Former greats and delighted fans Tuesday hailed Pakistan’s 3-0 Test cricket whitewash of England as an inspiration for a troubled nation reeling from violence and scandals. Pakistan sealed the rout — the first in 58 years between the two nations — with a thumping 71-run win in the third and final Test in Dubai on Monday. They won the first Test by ten wickets, also in Dubai, and the second in Abu Dhabi by 72 runs. Fans took to the streets to celebrate the win as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani praised the team and newspapers ran congratulatory messages. One back-page tea advertisement screamed: “Pakistan sipped, England dipped.”
Former captain Rashid Latif called the victory remarkable and inspiring. “Without a doubt, this is the best series win Pakistan has achieved,” Latif told AFP. “The win has already inspired the youth towards the game and this will increase in the days to come.” Latif, who runs cricket academies across Pakistan, said young people have thronged his centres. “When Pakistan won the 2009 World Twenty20, youth and kids rushed to my academies to play cricket and in the last two days we faced a number of boys who want to learn the game. This win has inspired them,” he said. He praised spinners Saeed Ajmal, who took 24 wickets in the series, and Abdul Rehman, who took 19, for their extraordinary bowling.
“Ajmal and Rehman never allowed England batting to settle,” said Latif. “They are one of the best spin pairs and will serve Pakistan more in the years to come.” Another former captain and contemporary of Latif, Moin Khan, said the whitewash was a gift to the nation, which is struggling with recession and Taliban violence, and still reeling from the 2010 spot-fixing scandal at the Lords Test. “This is a big gift to the nation by the national team,” said Khan, adding that the win was “achieved against the backdrop of many problems and it will go a long way”. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf said the win has sent a strong message to other countries. Pakistan became a no-go zone for international cricket after Islamist militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in March 2009.
“I never doubted the ability of the Pakistan cricket team. The victory is a clear message to all cricket-playing nations that we have the capability to take on any cricket team in the world,” said Ashraf. He said the win was achieved through hard work and praised captain Misbah-ul Haq for doing “a remarkable job in uniting the team”. Former spinner and selector Iqbal Qasim said the team needed to build on the win in order to crawl up the international rankings. “The way Misbah has led the team and the way the players have responded to his calls is excellent and extraordinary,” he said. Shafiq Siddiqui, a local cricket player and a big fan of Misbah, said the team had given happiness and joy to the whole nation. “We are proud of the team,” said Siddiqui. “We owe this success to Misbah’s leadership who has built a broken team and all credit to our bowlers who gave no chance to England.”
