Inzamam-ul-Haq

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Inzamam-ul-Haq Pakistan (Pak)
Batting style	Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling type	Left-Arm Orthodox Spin (SLA)
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	116	369
Runs scored	8615	11591
Batting average	50.38	39.96
100s/50s	25/44	10/83
Top score	329	137*
Balls bowled	9	58
Wickets	-	3
Bowling average	-	21.33
5 wickets in innings	-	-
10 wickets in match	-	N/A
Best bowling	-	1/0
Catches/stumpings	79/-	108/-
As of 14 December 2006 Source: Cricinfo.com

Inzamam-ul-Haq (Urdu: انضمام الحق) (born March 3, 1970 in Multan) is a Pakistani cricketer, Test batsman, and the captain of the Pakistani team. He is considered to be one of the best batsmen Pakistan ever produced [1].

Contents 1 Early career 2 Playing style 3 Captaincy 4 Performance analysis 5 Career highlights 6 Controversies 7 External links

[edit] Early career

Inzamam made his ODI debut in a home series against West Indies in 1991, and immediately made an impact with strong performances. His 20, 60 in two matches against West Indies were followed by 48, 60, 101, and 117 against Sri Lanka in 1991-92. His laid back approach against slow bowling proved very effective in the semifinal against New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup.

His Test debut against England at Edgbaston in 1992 was largely unimpressive. His vulnerability to swing bowling became obvious with a poor showing in the five Test series. Averaging just 13.2 runs in four Tests, he was subsequently dropped in the final Test, which Pakistan went on to win taking the series 2-1.

In the period from 1992-96, Inzamam's credibility against swing bowling remained at stake. His soft dismissal in the 1996 World Cup quarter final against a slightly swinging delivery further questioned his abilities. The tour of England in 1996, however, helped him in transforming his batting against seam, where he averaged 64, with scores of 148, 70, 65, and 35, after which he never looked back.

[edit] Playing style

Inzamam-ul-Haq, popularly referred to by his first name only (or simply as Inzi), is known to be a very destructive batsman in both One-day Internationals (ODIs) and Test matches. He has the ability to pick the length of a delivery very early and play very late. His footwork is generally considered to be fast, enabling him to position himself early for shots. He averages just over 50 runs per innings in Tests and nearly 40 runs in ODIs, with a strike rate of 53.65 and 74.20 respectively (figures current as of May 2004). Haq is especially strong playing shots off his legs and is considered to be amongst the best pullers in the game.

His batting style has brought him fans from all over the world. He was called "the best batsmen in the world against pace" by Imran Khan, because "he seems to have so much time on his hands before the ball reaches him".

Haq also has the dubious distinction of being run out the highest number of times in ODIs. He has been run-out 39 times in ODIs, as of July 2006.

[edit] Captaincy

Inzamam has captained Pakistan in 25 Tests, winning eight, drawing eight and losing nine. Only three players have captained Pakistan in more Test matches, but all have better win-loss records, and only Imran Khan has a lower win percentage than Inzamam. However, Inzamam has held the captaincy for over 3 years (as of 30 September 2006), the longest captaincy tenure since 1992 when Imran Khan retired.

On Pakistan's 2006 tour of England, Inzamam captained a team that refused to re-enter the field, after tea, on 20 August 2006 at The Oval after allegations of ball tampering from umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove. The umpires awarded England 5 penalty runs and the choice of a replacement ball, after ruling that Pakistan had illegally altered the ball. Inzamam and his team staged a protest at the decision. Later they had returned, but umpires had already ruled that Pakistan had forfeited the match by their refusal to play England. After further discussions between both teams, umpires and cricket board officials it was eventually agreed that the match could not be restarted. Thus, Inzamam became the first captain in history to forfeit a Test match. Inzamam was later charged with tampering with the ball and bringing the game into disrepute (the latter charge associated with the post-tea protest). He has strenuously denied these charges. [2] On September 28, 2006 the allegations of ball-tampering were dismissed, however he was found guilty of bringing cricket into disrepute and given a 4-match One-day International ban with immediate effect. [3] The Pakistan Cricket Board later blamed Inzamam for Oval Test forfeiture; adding that his way of protesting costed the board financial compensation of £800,000 to the ECB.[4]

[edit] Performance analysis

Inzamam has scored 25 Test centuries and Pakistan has won 17 of the matches in which he has scored 100s. That can be contrasted that with some other modern day great players, like Sachin Tendulkar, who has scored only 12 centuries in won matches out of his overall 35, and Brian Lara who has only 8 out of his 32 hundreds in won matches; however, it is highly regarded that Inzamam is not quite at the level of these players, due to his inability to convert half centuries into centuries, especially in ODIs for which Inzamam's poor physical fitness has come under criticism. Also, both Tendulkar and Lara have suffered from playing in teams with weak attacks at stages in their careers, especially Lara, while Inzamam has played in teams with devastating fast bowlers like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, allowing for a better chance for him to play in victorious Test matches, irrespective of whether or not he scored a hundred. Inzamam's average in won Test matches is over 80 which is second best only to Don Bradman. His ability to play at his best under pressure is widely accepted among critics, as Sanjay Manjrekar once said that he is world's best batsman when it comes to playing under pressure. His 60 off 37 balls in the 1992 World Cup semi-final, 138 not-out against minnows Bangladesh in Multan, and 184 against India in Bangalore are examples of innings where Inzamam has performed under immense pressure. However his performance against teams with pace attacks like South Africa and Australia - the latter regarded as the best team of the modern era - has been unimpressive averaging around 31, and having scored just one century in both forms of the game, both teams put together.[5][6] [7] [8] Inzamam has also failed to consistently score in major ODI tournaments - he averages only 23.81 in the World Cup and 21 in the Champions Trophy.

[edit] Career highlights

• Scored 60 off 37 balls against New Zealand in the semifinal of the 1992 World Cup leading to victory.
• 138* runs while facing a humiliating defeat against Bangladesh, eventually saving the Test match and leading his team to victory.
• 329 in a Test against New Zealand in Lahore in 2001-02 season, which is the twelfth highest score by a batsman
• Most number of fifties, 83, in ODI [as of November 9, 2006].
• Second batsman to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals (after Sachin Tendulkar)
• Scored a century (184) in his 100th Test, becoming only the fifth player to do so. Others include England's Colin Cowdrey and Alec Stewart, West Indies' Gordon Greenidge, Pakistan's Javed Miandad and later Australia's Ricky Ponting.
• Scored a century in either innings of the second Test match against England in 2005, to become Pakistan's leading centurion with 24 centuries, breaking Javed Miandad's record of 23 Test centuries. He climbed five places in the LG ICC cricket ratings to third place.
• His 25th century in the 2nd Test against India on January 22, 2006 made him the 10th player to score 25 or more centuries.

[edit] Controversies

• In 1997 Sahara Cup, he attacked a spectator in the stadium with a bat following repeated name calling by the latter. The situation, which could have turned ugly, was averted due to timely intervention of security personnel and the spectators. [9]
• In a match against India in 1999 Sharjah Cup, his on pitch outburst at fellow batsman, Wajahatullah Wasti, after getting run out, created an embarrassing situation.
• In 2004, he accused Shoaib Akhtar of destabilizing the team by spreading rumors.
• In 2006, differences with his vice captain, Younis Khan, continued to surface.
• In 2006, he was banned by ICC for four ODIs for bringing the game to disrepute after refusing to continue to play following a change-of-ball incident. [10]
• In October 2006, he denied forcing team members for prayers in response to a speculation following the comments of the PCB chairman, Nasim Ashraf.

[edit] External links

• Inzamam-Ul-Haq — Story of Arrival to International Cricket

Pakistani batsmen with a Test batting average above 40
Javed Miandad | Inzamam-ul-Haq | Mohammad Yousuf | Saeed Anwar | Zaheer Abbas
Shoaib Mohammad | Hanif Mohammad | Salim Malik | Taufeeq Umar | Saeed Ahmed | Younis Khan

Persondata
NAME	Inzamam-ul-Haq
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Inzie,Inzy
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Pakistani cricketer
DATE OF BIRTH	3 March 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH	Multan
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH