PAKISTAN will make cricketing history today by including a 14year-old batsman, Hassan Raza, for the second Test against Zimbabwe at the Iqbal Stadium. Raza has been given special League dispensation by Karachi Secondary Boys School to miss classes.
At 14 years and 227 days Raza replaces Pakistan's present team manager, Mushtaq Mohammad, as the youngest Test player. Mushtaq was 15 years and 124 days on his debut against the West Indies in 1958-59.
Raza, despite sporting a budding moustache, just about looks his age, unlike many Pakistani Test cricketers, whose birth dates have often been questioned. Born on March 11 1982, he played in the Lombard Under-15 World Cup in England last summer, making 80 in the final against India.
Since then, the skinny Raza, tall for his age at 5ft 10in, made a fifty for the Pakistan Board XI in the three-day match against the Zimbabweans, who were highly impressed. He faced only spin on what was a very slow pitch at Sahiwal, hitting the ball hard and several times over the top.
Raza had not met most of the Pakistan team before his arrival at their Faisalabad hotel on Tuesday night from Karachi, his home town. Looking sheepishly around him at breakfast, he was made to feel at home by several welcoming senior players. In the nets, he appeared relaxed and full of confidence in more familiar surroundings.
Mushtaq said he was in no doubt that Raza was ready for Test cricket. ``If this match had been against Australia, West Indies or England, say, we wouldn't have played him. But Zimbabwe's attack, without wanting to be unkind, is unthreatening. It's just too good an opportunity to miss,'' he said.
``We're not concerned about his age. Our attitude here is that if you're good enough, you play. Besides, there's no one else around in Pakistan who's as good as him, even aged 21 or 22.''
Shadab Kabir, who made a solid Test debut in England last summer, may not be too pleased to hear that as it is he who has been dropped to make way for Raza, who will bat at six. Azim Khan, 27, who made his debut in the first Test, will go in at five.
Raza is expected to leave school for good in six months' time so that he can play cricket full-time, and Mushtaq believes that he could turn into another Javed Miandad, Pakistan's record scorer.
``If he gets a score in this match, he might never look back. He would then serve Pakistan cricket for the next 20 years. So we don't think it's a gamble at all.''
Certainly, Raza will be coming up against a desperately inexperienced attack. Zimbabwe have made history of their own by including two black players for the first time in a Test match and both are uncapped.
Everton Matambanadzo, named after the football club, and Mpumelelo Mbangwa, both 20, are fast bowlers with only a handful of first-class games behind them. Matambanadzo would not have played but for a bad groin strain sustained by the first black player to represent Zimbabwe, Henry Olonga, in the first Test. He flew home last night.
Zimbabwe go into the match with four seamers and the wrist spin of Paul Strang. Off-spinner Andy Whittall is dropped not so much because of an average performance in the first Test but because the Faisalabad pitch has quite a bit of grass on it.
It is still expected, however, to be good for batting, a factor no doubt in Pakistan's enterprising decision to select Raza.
Youngest Test Players
Yrs Days
14 227 Hassan Raza (Pakistan) 1996-97 15 124 Mushtaq Mo'mad (Pakistan) 1958-59 16 189 Aqib Javed (Pakistan) 1988-89 16 205 S R Tendulkar (India) 1989-90 16 221 Aftab Baloch (Pakistan) 1969-70 16 248 Nasim-ul-Ghani (Pakistan) 1957-58 16 352 Khalid Hassan (Pakistan) 1954 D B Close (18 years 149 days) is the youngest Eng- land player.
DAY 1 - Report..
Akram in sharp form
By Geoffrey Dean
World's youngest Test player makes confident start for Pakistan against Zimbabwe
WASIM AKRAM put the distraction of Hassan Raza's selection to the back of his mind to produce an outstanding performance with the ball in the second Test against Zimbabwe at Faisalabad.
Few batting sides could have repulsed him as he took six for 48 in 20 overs of sustained excellence.
The Zimbabweans misjudged this pitch, unusually well grassed for a Pakistani one. They elected to bat first when Akram was hoping to bowl first. Before long, he was cutting through a batting line-up, whose order was highly questionable.
The decision to promote Craig Wishart from six to three proved disastrous. When Grant Flower was bowled in the seventh over by a superb cutter from Akram, which came back to knock out off-stump, the inexperienced Wishart was exposed to the new ball. Clearly out of his depth, he was lbw to his first delivery, going back to Waqar Younis when he should have been forward.
This meant that Dave Houghton, Zimbabwe's key batsman, would have to negotiate the new ball on a pitch that was the exact opposite of the one used for the first Test. This one seamed and bounced, and had some pace in it.
Houghton, moving back and well across his wicket, was beaten by another cutter that bowled him around his legs. Mark Dekker, who once carried his bat in a Test match in Rawalpindi three years ago, displayed none of the durability from that innings, foolishly attempting to hook.
Akram, meanwhile, had introduced Saqlain Mushtaq early, and the off-spinner obtained surprising turn and bounce for a first morning.
After lunch Akram came back to hit Guy Whittall's off-stump and then bowled Bryan Strang and Mpumelelo Mbangwa with in-swingers. Paul Strang fell to the debutant left-arm spinner, Mohammad Hussain.
Only Andy Flower coped with Akram. Coming in far too low at six, he eventually ran out of partners, last out when chances had to be taken.
There was some early excitement in the Pakistan innings when Mbangwa and his fellow black debutant, Everton Matambanadzo both swung the ball into the left-handers to claim a wicket in their first spells. But their control was poor, allowing Saeed Anwar to help himself to a rapid fifty.
PAKISTAN were 67 for three when Hassan Raza made his way slowly to the crease at 4.30pm yesterday, apparently unaware of the huge interest that the cricketing world was showing in him at Faisalabad.
His coach Mushtaq Mohammad must have had a good idea how the 14-year-old prodigy was feeling in the first day of the second Test against Zimbabwe.
Mushtaq was only seven months older than Raza when he made his debut in 1958/9 - against the West Indies. He said: ``I told him to play his natural game, but to cut out any stupid shot.''
Raza proceeded to hit four fours in the 40 minutes he had at the crease, all of them bearing the hallmark of a class player.
First he wristily cut Paul Strang's leg-spin to the boundary to get off the mark; then he drove Bryan Strang's left-arm medium pace with exquisite timing to the cover fence.
This had his partner Saeed Anwar clapping at the non-striker's end and, as the two passed in mid-pitch, he put a fatherly arm around the schoolboy, as if to reassure him. Saeed need not have bothered, for this 'kid', as the Zimbabweans refer to him, needed no reassurance.
Raza has astonishing confidence and self-belief for one so young, as was shown by two more fours off Paul Strang. He drove him with a wonderful flourish to the extra-cover boundary before playing what was perhaps the shot of the day.
The close was only a few minutes away, but Raza did not seem interested in playing for it. Down the pitch he came to Strang to drive him over the top one bounce into the pavilion. It was exhilarating watching. Mushtaq could barely get over the shot: ``I was absolutely amazed that he used his feet like that - the gall of it. I could see the look on Strang's face. He couldn't really believe it.''
For something even more incredible, wait for this one. After Saeed had failed to connect with a couple of attacking shots, Raza actually went up to him in between overs and asked him what he was doing playing risky shots so close to stumps.
Mushtaq was still chuckling about this later at the team hotel. He said: ``Saeed told me he was rather surprised to get this piece of advice from Hassan.''
Cheeky or not, the Pakistan players have warmed to this 5ft 10in boy wonder, who is all skin and bones. They sense that he has something special. But how special? Was Brian Lara this good at the same age?
The backlift is almost as high as Lara's, helping to explain why Raza hits the ball so hard. His boundaries sped to the fence, although much of that was due to superb timing. Mushtaq thinks that Raza's temperament is the key.
There is still a certain greenness, as he admitted to Mushtaq afterwards that he could not pick Strang's googly. ``I had to send a message out to him not to pad Strang away,'' said Mushtaq. ``He was nearly out lbw for nought.''
At the end of play Mustaq said that Raza came back to the dressing room with a huge smile on the face. ``I was so pleased for him - I have a feeling he might make a hundred if he survives the first half-hour of the second day.''
DAY 2 Report
Houghton's 74 upstages Raza
By Geoffrey Dean in Faisalabad
A CROWD of more than 12,000 came to the Iqbal Stadium hoping to see 14-year-old Hassan Raza make a hundred for Pakistan yesterday, but they were treated instead to a brilliant counter attack by Zimbabwe, who earned themselves an outside chance of winning this second and deciding Test.
Dave Houghton, whose 74 came off just 101 balls, and Alistair Campbell put on 113 in 26 overs in an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership, and they resume today two runs ahead.
Raza, on his debut, added only seven to his overnight 20 before being caught at first-slip off Bryan Strang's left-arm medium pace. By this time, the all-important wicket of Saeed Anwar had been taken.
Zimbabwe's second innings began disastrously when Grant Flower and Mark Dekker each got unplayably late in-swingers, but the Pakistan-made ball that Akram and Waqar so detested swung far less once it was 10 overs old. Houghton was still required to be at his very best by Wasim Akram, but Houghton took him on, hooking him for four and then six.
Day 3
Raza goes back early to school
By Geoffrey Dean in Faisalabad
With Zimbabwe losing their last seven wickets in the first 21 overs for 66 runs on Saturday morning, there was no chance for 14-year-old Hassan Raza to bat again as Pakistan swept to victory by 10 wickets in the second Test at Faisalabad.
Raza confessed through Mushtaq Mohammad, the team manager, who acted as interpreter, that he was disappointed that the 'dream' had ended after only 2.5 days. No doubt this had something to do with the fact that he would be back at school two days earlier than expected.
``I wanted another knock, but I'm confident I impressed the selectors,'' he said.
The game was effectively decided by the very first ball on Saturday when Wasim Akram took the all-important wicket of Dave Houghton with a wicked inswinger.