On 12th October 2007 the legend Inzamam ul Haq walked back to the pavilion for the last time ever in Pakistani colours. The amble back to the pavilion that day was even slower than normal and it marked a frustrating end to an illustrious and marvellous career for the man from Multan.

By Saj Sadiq (11th October 2012)

On 12th October 2007 the legend Inzamam ul Haq walked back to the pavilion for the last time ever in Pakistani colours. The amble back to the pavilion that day was even slower than normal and it marked a frustrating end to an illustrious and marvellous career for the man from Multan.

Inzamam only made scores of 14 and 3 against South Africa in his final appearance for Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and his career ended only 3 agonising runs behind Javed Miandad as Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. Miandad retired having made 8832 runs in Test cricket from 189 innings, whilst Inzamam finished on 8829 runs from 198 innings.

Inzamam charged down the track that day in his final appearance hoping to smash Paul Harris into the stands and to bring up the milestone but sadly he missed the ball and was stumped by Mark Boucher.

Inzamam retired at the age of 37 having given nearly 16 years of wholehearted service to Pakistan cricket and as he walked back to his team mates for the last time, he had every right to look back, be proud of his efforts, achievements and retire a content and happy man. 

Like any professional cricketer there were highs and there were lows, good days and bad days but one thing that you always got from Inzamam, apart from the threat of a run out when batting, was that he would always put a price on his wicket and make the opposition bowlers earn his scalp. He was the prize wicket, the wicket the opposition wanted more than anything else, he was the heartbeat of the Pakistani batting and when he was out, there was every chance that the Pakistani batting would fold. 

Inzamam made his debut in November of 1991 in a one day international against the West Indies at the very same ground that would mark his final appearance in international cricket. It wasn't an auspicious debut as he took one catch and made 20 from 29 deliveries before being bowled by the great Malcolm Marshall in a match that was tied.

Following the one day debut against the West Indies, Inzamam made scores of 60, 48, 60, 101 and 117 in the 50 over format and was subsequently picked for the World Cup in Australia in New Zealand.

The 1992 World Cup brought Inzamam to the attention of the watching world as Imran Khan backed him to perform and that he certainly did in the semi final against New Zealand as he made 60 from 37 deliveries and then a crucial 42 in the World Cup final against England. After that World Cup there was no looking back for Inzamam and he racked up 25 Test centuries and 46 half centuries, as well as 10 centuries and 83 half centuries in one day internationals.

Inzamam's Test career like Saeed Anwar's started with a duck as he only lasted 2 deliveries at Lords against England. It was Inzamam's 6th Test innings where he really showed his pedigree in making 123 at Antigua in May 1993 against an attack that boasted Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Winston Benjamin. Inzi had arrived in Test cricket and had made his mark for the rest of the world to take note.

There was a double hundred against Sri Lanka in Dhaka and a triple hundred against New Zealand in Lahore, there were some strange dismissals, some funny dismissals, there were 46 run outs in Inzamam's international career and there was never a dull moment when he was at the crease. 

There was controversy too as Inzamam didn't take too well to some abuse from Indian fans in Canada and had to be restrained by team mates as he attempted to hit the fan in question for a big six from the piece of willow in his right hand. The Ovalgate episode was also controversial as Darrell Hair accused the Pakistani team led by Inzamam of ball tampering and Inzamam and his team mates refused to take the field in what was an extremely sad chapter for cricket.

Inzi was calmness personified at the crease when facing the bowlers, Inzi was the glue that stuck the rest of the team together. You could visibly feel the tension around the rest of the Pakistani team when Inzi was dismissed. More often than not Inzi was the batsman who saw Pakistan home in tight situations like against Australia when he and Mushtaq Ahmed saw Pakistan home in a Test match by 1 wicket. Inzi was also there when Pakistan's blushes were spared in a Test match against Bangladesh. He was the starter, the main course and the finisher, whatever role he was required to play he did with an assurance that seems to have deserted a lot of Pakistani batsmen since his retirement.

Inzamam was a batsman who had so much time at the crease and the faster the bowler bowled, the quicker the ball went to the boundary rope. Wasim and Waqar have gone on record to say that Inzamam was the batsman who played both of them with relative ease in the nets, as others around him struggled. 

Inzamam was never one for histrionics on the field but when something needed to be said he did so with a dry sense of humour. As one story goes, a rather irate fast bowler in Australia was peppering Inzi with bouncers and also peppering him with verbals. As the temperature level and frustration levels of the fast bowler increased Inzamam responding to another sledge said to him "I thought as a spinner you would turn the ball a little bit more than what you are". 

It would be unfair to Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan to say that Inzamam carried the Pakistani batting line up as they were both great players in their own right, but more often than not, that was the case. As others crumbled under pressure, Inzamam would stand up head and shoulders above anything else in the Pakistan side. 

Inzamam was a reluctant captain and was given the role as so happens in Asian cricket as he was the most senior member of the squad. His tactics were questionable at time and he was labelled defensive, but to criticise his captaincy would be unfair to all of the great innings he played, all of the matches that he singlehandedly won for Pakistan and all the matches that he saved for Pakistan. He was not one for statistics or personal goals, he was one who wore his heart on his sleeve and a cricketer for whom wearing the star of Pakistan was the most important thing. 

Inzamam's lasting memories will always be there for cricket lovers and the PCB also named one stand at the Lahore stadium, the venue where he made his debut and played his final match, in his name.

Inzamam's final words at the Gaddafi stadium when he retired were "I am going today but I would like to thank you for all the support that you all have given me for the last 17 years. I would also like to thank the members of the board for giving me this opportunity. I would like to thank you the selectors also for selecting me for these 17 years. I thank my seniors and colleagues for supporting me. Special mention to the boys, in this team, who played under my captaincy and for extending support.

I thank my family, my brother and sisters. Especially, my father, who would be really sad that I am quitting the game. Also, my wife for supporting me thick and thin through everything.

"Unfortunately I couldn't finish this game on a high. But that's the way it goes sometimes." 

Retired but not forgotten ; Inzamam I salute you, you were a shining light amongst our batsmen and hope that in the coming years Pakistan can produce batsmen with even half the levels of application, levels of concentration and skill that you possessed. As the saying goes, you don't realise how good something was, until it's gone!

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