Sarfraz Nawaz: the Melbourne spell that made a career

In cricket, some bowlers are known for a career of hard work and others for one evening that is never forgotten. Sarfraz Nawaz had both. For 15 years he carried the burden of Pakistan’s pace bowling and took 177 wickets in 55 Tests¹. But his figures of nine wickets for 86 runs at Melbourne in March 1979 made him a permanent part of Pakistan cricket’s folklore.

Early life and start in cricket

Sarfraz Nawaz Malik was born in Lahore on 1 December 1948. He began playing club cricket in Lahore and later captained the Punjab University side. Tall and strongly built, Sarfraz bowled right-arm fast-medium. His greatest strength was his ability to seam the ball both ways².

His Test career began against England in Karachi on 6 March 1969. The start was disappointing. He did not get to bat and went wicketless, conceding 78 runs in 34 overs¹. He then had to wait some time for a recall. In the meantime he began playing for the English county Northamptonshire, where he honed his seam and swing bowling on English pitches².

Establishing himself in Tests

After his return, Sarfraz soon proved himself. In the Sydney Test in January 1973 he took four wickets for 53 runs against Australia. On the 1974 tour of England he also showed his skill with the bat in the Leeds Test, scoring 53 off 74 balls. In Lahore in February 1975, his six wickets for 89 runs against a strong West Indies batting line-up were clear proof of his ability¹.

The year 1978 was a special one for him. In June he took five wickets for 39 runs against England at Leeds. Later that year, in the home series against India, he took four for 46 in Lahore and five for 70 in Karachi¹. In that series Pakistan won a Test series against India for the first time².

Melbourne, March 1979

The Melbourne Test, which began on 10 March 1979, is the brightest chapter of Sarfraz Nawaz’s career. In the first innings he contributed 35 runs off 82 balls with the bat. Then, in the final innings, Australia had come close to the target and the match seemed to be slipping away from Pakistan. Sarfraz bowled with the old ball in such a way that the Australian batting collapsed within a few overs. He took nine wickets for 86 runs in 35.4 overs and Pakistan won the match¹².

These are the best innings figures of his Test career. His match figures were 11 wickets for 125 runs, the only match of his career in which he took ten or more wickets¹. Majid Khan also scored a century in the same match. Even today, when the course of a Test match suddenly turns, Pakistani fans recall that evening in Melbourne.

One-day cricket and final years

Sarfraz was also among Pakistan’s early one-day players. In his first ODI against New Zealand in Christchurch on 11 February 1973, he took four wickets for 46 runs in 7.3 overs. In the 1975 World Cup, his four wickets for 44 runs against West Indies at Birmingham was an important performance². His best ODI bowling came against Australia in Sydney in January 1984, when he took four wickets for 27 runs in ten overs. In 1984 he also captained Pakistan in one ODI¹.

His Test career also ended memorably. In March 1984, in the first Test of the series against England in Karachi, he took four wickets for 42 runs. The Lahore Test, which began on 19 March 1984, proved to be his last. He first took four wickets for 49 runs and then scored 90 off 160 balls with the bat, his highest Test score. In the same series Pakistan won a Test series against England for the first time². His last ODI was against New Zealand in Peshawar on 12 November 1984¹.

Statistics

Source: ESPNcricinfo Statsguru¹. The figures are for his international career.

Influence and legacy

Sarfraz Nawaz played at a time when Pakistan’s pitches were not very helpful to fast bowlers. Despite this, he continually troubled batsmen with his seam, swing and balls that rose suddenly². He was also a useful lower-order batsman, as his innings of 90 in Lahore shows.

Sarfraz Nawaz is counted among the early Pakistani bowlers who swung the old ball, a skill later known as reverse swing. Imran Khan learnt the skill from him, and Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis later used it to bewilder batsmen around the world in the 1980s and 1990s². Because of that evening in Melbourne and 15 years of sustained effort, Sarfraz Nawaz’s name is among the first builders of Pakistan’s fast-bowling tradition.