Smells like teen spirit

(A version of this article appeared on Cricinfo's "Inbox" blog in January 2010)

Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir should bring a smile to the faces of cricket fans in the decade ahead

Six months ago, I was watching from the lower tier of the Grandstand at Lord’s as Mohammad Amir ran in to bowl the first ball of the ICC World Twenty20 Final. I nervously reminded my brother, who was sitting next to me, that I had earlier picked out Pakistan as the team most likely to halt Sri Lanka’s march towards victory. I knew that unlike the other semi-finalists (South Africa and West Indies), Pakistan were used to facing Sri Lanka’s unorthodox bowling attack, and although Sri Lanka had come out on top when the two sides met in the group stages, I was wary that Shahid Afridi’s sensational catch against New Zealand had sparked the kind of hot streak that always makes Pakistan a dangerous proposition at the business end of big tournaments.

But if I was nervous, how did Mohammad Amir feel? The left arm quick was just 17 and his international career barely two weeks old. Here he was in a major final at Lord’s. The outfield was a lush, brilliant green, but the stands were even greener, thanks to the masses of flag-waving, klaxon-sounding, Zindabad-shouting, Pakistan fans. Over in Pakistan itself, a nation deprived of international cricket after the Lahore attacks was no doubt in front of its TV sets, while up in the Sky Sports commentary box, Amir’s mentor Wasim Akram was at the microphone. On strike, awaiting Amir’s first ball was the Player of the Tournament, Tillakaratne Dilshan, who up until then had sliced, diced and daringly Dilscooped anything that had been served up to him.

How would the teenager begin?

Winter Wildlife II: A lion not so rampant, but with his pride still intact

The Lion of Lahore is the subject of an interesting new biography and has an invitation to Lord's next summer

This autumn saw the publication of a new biography of Imran Khan, penned by Christopher Sandford. The Lion of Lahore has sadly had less success in politics than he had on the cricket field, but remains a popular figure in Pakistan, admired as much for his fundraising for his cancer hospital and other charities as for his cricketing exploits. The portraits of Imran painted by the Western media over the years range from the simplistic to the wildly inaccurate. Sandford has set out to do a better job, and to bring the story up to date. I look forward to finding out whether he has been successful.

Incidentally, Imran has been invited to Lord’s next summer to deliver the 2010 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture. I believe the last time he visited Lord’s in an official capacity was in 1993, when he helped to present the Indian subcontinent’s successful bid to host the 1996 World Cup. At an acrimonious and in many ways historic meeting, England eventually had to withdraw their own bid for the tournament and come to terms with the fact that they could no longer bully ICC members into doing their bidding. Imran recalled, “I was appalled… Most of the Englishmen still treated us as though we represented some junior colony.”