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Zaheer Abbas
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1972
Zaheer Abbas fitted effortlessly into the architectural splendours of Cheltenham College. So wonderful were the wristy strokes he eased around the ground during the Cheltenham festival that his very presence enhanced the historic buildings. Perhaps English Heritage should have slapped a preservation order on the entire scene. For the man they called 'Zed' could be just as monumental as any building. He may have been a pretty batsman, but he was by no means ephemeral. His first Test innings in England brought him 274, at Edgbaston in 1971. Three years later it was nine hours batting for 240 at the Oval. He had a hearty appetite for runs. Zaheer made his debut for Karachi in 1965-6, then toured Ireland with Pakistan International Airlines in 1969 before making his Test debut against New Zealand that October. He was dropped after just one Test. He joined Gloucestershire in 1972, but his early Test performances did not match his big scores. He made 72 at Headingley in 1971, but his best Test score on a 1972-73 tour of Australia was 51. He toured New Zealand with Pakistan in 1972-73 and opened the batting. Not until the tour of Australia in 1976-77 did he achieve real consistency. He made 85 and 101 in the Adelaide Test and 90 and 58 at the MCG. A few months later he was in the West Indies and made 80 at Georgetown. In the World Cup of 1975 he made 97 against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge
- Full name : Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani
- Born : July 24, 1947, Sialkot, Punjab
- Batting style : Right-hand bat
- Bowling style : Right-arm offbreak
- Test debut : Pakistan v New Zealand at Karachi - Oct 24-27, 1969
- Last Test : Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Sialkot - Oct 27-31, 1985
- ODI debut : England v Pakistan at Nottingham - Aug 31, 1974
- Last ODI : Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Hyderabad (Sind) - Nov 3, 1985
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