2004/05 Quaid-E-Azam Tournament: A Graphical Analysis by Jack Solock

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Event:

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2004/05

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DateLine: 20th January 2005

 

An exciting 47th Quaid-E-Azam tournament came to a damp close on 1 January 2005, with Peshawar claiming their second championship by winning first innings in a rain marred draw at Faisalabad. See the article attached to the scorecard at: (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/47/f47941.html) for a graphical analysis of this match.

 

For Peshawar, it was their second Q-E-A championship, their first coming in 1998-99 when they defeated Karachi Whites in March 1999 (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/43/f43881.html). In that match, as in this, they had to win the title on the road after coming second in the points table. (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Events/Tables/Quaid-e-Azam_Trophy_1998-99.html).

 

 

The graph of the points table shows that after some early jockeying for position, Faisalabad and Peshawar took over the race in the second half of the tournament. Karachi Whites started out with a two match winning streak, but then two draws and two losses doomed them to the middle of the pack. Peshawar played steady, winning cricket all season, with one three match and a brace of two match winning streaks. From Round 5 through Round 7, Peshawar and Faisalabad stayed dead even for the lead. Faisalabad passed Peshawar after the latter had suffered a stunning loss to eventual ninth place finishers Multan at Peshawar (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/47/f47862.html) in Round 8. But in Round 9, Faisalabad immediately returned the favor by losing to Rawalpindi at Rawalpindi. (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/47/f47909.html). The two sides then matched wins in Round 10, both finishing with 63 points. Faisalabad received home ground advantage for the final, based on a higher net run rate (even though Peshawar had achieved a winning draw against Faisalabad in their match at Faisalabad during in November. (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/47/f47764.html).

 

The graph also shows Rawalpindi and Lahore Blues finishing strongly (Blues winning three in a row before losing their final match). But it was not enough for either to overcome their earlier mediocre play.

 

 

This graph shows us what really happened in the tournament, in terms of wins and losses. We see that Faisalabad claimed the longest winning streak (four games), while hapless Quetta had the longest losing streak (their final four games). In terms of this graph, we see that the points system was mostly accurate as a reflection of actual wins and losses, with only Rawalpindi (who, at +2--3 wins 1 loss) being unfairly treated. In a win-loss scenario, Rawalpindi would have finished fourth, as opposed to their actual sixth place finish. But whether by points (where Faisalabad and Peshawar had 24 more than the closest rival), or wins minus losses (where the two teams won 6 more than they lost and the closest rival Sialkot won 3 more than they lost) these two teams were head and shoulders above the rest.

 

There were three matches of special note during the season.

 

1. Faisalabad v Karachi Blues (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad on 27th November 2004). (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/47/f47848.html).

 

In this match, Blues and ex-Pakistan Captain Rashid Latif pulled his team off the field and conceded the match after four lbw decisions in 15 overs convinced him that the Faisalabad pitch was unplayable. He was suspended for his trouble, and the 9 points conceded to Faisalabad were crucial in giving them home ground advantage in the final.

 

2. Lahore Whites v Hyderabad (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th December 2004). (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/47/f47908.html).

 

This otherwise innocuous match was highlighted by a 239 run 10th wicket partnership between Whites Aqeel Arshad and Ali Raza. It was the third largest 10th wicket partnership in the history of first class cricket, and the second time this season that a top ten all time 10th wicket partnership had been achieved. For more on this rarity see the article about the recent New South Wales v Western Australia match at Sydney, played in November 2004. (http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Articles/2/2002.html).

 

3. Rawalpindi v Faisalabad (Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium 15th, 16th December 2004). (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/47/f47909.html).

 

In this match, Rawalpindi bowler Yasir Arafat took 5 wickets in 6 balls over the course of two innings. This equaled a feat achieved only three times before in first class history:

 

1: Bill Copson, Derbyshire, in the English County Championship, Derbyshire v Warwickshire, at Derby, July 1937. (http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/f/15/f15613.html)

 

2. William Henderson, North Eastern Transvaal, in the South African Curry Cup, Orange Free State v North Eastern Transvaal, at Bloemfontein, February 1938. (http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/f/15/f15819.html)

 

3. Pat Pocock, Surrey, in the English County Championship, Sussex v Surrey, Eastbourne, August 1972. (http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/f/29/f29051.html)

 

Nothing like it had ever been done in Pakistan first class cricket before. The performance broke the Pakistan record of 4 wickets in 4 balls set by:

 

1. Ali Gauhar, Karachi Blues, in the Pentangular Trophy, United Bank Limited v Karachi Blues, Peshawar, April 1995. (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/41/f41237.html)

 

2. Fazl-e-Akbar, Pakistan International Airlines, in the PCB Patron's Trophy, Habib Bank Limited v Pakistan International Airlines, Lahore, October 2001. (http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Scorecards/f/45/f45573.html).

 

Individual honors:

 

Best batsman of the tournament: Faisal Athar of Hyderabad (942 runs from 10 matches at average 55.41, having four centuries and three half-centuries and a high score of 128).

 

Best bowler of the tournament: Shahid Nazir of Faisalabad (52 wickets from 10 matches, included the final at an average of 12.46, also having the best innings figures of six for 18).

 

Best fielders of the tournament: Ijaz Ahmad Junior of Faisalabad and Wajahatullah Wasti of Peshawar, 17 catches each.

 

Best wicketkeeper of the tournament: Hafiz Khalid Mehmood of Sialkot, 31 catches.

 

Each of the above players received 50,000 rupees (452.97 British pounds) for the honors. Ijaz and Wajahatullah shared the prize.

 

For winning the tournament, Peshawar received 500,000 rupees. Faisalabad received 250,000 rupees for being runner-up. Peshawar's Shoaib Khan received 50,000 rupees for being Man of the Match in the final.

 

For the tournament as a whole, in 56 matches an average of 26.87 runs were scored for each wicket. There were 62 centuries, including six double centuries, and one 300 (Bazid Khan--Rawalpindi). There were 74 5 wicket innings (Shahid Nazir--Faisalabad, Yasir Arafat--Rawalpindi, and Abdur Rauf--Multan each had four), and eight 10 wicket matches (no bowler had more than one).

 

Sources for this article:
Dawn (Karachi) final match article.
Jang International News final match article.
PCB Pepsi Cricket Annual, 2002-03
Wisden Cricketer's Almanack, 2004
cricketarchive.com scorecards

 

(Article: Copyright © 2005 Jack Solock)