Zaheer’s low average

Press, 15 June 1983, Page 32

Zaheer’s low average

Zaheer Abbas is among the top few batsmen in the world today, and is the most recent cricketer to score a century of centuries.

But when he was bowled by Richard Hadlee for a duck in Monday’s World Cup match at Edgbaston, he extended a singularly unimpressive record for Pakistan against New Zealand. In 1969, he made his first test appearance for Pakistan against New Zealand

and was out for 12 and 27. When New Zealand toured again in 1976, Zaheer’s test scores were 15,15,11, 3, and 16. Zaheer has toured New Zealand twice. In 1972-73, his innings in tests yielded 2, 8,15,10 and 0. In 1978-79 he played in the last two tests, for scores of 2, 40 and 135. With innings of 23 and 0 in his two limited-over matches, Zaheer has totalled 334 runs against New Zealand, and averaged

only 19.6; without the century at Auckland it would be 12.4. There is no question of Zaheer’s class. He is an exceptionally talented batsman, and he has enjoyed taking New Zealand bowling apart — when playing for Gloucestershire. Against the 1973 touring team, he scored 15 and 37 not out for the county, and the 1978 match at Bristol brought him 83 and 121 not out