#Rodney Greig

[rajrag66]

Indian Expeditions Down Under

There is a certain allure to cricket played in Australia. This could be attributed to the massive iconic venues, sunny weather when it is cold and dreary in most parts of the world, revolutionary television coverage pioneered by channel 9 and sporting wickets.

As the test series gets under way in Sydney with the 1st ever day and night match between the two countries, my mind goes back to the battles waged down under since I started following cricket in the 70s. The Aussies were practically invincible at home for most of that decade as they humiliated their bitter rivals England in 74-75 & the mighty Windies in 76-76. I still recall hearing about the exploits of Lillie, Thompson & the Chappell brothers through the crisp commentary of  Alan McGilvray & Jim Maxwell on Radio Australia short wave.

There had been only 2 previous tours by India to Australia in 1947-48 & 1967-68. On both occasions, the hosts had won 4-0. Therefore history was against the tourists, when they visited Australia at the end of 1977 after  a gap of 10 years, However India were up against a severely weakened team due to the exodus to Kerry Packer’s world series cricket. Only Thompson resisted the temptation of joining the Packer bandwagon and a 41- year old Simpson was recalled after several years of retirement to captain a young and virtually unknown team. It still turned out to be a close series with Australia winning 3-2. Simpson apart from marshalling his young troops well, also scored an epic 176 in the 2nd test at Perth and 100 in the final test in Adelaide with 539 runs in the series. Australia won the first 2 matches at Brisbane and Perth narrowly by 16 runs & 2 wickets respectively. Tony Mann became only the second batsman in test history to score a century as a night watchman at Perth.  India came back strongly with thumping wins at Melbourne & Sydney, as the Indian spin trio of Bedi (captain), Chandra & Prasanna wove their magic for the last time in their illustrious careers. Chandra picked up 12 wickets at Melbourne as he bowled India to victory. The final test at Adelaide went down to the wire with Australia romping home by 47 runs as India almost reached the massive 493 set for victory.  India felt the absence of a genuine fast bowler and in hindsight could have included Kapil Dev who was just making his mark in domestic cricket. Gavaskar scored 3 consecutive centuries and was well supported by Vishwanath and Mohinder Amarnath, all three finished with over 400 runs in the series. The Aussies uncovered a number of new talents during that series such as Peter Toohey, Rick Darling, Wayne Clarke, Graham Yallop, Gary Cozier & Craig Sarjeant.

The Packer boys had come back by the time India toured next in 1980-81. Thompson & Ian Chappell were no longer playing, but the home team had Len Pascoe, Alan Border, Kim Hughes, Graeme Wood  & Rodney Hogg to support stalwarts such as Greg Chappell, Lillie & Walters. The tourists made a shaky start losing easily in Sydney and scrapping through to a draw in Adelaide. Sandeep Patil was the hero at Adelaide with a blistering 174 after being knocked down by Len Pasco in the previous match. India defied expectations with a thrilling victory in the 3rd test at Melbourne to draw the series. Vishwanath whose place in the team was in doubt, silenced his critics with a brilliant century at the MCG. Gavaskar almost forfeited the match when he forced his partner Chetan Chauhan to walk off the field after an altercation with the opposition following a doubtful LBW decision. Luckily the manager Wing Commander Durrani intervened to cool things down. Chauhan who had a brilliant series was unlucky to miss out yet again on a well-deserved century. India successfully defended a meagre target of 142 thanks to the brilliance of Kapil Dev who braved a knee problem with pain killer injections to finish with figures of 5 for 28 as Australia was skittled out for 83. Kapil was ably supported by Dilip Doshi and Karsan Ghavri who bowled Greg Chappell round his legs in the 2nd innings. In addition to the test series, there was also a tri-series ODI competition featuring New Zealand as well. As was expected, the Indians who were still finding their feet in limited-over cricket did not fare well in this series. It was a treat to see the highlights brought by channel 9  for the first time during the 80-81 series. Even in those early days, their coverage was really innovative and brought out a different dimension to watching the game on TV.

After a gap of 5 years, India toured again in 1985-86. At the beginning of 1985, India stunned the cricketing world again in the ODIs. Following on from their shock win in the 1983 world cup, they won the world championship of cricket which was likely a mini-world cup  and held to mark the 150th anniversary of the European settlement in Victoria. The enduring image of the win was the Indian team going around the MCG ground after easily winning the final against Pakistan, in the Audi car won by Ravi Shastri who was declared the champion of champions. We were privileged to watch most of the matches in that tournament live and by then the channel 9 coverage had evolved considerably. Messers Greig, Lawry & Benaud delighted Indian fans with their magnificent commentary and insight into the game.

The 1985-86 tour was a tale of missed opportunities as India could not get over the line in at least 2 matches. They were foiled by some stoic resistance from the Aussies especially the captain Allan Border. Gavaskar scored 2 centuries and others like Amarnath & Srikkanth piled on the runs against a relatively weak attack. Craig McDermott was the only potent bowler on the Aussie side and they were still in a rebuilding phase after Kim Hughes had quit  the previous summer. Steve Waugh made his debut in the 2nd test and showed early glimpses of his talent . The other newcomers like  David Boon, Geoff Marsh and the beanpole like fast bowler Bruce Reid were to be become mainstays of the team in future years. India did very well in the ODI tri-series which also featured the Kiwis. They however could not beat the Aussies in the finals.

The next series in 1991-92 was quite a let-down for the Indian team which could not quite match a strong home side led by Allan Border with experienced cricketers like Boon, Marsh, McDermott, Merv Highes & Dean Jones. Mark Taylor who was establishing himself in the team had a brilliant series with 422 runs second only to David Boon who finished with 556 runs. Shane Warne had the most inauspicious start to his career at Sydney and his bowling was taken to the cleaners by Ravi Shastri who scored a double century. The saving grace for India was the batting of Tendulkar who displayed his prodigious talent in no small measure with 2 brilliant centuries.The other big gain for India during the tour was the emergence of Srinath as a genuine quick bowler following in the footsteps of Kapil Dev who still a force to reckon with on the tour capturing 25 wickets. Manoj Prabhakar also ended with a creditable haul of 19 wickets. In the tri-series which followed also featured the West Indies, India managed to reach the finals but were no match for the Aussies who won easily. Kris Srikkanth won 2 player of the match awards during this tournament on the last international tour of his career. The world cup which was the climax of a long Australian summer was also a disappointment, with the only bright spark for India being the victory against the eventual winners Pakistan. 

India had to wait almost 9 years for their next tour in 1999-2000. This was a very low-key series and the Indian team led by Tendulkar was no match for the Aussies. Bret Lee who was at his peak  broke the left thumb of the Indian opener Sadagopan Ramesh and along with McGrath proved lethal for the Indian battsman. India lost all 3 tests by huge margins despite Tendulkar’s determined displays. Ponting, Langer, Waugh & Gilchrist dominated the Indian bowling.The tri-series one-dayers featuring Pakistan were equally disastrous with India notching a solitary win in 8 matches.

The tour in 2003 was a watershed in India’ test history abroad. Well led by Sourav Ganguly, India proved they were no pushovers any more overseas. Ganguly set the tone for the Indian performance by scoring a brilliant 144 in the first test at Brisbane, which was drawn. Rahul Dravid’s brilliant double century to match Ricky Ponting who achieved the same feat and 6 for 41 by Ajith Agarkar helped them register a historic win in Adelaide. Australia came back strongly to win the next test at Melbourne. India almost won the final test at Sydney, which was Steve Waugh’s last match and he signed off with 80 in the 2nd innings. India had earlier posted a mammoth 705 for 7 in the 1st innings thanks to 241 from Tendulkar and 178 from Laxman.

It was mixed bag in 2007-08 and the tour was shrouded in controversy The second test in Sydney marred by poor umpiring decisions against the visitors, also saw the Monkeygate scandal when Harbhajan Singh was charged with racial abuse against Andrew Symonds. Harbhajan was suspended from the next test, which  was revoked after  a protest by India. Steve Bucknor who made some contentious decisions was stood down by the ICC from the next match at Perth, which also created a controversy. The Sydney test had a dramatic climax, with Michael Clarke getting 3 wickets in the last over of the game. India went into the Perth test  down 0-2  after losing the 1st test at Melbourne by a massive 371 runs and the 2nd test at Sydney by 122 runs despite gaining a substantial  1st innings lead. The tourists stayed alive in the series winning the Perth test  mainly due to some splendid bowling by the young Ishant Sharma. His spell in Perth against Ponting arguably the best batsman in the world at the time is still a vivid memory. Sehwag made a triumphant comeback with 151 in the last test in Adelaide, which ended in a draw. Laxman who relished batting on the hard wickets continued his dominance over the Australia bowlers. He finished 2nd in the batting averages after Tendulkar who got over 500 runs with 2 centuries. Kumble’s leadership during a difficult series was commendable and he also led the bowling averages with 20 wickets second only to Brett Lee with 24 wickets. India lost the series 1-2, but had the consolation of winning the tri-series that followed, which also featured Sri Lanka.

The tour in 2011-12 was a rather forgettable affair and capped a miserable year following India’s crushing defeat in England that summer. Two legends Dravid & Laxman retired after the Aussie series. They will be remembered as much for exemplary conduct as for their sublime batting skills. Their record match winning 376 run 5th wicket partnership in Eden Gardens against Steve Waugh’s men in 2001 is the best in Indian test history. The 2011-12 series also saw the coming of age of Virat Kohli who resurrected his career with a brilliant 116 in the last test at Adelaide. This could not prevent India reeling to a 4th loss and a series whitewash. They also finished last in the tr-series also featuring Sri Lanka.

The 2014 test series was preceded by the one of the biggest tragedies in cricketing history. The young and promising life of Philip Hughes was cruelly cut short after he died following a head injury during a Sheffield shield match. The series was slightly delayed and itinerary rearranged as this extremely unfortunate event cast a pall of gloom. India almost pulled off a sensational win in the 1st test at Adelaide chasing 364 to win falling short by only 49 runs. Credit for this goes to Virat Kohli who scored a sensational 141 to add to his 115 in the first innings. Kohli also deputised as captain for the injured Dhoni, before taking over on a permanent basis after the 3rd test at Melbourne when Dhoni announced his retirement from test cricket. Murali Vijay was another big success scoring a century in the 2nd test as well as coming close to 3 figures on two other occasions with 99 &  80. India drew the last 2 tests after  losses at Adelaide & Brisbane. India had a disappointing tri-series featuring England, losing 3 of the 4 matches. They also failed to defend the world cup held in Australia in 2015, losing convincingly to the hosts in the semis after a promising run including a quarter-final win over Pakistan.

India created history during the 2018-19 tour by finally winning a test series in Australia 2-1. The biggest hero from an Indian point of view was Cheteshwar Pujara who ended with 3 centuries including a brilliant 199 in the last test at Sydney. He was ably supported by Kohli, debutant Mayank Agarwal & the young Rishabh Pant who also got a century in the last test when India scored a mammoth 622 for 7 in the 1st innings. Bumrah was sensational with the ball and was ably supported by Shami & Kuldeep Yadav. India also won the ODI series that followed the tests 2-1 ending possibly one of their best ever overseas tours. The only slight disappointment was the absence of Warner & Smith who were serving their suspension due to the ball tampering incident in South Africa. This should not detract from the merit of India’s performance.

It has been bit of a roller coaster ride for the Indian team down under over the years. In the same vein, they had a fairly rough start in the ODI series this time, salvaging some pride in the last match after losing the series. However they made up with a brilliant 2-1 victory in the T20s, which saw a new star in the horizon in the form of the debutant T.Natarajan. Kohli who was in top form in the T20s, will be missed both as a captain and batsman when he is away on paternity leave after the 2nd test. The experience of Pujara and Rahane will be needed in the absence of Kohli. India will also be hoping that the younger batsmen like Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill make a substantial contribution. Ishant Sharma who has been a star against Austraia will also be sadly missed, but hopefully Bumrah and Shami  will repeat their performance from last time. Fans on both sides will be hoping that this rivalry which is the next biggest after the Ashes lives up to its billing.

[sportsclassic]

Sarfraz Nawaz

Sarfraz Nawaz Malik (Punjabi, Urdu: سرفراز نواز ملک‎) (born 1 December 1948, Lahore, Punjab) is a former Pakistani Test cricketer and politician who discovered reverse swing and was instrumental in Pakistan's first Test series victories over India and England.[1] Between 1969 and 1984 he played 55 Tests and 45 One Day Internationals and took 177 Test wickets at an average of 32.75. In 1978–79 he took 9/86 against Australia at Melbourne – including a spell of 7/1 off 33 balls – to give Pakistan a surprise victory, but in the next Test at Perth Sarfraz controversially dismissed the Australian batsman Andrew Hilditch for handling the ball.

Early career

In his first Test – against England at Karachi – the twenty year old Sarfraz took no wickets or catches, did not bat and was dropped for four years. He made his name in 1972–73 by taking 4/53 and 4/56 against Australia at the SCG, accounting for Ian and Greg Chappell, Keith Stackpole and Ian Redpath, but this did not stop the hosts winning by 56 runs.[2] At Headingley in 1974 Sarfraz hit 53 off 74 balls to convert 209/8 into 285 all out, driving the ball fiercely off Geoff Arnold, Chris Old, Mike Hendrick, Tony Greig and Derek Underwood in a low scoring match.[3] Against Clive Lloyd's West Indians in 1974–75 he took 6/89 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to dismiss them for 214, but the Test and the series were both drawn. 

Sarfraz was made vice-captain to Wasim Bari, but disappeared before the Second Test against England in 1977–78. He was found in London where he had gone to see Christmas even though he was a Muslim and returned to Pakistan in time for the Third Test. As World Series Cricket was operating at time it was speculated that he was negotiating with Kerry Packer. At Lords in 1978 he took 5/39 to reduce England to 119/7, dismissing Mike Brearley, Graham Gooch, David Gower, Ian Botham and Bob Taylor, but rain ruined play and the match was drawn.[4] More decisively in 1978–79 Sarfraz's haul of 4/89 and 5/70 against India at Karachi gave Pakistan victory in the third and final Test by eight wickets. He took 17 wickets (25.00) in the series, the most by any player and Pakistan won their first Test series against their rivals despite having played them since 1952.[5]

Australia 1978–79

Sarfraz's greatest bowling performance took place in the First Test at Melbourne in 1978–79 when Australia were 305/3 with Allan Border (105) and Kim Hughes (84) at the crease needing only 77 runs to win. Sarfraz took 7/1 in 33 balls and dismissed Australia for 310 to give Pakistan a surprise 71 run victory.[3] At the time his 9/86 in an innings was the best Test match analysis in Australia, the best by a Pakistani bowler and the fifth best in Test cricket.[6] Sarfraz had also made 35 coming in at 99/6 in the first innings and took 11/125 in the match. He was also involved in the controversial dismissal of Andrew Hilditch for handling the ball in the Second Test at the WACA in Perth. 

The batsman was at the non-striker's end when the ball was returned to the crease by the wayward throw of a fielder. Hilditch picked up the ball and politely gave it to Sarfraz, Sarfraz appealed and Hilditch was given out. It was only the second time in a hundred years of Test cricket that a batsman had been given out in this fashion and though strictly correct it was considered to be against the spirit of the game. Earlier in the match the Australian tailender Rodney Hogg had been run out while 'gardening' and Alan Hurst ran out Sikander Bakht when backing up, two pieces of gamesmanship which caused bad feeling between the teams.[7][8][9] Australia made 236/3 to win the Test and square the series, the other two batsmen being run out and no bowler taking a wicket.

Later career

Sarfraz played for Northamptonshire in two separate spells and in the 1980 Benson and Hedges Cup he took 3/23 off 11 overs to restrict Essex to 203/8 in Northant's six run win. In 1983–84 he took 4/42 and 2/27 in the First Test against England at Karachi and hit the winning runs when Pakistan made 66/7 to win.[10] After several 'retirements' the Third Test at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore proved to be his last and in the first innings his 4/49 helped dismiss England for 241. When Pakistan were reduced to 181/8 Sarfraz made 90, his highest Test and First Class score, adding 161 for the ninth wicket with his captain Zaheer Abbas (82 not out) to give his team a 102 run lead. Unfortunately, David Gower made 173 not out and Safraz was hit for 1/112 in the second innings, but came in at 199/5 and saw out the match with 10 not out. This ensured that Pakistan kept their 1–0 lead to win their first Test series against England.[11]

Style

From the boundary Sarfraz looked like a medium paced trundler, but he was "as strong as a cart-horse" and his powerful upper body and good action allowed him to bowl at a fast-medium pace. He could seam the ball in either direction and despite the convention he repeatedly bounced other fast bowlers such as Jeff Thomson and Joel Garner.[3] The flat wickets found in Pakistan were not ideal for a bowler of his pace, but could sometimes surprise batsmen with his ability to make to ball seam, swing or bounce awkwardly.[3] More importantly with Sikander Bakht Sarfraz developed reverse swing. Commentators did not realise this was reverse swing at the time, though they realised that he had an uncanny ability to move the old ball in the air. He passed on his knowledge to Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis who made this new type of bowling famous in the late 1980s and 1990s.[3][12] As a batsman he was a good lower-order striker of the ball particularly when driving and averaged over 40 in a series on three occasions.

Personal life

In the 1980s, Sarfraz married Pakistani Film actress Rani. In 1985, he contested successfully for membership of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab and remained a member (MPA) for 3 years.[1]

Battle against match fixing

When Bob Woolmer was found dead in Jamaica, Sarfaraz Nawaz was quick to suggest that he was murdered, even before the postmortem, linking it to corruption in cricket. He subsequently raised concerns about the safety of Pakistani Cricketers in West Indies, claiming Woolmer and Inzamam were getting threats from the bookies without naming his sources. He requested the involvement of Scotland Yard in the investigations, questioning the credibility of Jamaican police. He also alleged that the match Pakistan lost against West Indies in the World Cup 2007 was fixed.

Later Sarfraz insisted that Woolmer's death in a Kingston hotel on 18 March was linked to match fixing and extended his help to track the gang of bookies. "I know five bookies made their way to the West Indies. I can help trace them. Perhaps we can even get some clues from the players", Sarfraz told The Sun, adding "Woolmers death is connected with the match-fixing mafia.".[13] "I believe the Pakistan World Cup games were fixed. There is a dark side to cricket. The game got on top of it for a while but it has never really been stamped out," he said.[13] Scotland Yard, later, declared that no foul play was involved in Woolmer's death, rejecting Sarfraz's allegations and vindicating the Pakistani team.

#World Series Cricket #Wasim Bari #Test cricket #Sarfraz Nawaz #Pakistan #Lahore #Kerry Packer #Greg Chappell

[sportsclassic]

Sarfraz Nawaz

Sarfraz Nawaz Malik (Punjabi, Urdu: سرفراز نواز ملک‎) (born 1 December 1948, Lahore, Punjab) is a former Pakistani Test cricketer and politician who discovered reverse swing and was instrumental in Pakistan's first Test series victories over India and England.[1] Between 1969 and 1984 he played 55 Tests and 45 One Day Internationals and took 177 Test wickets at an average of 32.75. In 1978–79 he took 9/86 against Australia at Melbourne – including a spell of 7/1 off 33 balls – to give Pakistan a surprise victory, but in the next Test at Perth Sarfraz controversially dismissed the Australian batsman Andrew Hilditch for handling the ball.

Early career

In his first Test – against England at Karachi – the twenty year old Sarfraz took no wickets or catches, did not bat and was dropped for four years. He made his name in 1972–73 by taking 4/53 and 4/56 against Australia at the SCG, accounting for Ian and Greg Chappell, Keith Stackpole and Ian Redpath, but this did not stop the hosts winning by 56 runs.[2] At Headingley in 1974 Sarfraz hit 53 off 74 balls to convert 209/8 into 285 all out, driving the ball fiercely off Geoff Arnold, Chris Old, Mike Hendrick, Tony Greig and Derek Underwood in a low scoring match.[3] Against Clive Lloyd's West Indians in 1974–75 he took 6/89 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to dismiss them for 214, but the Test and the series were both drawn. 

Sarfraz was made vice-captain to Wasim Bari, but disappeared before the Second Test against England in 1977–78. He was found in London where he had gone to see Christmas even though he was a Muslim and returned to Pakistan in time for the Third Test. As World Series Cricket was operating at time it was speculated that he was negotiating with Kerry Packer. At Lords in 1978 he took 5/39 to reduce England to 119/7, dismissing Mike Brearley, Graham Gooch, David Gower, Ian Botham and Bob Taylor, but rain ruined play and the match was drawn.[4] More decisively in 1978–79 Sarfraz's haul of 4/89 and 5/70 against India at Karachi gave Pakistan victory in the third and final Test by eight wickets. He took 17 wickets (25.00) in the series, the most by any player and Pakistan won their first Test series against their rivals despite having played them since 1952.[5]

Australia 1978–79

Sarfraz's greatest bowling performance took place in the First Test at Melbourne in 1978–79 when Australia were 305/3 with Allan Border (105) and Kim Hughes (84) at the crease needing only 77 runs to win. Sarfraz took 7/1 in 33 balls and dismissed Australia for 310 to give Pakistan a surprise 71 run victory.[3] At the time his 9/86 in an innings was the best Test match analysis in Australia, the best by a Pakistani bowler and the fifth best in Test cricket.[6] Sarfraz had also made 35 coming in at 99/6 in the first innings and took 11/125 in the match. He was also involved in the controversial dismissal of Andrew Hilditch for handling the ball in the Second Test at the WACA in Perth. 

The batsman was at the non-striker's end when the ball was returned to the crease by the wayward throw of a fielder. Hilditch picked up the ball and politely gave it to Sarfraz, Sarfraz appealed and Hilditch was given out. It was only the second time in a hundred years of Test cricket that a batsman had been given out in this fashion and though strictly correct it was considered to be against the spirit of the game. Earlier in the match the Australian tailender Rodney Hogg had been run out while 'gardening' and Alan Hurst ran out Sikander Bakht when backing up, two pieces of gamesmanship which caused bad feeling between the teams.[7][8][9] Australia made 236/3 to win the Test and square the series, the other two batsmen being run out and no bowler taking a wicket.

Later career

Sarfraz played for Northamptonshire in two separate spells and in the 1980 Benson and Hedges Cup he took 3/23 off 11 overs to restrict Essex to 203/8 in Northant's six run win. In 1983–84 he took 4/42 and 2/27 in the First Test against England at Karachi and hit the winning runs when Pakistan made 66/7 to win.[10] After several 'retirements' the Third Test at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore proved to be his last and in the first innings his 4/49 helped dismiss England for 241. When Pakistan were reduced to 181/8 Sarfraz made 90, his highest Test and First Class score, adding 161 for the ninth wicket with his captain Zaheer Abbas (82 not out) to give his team a 102 run lead. Unfortunately, David Gower made 173 not out and Safraz was hit for 1/112 in the second innings, but came in at 199/5 and saw out the match with 10 not out. This ensured that Pakistan kept their 1–0 lead to win their first Test series against England.[11]

Style

From the boundary Sarfraz looked like a medium paced trundler, but he was "as strong as a cart-horse" and his powerful upper body and good action allowed him to bowl at a fast-medium pace. He could seam the ball in either direction and despite the convention he repeatedly bounced other fast bowlers such as Jeff Thomson and Joel Garner.[3] The flat wickets found in Pakistan were not ideal for a bowler of his pace, but could sometimes surprise batsmen with his ability to make to ball seam, swing or bounce awkwardly.[3] More importantly with Sikander Bakht Sarfraz developed reverse swing. Commentators did not realise this was reverse swing at the time, though they realised that he had an uncanny ability to move the old ball in the air. He passed on his knowledge to Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis who made this new type of bowling famous in the late 1980s and 1990s.[3][12] As a batsman he was a good lower-order striker of the ball particularly when driving and averaged over 40 in a series on three occasions.

Personal life

In the 1980s, Sarfraz married Pakistani Film actress Rani. In 1985, he contested successfully for membership of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab and remained a member (MPA) for 3 years.[1]

Battle against match fixing

When Bob Woolmer was found dead in Jamaica, Sarfaraz Nawaz was quick to suggest that he was murdered, even before the postmortem, linking it to corruption in cricket. He subsequently raised concerns about the safety of Pakistani Cricketers in West Indies, claiming Woolmer and Inzamam were getting threats from the bookies without naming his sources. He requested the involvement of Scotland Yard in the investigations, questioning the credibility of Jamaican police. He also alleged that the match Pakistan lost against West Indies in the World Cup 2007 was fixed.

Later Sarfraz insisted that Woolmer's death in a Kingston hotel on 18 March was linked to match fixing and extended his help to track the gang of bookies. "I know five bookies made their way to the West Indies. I can help trace them. Perhaps we can even get some clues from the players", Sarfraz told The Sun, adding "Woolmers death is connected with the match-fixing mafia.".[13] "I believe the Pakistan World Cup games were fixed. There is a dark side to cricket. The game got on top of it for a while but it has never really been stamped out," he said.[13] Scotland Yard, later, declared that no foul play was involved in Woolmer's death, rejecting Sarfraz's allegations and vindicating the Pakistani team.

#World Series Cricket #Wasim Bari #Test cricket #Sarfraz Nawaz #Pakistan #Lahore #Kerry Packer #Greg Chappell