Zaheer Abbas: the bespectacled “Asian Bradman”

Few batsmen have played cricket wearing glasses, and the one who made the greatest name was Pakistan’s Zaheer Abbas. Supple wrists, a high backlift and the skill of finding gaps between the fielders made his batting a sight to watch. His hunger for runs and his consistency earned him the name “Asian Bradman”². In the 1970s and 1980s he was a key pillar of Pakistan’s batting in both Tests and one-day internationals.

Early life and start in cricket

Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani was born in Sialkot on 24 July 1947. He batted right-handed and occasionally bowled off-breaks².

His first Test was against New Zealand in Karachi on 24 October 1969. It was the same match that proved to be the last Test of Hanif Mohammad. In his first Test innings Zaheer made only 12¹, but the world soon saw his true ability.

The 274 at Edgbaston and English cricket

Pakistan toured England in 1971. The Test that began at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on 3 June was only Zaheer’s second. In it he scored 274 off 467 balls, including 38 fours. It remained the highest score of his Test career¹. The innings ended doubts about whether the young player from the subcontinent could succeed on England’s seaming and swinging pitches².

The doors of English county cricket then opened for him. In 1972 he joined Gloucestershire and represented the county for 13 years². The experience of county cricket further refined his technique. On 22 August 1974 he played another superb innings against England at The Oval, scoring 240 off 410 balls¹.

A flood of runs against India

When India toured Pakistan in 1978, Zaheer Abbas was in top form. On 16 October he scored 176 in Faisalabad, and on 27 October the same month he made 235 not out in Lahore¹.

The most memorable period of his career, however, was the winter of 1982-83, when India again toured Pakistan. In the Tests he scored 215 in Lahore on 10 December 1982, 186 in Karachi on 23 December and 168 in Faisalabad on 3 January 1983. His bat did not fall silent in the one-day matches of the same series either: 118 off 86 balls in Multan on 17 December 1982, 105 off 82 balls in Lahore on 31 December, and 113 off 99 balls in Karachi on 21 January 1983¹. In a few weeks he thus scored three centuries in each format.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board, when this “batting machine” hammered the Indian bowlers for hours, the Indian fielders had one sentence on their lips: “Zaheer, enough now”. It was also a witty play on his name “Abbas”, and the line became his trademark⁴.

An early star of one-day cricket

Zaheer began his one-day career against England in Nottingham on 31 August 1974. One-day cricket was then in its early stages and most batsmen played it in the Test style, but Zaheer’s strike rate was 84.8, remarkably fast for that era. His best one-day innings came against Sri Lanka in Lahore on 29 March 1982, when he made 123 off 87 balls. His 103 not out against New Zealand in Nottingham on 20 June 1983 is also remembered. His seven one-day centuries and average of 47.62¹ are proof of his mastery of the format.

Captaincy and last matches

Zaheer Abbas captained Pakistan in 14 Tests in 1983 and 1984, scoring runs at an average of 45.47 in those matches. His biggest innings as captain was 168 not out against India in Lahore on 17 October 1984. In one-day cricket he led the side in 13 matches between 1982 and 1984¹.

His last Test was against Sri Lanka in his home town, Sialkot, on 27 October 1985, and his last one-day international was against the same side in Hyderabad (Sindh) on 3 November 1985¹.

Statistics

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

Legacy

Zaheer Abbas is counted among the Pakistani batsmen who showed the world that players from the subcontinent could also play big innings on England’s difficult pitches. Four of his 12 Test centuries were double centuries: 274, 240, 235 not out and 215¹. His fast and graceful style in one-day cricket was ahead of its time, and many later analysts placed him in Pakistan’s all-time best one-day sides².

The Government of Pakistan awarded him the Pride of Performance in 1971. He was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in August 2020³, and into the Pakistan Cricket Board Hall of Fame in 2021. His autobiography, “Zed”, was published in 1983². Even today, when a batsman plays a cover drive with a flourish of the wrists, old fans are reminded of the bespectacled man from Sialkot.