CHAPTER FIVE
I was semi-gainfully employed as a cricket writer and occasional broadcaster in the period 1979–83, and so am to blame for at least some of the match reports here. Wisden and CricketArchive were both invaluable in adding the flesh of exact dates and scores to the bones of personal memory. The late John Arlott, while not one to exude millions of volts of synthetic charm, was a kind, generous, slightly papal senior colleague who introduced me to several of the leading players of the time. I’m also grateful to the late Brian Johnston, Peter Baxter of the BBC, who gave me a brief on-air trial in 1982, Tony Lewis and Neil Durden-Smith. Phil Oppenheim and John Derrick also gave me a cricket job of sorts on the late London Evening Globe before both went on to greater things; I’m grateful.
Imran’s double life as an English county pro and Pakistan’s inspirational Test captain was crisply brought home by, among others, Jeffrey Archer, Fareshteh Aslam, Trevor Bailey, Richie Benaud, Dickie Bird, Geoff Boycott, Mike Brearley, Dar, Ted Dexter, the late Godfrey Evans, Judy Flanders, Tony Gill, David Gower, Naeem-ul-Haque, Antao Hassan, the late Len Hutton, Asif Iqbal, Vic Marks, Jonathan Mermagen, Linda Morris, John Murray, Mark Nicholas, Paul Parker, Derek Pringle, the late Wasim Raja, Mike Selvey, the late Peter Smith. I’m also grateful for his help to my old headmaster Dennis Silk, a former distinguished chairman of the TCCB and president of MCC.
Imran’s quotes beginning ‘Sussex said that the rules applied …’, ‘Our first wicket fell…’ and ‘I admire Ian …’ are from The Autobiography; his quote beginning ‘On paper a 2–1 defeat …’ is an amalgam of that source and my own interview of Imran. Imran’s quotes beginning ‘When I reached the age of thirty …’ and ‘… cricket [was] a job …’ are from All Round View. Javed Miandad’s quotes beginning ‘… when I received word …’, ‘When Imran became the captain …’ and ‘… whom he ignored for the first two Tests …’ are all from Cutting Edge. Imran’s quote beginning ‘if I was written about …’ and the peerless description of Emma Sergeant’s ‘dreamy, pre-Raphaelite beauty …’ are both from Ivo Tennant’s Imran Khan. Ian Botham’s quotes beginning ‘I could see that the quarter-seam …’ and ‘If Constant made a mistake …’ are from Botham’s My Autobiography and The Botham Report (CollinsWillow, 1997), respectively. Air Marshal Nur Khan’s quote beginning ‘Imran’s name was suggested …’ appears in Omar Noman’s Pride and Passion.
CHAPTER SIX
The events of 1984–6 were vividly recalled by, among others, Qamar Ahmed, Jeffrey Archer, Fareshteh Aslam, Johnny Barclay, Richie Benaud, Dickie Bird, Geoff Boycott, Dar, Dave Davies, Ted Dexter, George Galloway, Tony Gill, David Gower, Naeem-ul-Haque, Debbie Harris, the late Reg Hayter, Alastair Hignell, the late Len Hutton, the late Chris Lander, Neil Lenham, Vic Marks, Tahir Nawaz, Mark Nicholas, Paul Parker, Tony Pigott, the late Harold Pinter, Nigel Popplewell, Derek Pringle, the late Wasim Raja, Dicky Rutnagur, Mike Selvey, Alex Stacey. Jonathan Mermagen, probably Imran’s closest British friend, very kindly answered all my questions in a lengthy phone interview. Imran himself spoke to me about this phase of his career in our conversation of 7 September 2008. I visited Draycott Avenue and a number of the other haunts associated with him in London.
For secondary sources I should credit Chronicles, CricketArchive, the Cricketer International (and its benevolent former czar, my friend Peter Perchard), the Daily Express, Daily Mail, the Observer, Daily Telegraph, The Times and Wisden. Medical insight into Imran’s various injuries was provided by the initially elusive but eventually welcoming Dr Wallace Hodges; I’m grateful. A small number of Steve Waugh’s quotes come from his book Out of My Comfort Zone (Viking, 2005). My own memory is to blame for some of the accounts of the English county circuit.
Imran Khan’s quotes beginning ‘I was extremely depressed …’, ‘a small-minded, self-righteous man …’ and ‘The hostility was unrelenting …’ are all from All Round View. Emma Sergeant’s quotes beginning ‘The things that mattered to him didn’t matter …’ and ‘Imran saw the shattering end …’ are from Ivo Tennant’s Imran Khan. Javed Miandad’s quotes beginning ‘I had the choice of continuing …’ and ‘… the whole team was there …’ are from Cutting Edge. The Omar Noman quote beginning ‘Meaningless hundreds …’ is from his book Pride and Passion, which I again recommend to anyone with an interest in either Pakistani international cricket or politics, in so far as there’s a difference between the two.
I again made use of a source, who prefers anonymity, with firsthand knowledge of the Pakistan board.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Primary sources included Aslam Anwar, Jeffrey Archer, Fareshteh Aslam, Johnny Barclay, Dickie Bird, Geoff Boycott, Melinda Cooksey, Dar, Ted Dexter, Judy Flanders, George Galloway, Tony Gill, David Gower, Janet Harris, Sarah Jones, the late Chris Lander, Neil Lenham, Jonathan Mermagen, Linda Morris, Mark Nicholas, Paul Parker, Peter Perchard, Tony Pigott, Nigel Popplewell, Derek Pringle, Abdul Qadeer, the late Wasim Raja, Waris Sharif, Jonathan Taylor, Ali Zaidi.
The umpire David Constant, something of a linchpin for this chapter, declined my offer to speak; Constant’s former colleague Dickie Bird, however, went on the record at length; he told me that both Imran and his team had been ‘a joy’ to officiate. I’m grateful both to him and to the source at UNICEF. My former wife Cat Sinclair, who died prematurely in 2007, was an invaluable co-collator of material on the 1987 summer Test series. She is missed.
Imran Khan’s quotes beginning ‘We were treated with disdain …’ and ‘By drawing the series …’ are both from All Round View. Imran’s quote beginning ‘It was just legalised begging …’, Charles Glass’s quote beginning ‘He sees a class of people …’ and Mark Shand’s quote beginning ‘I always thought he was a proper sort of captain …’ are all from Ivo Tennant’s Imran Khan; I’m grateful to Ivo, at one time my fellow worker on the Victor Gollancz chain gang, for his input. Javed Miandad’s quotes beginning ‘Before the Bangalore Test …’, ‘There is some controversy …’, ‘Our team donated …’ and ‘The board asked me to continue …’ are from Cutting Edge. Iqbal Qasim’s quote beginning ‘I was never sure why …’ and Wasim Akram’s quote beginning ‘It almost seemed natural …’ are both included in Omar Noman’s Pride and Passion. Ian Botham’s quote beginning ‘At the end of the over, Imran came across …’ is from Botham’s My Autobiography.
CHAPTER EIGHT
A number of well-placed sources put their recollections of Imran in 1990–2 at my disposal. Among them were Qamar Ahmed, Aslam Anwar, Jeffrey Archer, Fareshteh Aslam, Richie Benaud, Dickie Bird, Geoff Boycott, the late Denis Compton, Dar, Ted Dexter, Judy Flanders, Tony Gill, David Gower, Javed Kureishi, Vic Marks, John Murray, Mark Nicholas, Tim Rice, Dicky Rutnagur, the late Peter Smith, Jonathan Taylor. Very nearly every British, Pakistani and other cricket-playing national news organisation extensively covered the World Cup final of 25 March 1992; I should particularly acknowledge the Cricketer International of that May, and also the DVD version produced by FSH Marketing (www.cricketvideo.com). Derek Pringle and a colleague in the England team who prefers not to be named both provided the all-important insider account.
Imran Khan’s quote beginning ‘Overnight, I became a star …’ is from Imran’s The Autobiography. Javed Miandad’s quotes beginning ‘In the first Test …’, ‘It was enough to make us feel …’ and ‘I wrote pieces where I thought …’ are from Cutting Edge. Kate Muir’s quote relating to ‘Gazza, the Beatles and President Kennedy …’ is from Ivo Tennant’s Imran Khan. Ian Botham’s quote beginning ‘On one side it was so badly …’ is from Botham’s My Autobiography. Mushtaq Ahmed’s quote beginning ‘We discussed Graeme Hick …’ is from Lawrence Booth’s book Cricket, Lovely Cricket? (Yellow Jersey Press, 2008); I’m grateful to Vicky Fleming for the gift. Kristiane Backer’s quote suggesting that ‘London has always stood for respect …’ can be found on her website www.kristianebacker.com.
Finally, I should thank both the source at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and the p
arty familiar with the workings of the office of the Pakistani prime minister. I did not personally interview Nawaz Sharif.
CHAPTER NINE
‘I changed my life; too many people fail to do that’ (or close variants of the theme), Imran says. Help in recalling his conversion from bachelor cricketer into a family man and politician came from, among others, Aslam Anwar, Dar, George Galloway, Alix Gibb, Jock Given, Antao Hassan, Tahir Nawaz, the late Harold Pinter, Abdul Qadeer, Haroun Rashid. Imran himself spoke to me about this phase of his life in our interview of 26 November 2008. I’m also grateful to the source familiar with some of the doings of the Goldsmith family, and to the former professional colleague of Imran’s who spoke to me about the Princess of Wales; the reader should of course make up his or her own mind about the stories cited.
Other primary sources included Qamar Ahmed, Dave Davies, Tony Gill, Naeem-ul-Haque, Sarah Jones, the late Chris Lander, Jonathan Mermagen, Waris Sharif, Syra Vahidy. Research revealed that HM Courts Service had erased the official transcript of Ian Botham and Allan Lamb’s 1996 proceedings against Imran Khan, but a full and sometimes verbatim account was given in most UK broadsheets, notably the Daily Telegraph. I also consulted the British Library, Chronicles, CricInfo, the Daily Mail, Dawn and the Public Record Office.
Imran Khan’s quote beginning ‘No matter how nave this may sound …’ is from All Round View. His quotes beginning ‘I don’t want to go to a place …’ and ‘The motivation for politics …’ are from Ivo Tennant’s Imran Khan and a CNN interview of March 2008, respectively. Mike Atherton’s quote beginning ‘As I stood in the witness box …’ is from his book Opening Up.
It’s a pleasure both to confirm that Ian Botham declined a formal interview, and to have spoken to him and Lady Botham on the phone.
CHAPTER TEN
Parting comment from: Aslam Anwar, Jeffrey Archer, Fareshteh Aslam, Geoff Boycott, Dar, Dave Davies, Judy Flanders, George Galloway, Tony Gill, Naeem-ul-Haque, Janet Harris, Antao Hassan, Asif Iqbal, Chris Kelly, Javed Kureishi, the late Chris Lander, Jonathan Mermagen, Abdul Mirza, John Murray, Tahir Nawaz, Mark Nicholas, Abdul Qadeer, the late Wasim Raja, Jonathan Taylor, Ali Zaidi. I also spoke to a number of sources who, citing a healthy respect for the volatile and personally adventurous world of Pakistani politics, made it a condition to do so anonymously. Wherever this was humanly possible, their remarks were independently corroborated. Further details of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party can be found at www.insaf.pk. A full account of Sita White’s death, and its aftermath, appears in Vanity Fair of September 2004, which I combined with other, first-hand sources in my own treatment.
Imran Khan’s quotes beginning ‘If my women …’, ‘A helicopter gunship comes on top …’ and ‘Not really …’ are all from the Independent of 2 November 2008; his quote beginning ‘Some of the greatest happiness I’ve ever had …’ is from an undated but obviously recent online interview he gave to CNN. Imran’s quote beginning ‘This is a civil war in the making …’ is from the Daily Telegraph of 9 December 2008; the reference to him being ‘a body linguist’s dream’ is very slightly amended from the same source. The scene of Imran Khan campaigning in Kamar Mushani is drawn in part from an unbylined report that appeared on Buzzle.com of 26 September 2002. The reference to the Pakistani state being ‘a sort of giant cash machine …’, though not a unique observation, appeared in an eloquent piece in the Spectator of 15 November 2008. A small number of quotes attributed to Imran in this chapter are slightly adapted, in the light of what he told me, from a report on, and interview with, him that appeared in the Daily Telegraph of 12 November 2008. I should also acknowledge the occasional quote from former president Musharraf’s book In the Line of Fire, a gripping first-hand account of modern Pakistani politics, if not one burdened by excessive self-doubt on the author’s part.
Although Imran Khan co-operated with the writing of this book, I should again stress that he neither sought nor received any editorial control over it. I am solely to blame for the contents.
Index
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.
Abbas, Zaheer
captain
on I.K.
problems with I.K.; Javed Miandad; Abdul Qadir
team manager
Ahmed, Ijaz
Ahmed, Mushtaq
Ahmed, Niaz
Ahmed, Qamar
Ahmed, Saeed
Ahmed, Younis
Akhtar, Mansoor
Akhtar, Shoaib
Akram, Wasim
Alam, Intikhab
Alderman, Terry
Ali, Muhammad
Ali, Talat
Ali, Tariq
Allen, ‘Gubby’
Allott, Paul
al-Qaeda
Altaf, Salim
Ambrose, Curtly
Amiss, Dennis
Anwar-ul-Haq
Anwar, Saeed
Archer, Jeffrey
Arlott, John
Arnold Geoff
Asif, Mohammad
Aslam, Fareshteh
Atherton, Mike
Australia
Aziz, Tariq
Bacher, Dr Ali
Backer, Kristiane
Bainbridge, Phil
Bakht, Sikander
ball tampering
I.K.–Botham court case
Bangladesh
Bangladesh cricket team
Bangladeshi separatists
Bannister, Jack
Barclay, John
Bari, Wasim
Barlow, Graham
Barrington, Ken
BCCP (Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan) see also PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board)
Bedi, Bishan
Bedser, Alec
Beg, Idrees
Benaud, Richie
Bhutto, Benazir (assassination)
on I.K./relationship with
Bhutto, Murtaza
Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali
Bird, Dickie
Border, Allan
Bore, Mike
Botham, Ian
ball tampering and court case
captain
fined
on I.K.
problems with I.K.
record as captain
Boycott, Geoff
Brandes, Eddo
Brearley, Mike
Broad, Chris
Brown, David
Brown, Tony
Burki, Javed
Butcher, Mark
Butt, Ijaz
Butt, Safdar
Cambridge Univ.
Canada
Cardus, Neville
Carr, Donald
Chappell, Greg
Chappell, Ian
Chaudhry, Fazal
Clarke, Sylvester
Close, Brian
Compton, Denis
Constant, David
Constantine, Susannah
Cowdrey, Colin
Croft, Colin
crowd rioting/violence
Crowe, Martin
Daniel, Wayne
‘Dar’
DeFreitas, Phil
Denness, Mike
Derbyshire
Dev, Kapil
Dexter, Ted
D’Oliveira, Basil
ECB (England Cricket Board)
Edmonds, Phil
Edrich, John
Emburey, John
England
Essex
Evans, Godfrey
Fairbrother, Neil
Faqih, Ijaz
Fazal, Zahid
Fletcher, Keith
Fredericks, Roy
Gandhi, Mahatma
Garner, Joel
Gatting, Mike
incident with Shakoor Rana
Gavaskar, Sunil
Geloven, Jack van
Gifford, Norman
Glamorgan
Gloucestershire
/> Goldsmith, Annabel
Goldsmith, James
Goldsmith (Khan), Jemima
Gooch, Graham
Gould, Ian
Gower, David
Grant, Hugh
Graveney, Tom
Greig, Ian
Greig, Tony
Greenidge, Gordon
Gul, Hamid
Hadlee, Richard
Hafeez, Azeem
Hall, Wes
Hampshire
Hawke, Neil
Haynes, Desmond
Hemmings, Eddie
Hick, Graeme
Hignell, Alastair
Hilditch, Andrew
Hogg, Rodney
Holder, Vanburn
Holding, Michael
Horton, Henry
Howarth Geoff
Hughes, Kim
Hughes, Merv
Hurst, Alan
Hussain, Mahmood
Hussain, Mohammad
Hussain, Nasser
Hutton, Len
ICC (International Cricket Conference)
ICC (International Cricket Council)
Inchmore, John
Illingworth, Ray
Illingworth, Richard
India, conflict with Pakistan
India cricket team
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Iqbal, Asif
Jackman, Robin
Jaffer, Saleem
Jagger, Mick
Jameson, John
Javed, Aaqib
Jones, Dean
Kallicharran, Alvin
Kardar, Abdul
Kent
Khan, Ghulam Ishaq
Khan, Imran (Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi) see also Shaukat Khanum hospital and Pathan
adviser to Board of Control
ambassador for tourism
ancestors/relatives
anti-bribery/match fixing
anti-US views
arrested
as captain
awards
ball tampering
Botham court case
Imran Khan Page 52