he wanted "to give a younger player the experience of being vice-captain."^[1] He was replaced by Border.

The selection panel on tour was Hughes, Border and Laird.

Col Egar flew to Pakistan in July in order to help plan the tour.^[2]

The team met for four days in Perth for a training camp on 4 September. Kim Hughes said he was pleased with the squad:

Pakistan are in the process of developing one of their best sides ever and they seem to be able to bat well down the order... The boys will have to handle a different diet, customs and outlook on life — but it will be worth it.... Sleep and Yardley have been to India and that should stand them in good stead... In the spin department we have the great balance of a left-arm orthodox in Ray Bright and a right arm exponent in Yardley... The five regular batsmen, Border, Dyson, Bruce Laird, Graeme Wood and myself have seen a lot of cricket, and Ritchie and Phillips will be given every chance to be considered for the Tests.^[3]

There had been criticism of Pakistan pitches over the years. The curator of the WACA ground, John Maley, went to Pakistan in 1981 to advise the Board of Cricket Control on making of wickets. Maley found some suitable soil and recommended that the Test strips in Karachi, Faisalabad and Lahore be dug up and relaid.^[4]

Hughes thought the team was in better shape than the squad which lost to Pakistan in 1980:

We struggled before, but the spinning combination of Ray Bright and Bruce Yardley, the left- and right-arm orthodox bowlers, gives us a better balance and makes me optimistic of winning the series... But I'm not underestimating our quicks. Jeff Thomson can get us into a winning position if the wickets allow. But he may not be able to get amongst them on the final day and our spinners will have to knock them over.^[4]

Tour

The team left Perth on 9 September and travelled via Singapore to Karachi before flying to Rawalpindi. Rod Marsh stayed behind a few days to help his small child recover from an illness.^[5]

BCCP Patron's XI v Australians at Rawalpindi, 12-14 September 1982

Australia's first tour game was against the BCCP Patrons XI. Wayne Phillips played as wicketkeeper because of Marsh's unavailability, and Australia decided to play three spinners, Sleep, Bright and Yardley.

Australia began well with a century from Kim Hughes, and half centuries from Graeme Wood and Alan Border.^[6]

However Australia's bowlers struggled to dismiss the opposition and a second innings collapse saw Australia come close to losing the game. It ended in a draw.^[7]

BCCP XI v Australians at Multan, 16-18 September 1982

Australia fared much better in the next tour game, against BCCP XI, where they almost forced a victory. Ray Bright and Geoff Lawson both picked up five wicket hauls; Hughes, Wood and Ritchie all scored half centuries.^[8][9]

1st ODI: Pakistan v Australia at Hyderabad (Sind), Sep 20, 1982

Pakistan comfortably beat Australia in the 1st ODI. They were led by Zaheer Abbas in the absence of Imran Khan. It was the first one day match Australia had played in Pakistan.

Hughes won the toss and Pakistan batted, with Mohsin Khan scoring a century. Australia went from 0-104 to all out for 170. Jalal-ud-Din took a hat-trick consisting of Marsh, Yardley and Lawson.^[10][11]

The crowd of 30,000 was 5,000 more than capacity and several times play was interrupted when the crowd spilled on to the ground.^[12]

1st Test: Pakistan v Australia at Karachi, Sep 22-27, 1982

For the first test, Greg Ritchie was selected to make his test debut, with Terry Alderman 12th man.^[13]

Australia batted first and scored 284, with good innings from Dyson (87), Hughes (54) and Border (55). Pakistan made 419 in response, with the Australians dropping key catches.

"We lost concentration with the interruptions, dropped catches, but the bowlers, particularly the pacemen, Jeff Thomson and Geoff Lawson, were magnificent," said Kim Hughes. "Not once did they knock back a spell but just kept going."^[14]

The "interruptions" were serious. Items being thrown on the ground - including stones, potatoes and onions - led to Hughes taking his side off the ground on two separate occasions on the third day.^[15]

Hughes later threatened to call off the tour if any of his players were injured.

I'm not going to let my fellows* heads be cut open by razor-sharp stones... This is an insult to the Australian players - we are being treated like animals in a zoo... We should have gone off earlier, but I was sorry for the umpires and the other people who had paid good money to see cricket... We are here to play cricket and are being treated like animals. No wonder other cricketing countries are loath to come here. What bothers me is what happens when we are in a winning position? The same treatment was handed out to the West Indians. We can take the verbal abuse, but I've reached a position where our blokes don't want to field at fine leg.^[14]

The Karachi commissioner went with local cricket-association officials to plead with the rioters and were met with a hail of stones, vegetables and water bombs.

Australia collapsed in their second innings, with Abdul Qadir taking five wickets. Pakistan won by nine wickets. ^[16]

2nd Test: Pakistan v Australia at Faisalabad, Sep 30-Oct 5, 1982

Pakistan's victory in the second test was even more decisive.

Peter Sleep replaced an ill Bruce Yardley.^[17] Pakistan batted first and scored 6-501 declared, despite good bowling from Geoff Lawson (4-97).^[18]

Australia then wilted under the bowling of Qadir and Qasim making 168.^[19]

Pakistan enforced the follow on and dismissed Australia for 330 with the spinners taking nine of the wickets. The one bright spot for Australia was Ritchie's second innings century.^[20][21]

Geoff Lawsom complained about being given out leg before wicket, resulting in an official complaint from the umpire.^[22]

2nd ODI: Pakistan v Australia at Lahore, Oct 8, 1982

Australia performed more competitively in the 2nd ODI but still lost to Pakistan by 28 runs. Laird made a slow-scoring 91 and Hughes a quick fire 64.^[23][24]

Pakistan Invitation XI v Australians at Sialkot, Oct 10-12, 1982

Australia then drew against a Pakistan Invitation XI.

A day was lost due to rain.^[25] Highlight of the game was Wayne Phillips scoring 92 while playing as a wicketkeeper.^[26]

3rd Test: Pakistan v Australia at Lahore, Oct 14-19, 1982

For the third test, Australia decided to drop Sleep and Bright and use a three-man pace attack in conjunction with Yardley, recalling Terry Alderman.^[27]

Australia batted first and scored 316.^[28][29] Pakistan made 7-467 in response before declaring.

Australia were dismissed for 214 in their second innings and lost by nine wickets.^[30][31][32]

Col Egar told the press:

We are battling against the odds - that's not a gutless situation. We are suffering from lack of practice before the tour, our batting lacks timing, we have gone on the defensive and negative cricket breeds dismissal. The bowlers arc short of lead-up match practice and let's face it, we are playing against a powerful side. I will certainly recommend to the Australian Cricket Board that we don't tour again out of season. We will have to make sure we come here in 1988 at the end of the Sheffield Shield season.^[33]

3rd ODI: Pakistan v Australia at Karachi, Oct 22, 1982

The 3rd ODI was called off when Pakistan were 1-44 due to a crowd riot. Geoff Lawson, Ian Callen and Greg Ritchie had all been struck on the body and legs by missiles thrown from the crowd.^[34][35]

Summary

The series was seen as a triumph for Pakistan, who played without Sarfraz Nawaz. Imran Khan and Abdul Qadir bowled particularly well, with the latter taking 22 wickets, a record for a series against Australia. According to Wisden:

His remarkable dexterity, variety and accuracy, usually exploited from round the wicket, to find boot marks at the other end, caused the Australians such difficulties that it made his absence from the team which had visited Australia the previous summer all the more inexplicable. His success was achieved, moreover, against batsmen who prided themselves on their ability to cope with the ball tossed into the air and turning from leg. Qadir's ability to turn the ball sharply in both directions eroded the Australians' patience and confidence and frustrated their desires to advance down the pitch to get the better of him.^[36]

Qadir received strong support from Iqbal Qasim and together they took 30 of the 56 Australian wickets to fall to bowlers in the three Tests. Pakistan also batted particularly well, especially openers Mohsin Khan and Mudassar Nazar, with strong support from Zaheer Abbas, Mansoor Akhtar, and Javed Miandad.

Of the Australians, Graeme Wood, Bruce Laird and John Dyson scored some useful runs and Greg Ritchie impressed with his century. Hughes and Border were disappointing.

Wisden called fast bowler Geoff Lawson "the outstanding Australian... his spirit was undaunted by the failures of his fellow players, and he remained the one bowler to trouble the Pakistanis in all conditions throughout the series."^[36] Australia's spinners only took six test wickets between them, although Australia did drop fifteen catches throughout the series. "It all amounted to a tour to rank among the most dismal ever made by an Australian side," said Wisden.^[36]

Controversies

Riots in the crowd caused Kim Hughes to twice lead the Australian team from the field during the first test, and also to abandon the third one day international.^[37]

Greg Chappell was reappointed Australian captain for the 1092-83 Ashes.

References

External links

• Australian Tour of Pakistan in 1982-83 at Cricinfo
• Australian Tour of Pakistan in 1982-83 at Wisden
• Australian Tour of Pakistan in 1982-83 at Test Cricket Tours

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