Cricket: Inzamam-ul-Haq goes from test scrapheap to king of the hill

By RICHARD BOOCK

The disturbing news for New Zealand is that the wheel of fortune seems to have turned for Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.

The man who almost made a life's work of inflicting pain and suffering on New Zealand has bounced back from a career-threatening axing and once again looms as a key factor in the first test, starting today in Hamilton.

Since his debut in 1992, the batsman has forged a world-class record at home and abroad, showing a particular appetite for New Zealand bowling.

Apart from almost single-handedly wresting the World Cup semifinal from John Wright's hands in 1992, there was the superb 75 on a seaming test pitch at Hamilton in 1993, an unbeaten 135 at the Basin Reserve the following summer, and the 130 on an admittedly flat track in Christchurch in 2001.

And then there was his 329 at Lahore last year, the second highest individual Pakistan score after Hanif Mohammad's 337 at Barbados in 1957-58, and 10 runs more than New Zealand managed to total in both innings.

To put things in perspective, while Inzamam can boast one of the more impressive overall test records (6523 runs at 49.41 including 18 centuries), his efforts against New Zealand have been even more dominant to the extent that he's averaging 64.42.

It seemed we were finally to have some respite when he was dumped from the team following Pakistan's dismal World Cup campaign this year.

That was the time when Inzamam went on his well-documented diet, shedding nearly 25 pounds (11.3kg) and stunning onlookers with his transformation.

As it happened he lost more pounds than he scored tournament runs.

A month later Inzamam was in the wilderness, and - although he was called in to beef up the middle-order in the opening test against Bangladesh - he was dismissed for a duck in the first innings and only managed to scratch out 88 runs in his next three outings.

It was only when he scored his match-winning and unbeaten 138 in Pakistan's one-wicket win at Multan that the selectors were forced to sit up and take notice and rewarded him with the captain's armband.

Inzamam, so laid-back it was once said that he had a low profile even in his own house, had turned down the captaincy twice, apparently because he thought there were better-qualified senior players.

However, the relative youth of some of his team-mates persuaded him to consider the proposition more carefully this year, and he eventually led his team to a test series win over South Africa, and in 14 one-dayers against Bangladesh, South Africa and New Zealand. "This time around the team was younger and fresher and I could do more in terms of moulding a team, so I said yes," Inzamam said this week. "So far it's been good, although whether any of that is down to my captaincy is debatable."

Inzamam is a fiercely proud competitor whose apparent reticence is often confused for shyness or even indifference, although nothing could be further from the truth.

Genuinely passionate about the game and Pakistan, he holds one of world cricket's worst disciplinary records and in 1997 was suspended for two matches after his well-documented altercation with a spectator during a one-dayer in Toronto where he objected to being called a fat potato (in Punjabi).

Inzamam's other Achilles heel can be his running between the wickets, although it must be said that this problem is mainly confined to the one-day arena rather than test matches.

The big man has already been run out 36 times during his one-day career, but has fared much better in the longer game and can probably be satisfied with a record of two run-outs in 89 tests.

He said the captaincy had made a big difference to his working life and that he was hoping to continue the success in New Zealand.

"This will be a test for us, no doubt," he said. "We have young guys, many making their first tour abroad and most of them have little idea of the playing conditions in New Zealand. I'll really learn something about how well I can manage a team on this tour."

He said the captaincy had meant changes in the way he approached the game, in that he had to consider the other squad members and review his man-management skills.

As for the revival that saw him come from the scrapheap to the captaincy, Inzamam shrugged and said he always believed he would find a way back.

"Never did I think of leaving cricket - I have a lot of it left in me yet."

Inzamam-ul-Haq

Born: March 3, 1970, Multan

Major teams: Multan Division Cricket Association, Faisalabad Cricket Association, National Bank of Pakistan, Rawalpindi Cricket Association, United Bank, Pakistan

Test debut: v England, Birmingham, 1992

Tests: 89

Runs: 6523 at 49.41

Highest score: 329 v New Zealand, Lahore, 2002

100s: 18 50s: 33

ODI debut: v West Indies, Lahore, 1991-92

ODIs: 302

Runs: 9356 at 38.98

HS: 137 not out

100s: 8

50s: 67