BOMBAY, 3 June 2005 — Test cricket greenhorns have invariably had to struggle to find success. India had to wait for 20 years before recording her first victory. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have a poorer record than that. But look at Pakistan’s stupendous achievement. Victory for them came in only the second Test that they ever played. Then they had victories over England and Australia the first time of asking. All these victories were made possible by one man, more than the others. He was Fazal Mahmood.

Mahmood, who died last Monday, was one of the biggest icons of Pakistan cricket. He was a remarkable medium-pacer, always more effective bowling with the old ball than the new. He had a lethal leg-cutter. He has left an indelible mark on the history of Pakistan cricket. England’s Alec Bedser rated him as the best medium-pacer in the world.

If he was not to be successful at cricket, he certainly would have been as a matinee-idol in cinema. Yes, Fazal Mahmood had all the trappings of a screen hero. He was tall, lithe and handsome, with deep blue eyes. He was more like Raj Kapoor than Dilip Kumar, whose great friend he was.

On the death of the former Pakistan captain, the Indian idol Dilip Kumar said “I recall my first meeting with him when he came to Bombay with the Pakistan team. He was a big hit with the film crowd. He had ever remained a close friend, although we did not meet often.”

Fazal Mahmood carried himself majestically on the cricket field and off it. He was ever so popular even with rivals. He was the captain of the Indian Universities team before partition. He had a chance to play for India on the 1947-48 tour of Australia as Lala Amarnath, who had played all his early cricket in Lahore, was very fond of him and had as good as selected him for the tour. But after partition, Fazal, who had a great career before him, decided to play for Pakistan.

Fazal had to wait for four years before the Pakistan team was formed and earned an entry into Test cricket. In fitness of things, the first ever series was to be against India.

With the wounds of partition still fresh, the atmosphere wasn’t all that friendly. Yet some of the Pakistani players endeared themselves to the Indian crowds. The two who were most popular were Hanif Mohammad and Fazal Mahmood. Both had two tours of India and left their mark on the series.

Pakistan lost the first Test at Delhi by an innings. But they hit back immediately and won the next match by a similar margin. Fazal had captured 12 wickets to make victory possible at Lucknow. In 1961, Fazal Mahmood was the Pakistan captain and both sides were unhappy, as were the crowds, that all the five Tests were drawn.

Pakistan’s first tour of England was made memorable by the wonderful bowling of Fazal Mahmood. Pakistan lost the first Test, but came back strongly in the second at The Oval. Even here, England had looked like winning when they were 109 for 2. But sensational bowling by Fazal hurtled them to 143 all out. Fazal captured 6 for 46 in the second innings for 12 wickets in the match. He did likewise in Karachi, the following season as he bowled his heart out to defeat Australia at the first time of asking. Fazal captured 13 wickets in the match.

Pakistan have always produced great pace bowlers who have played a major role in their success in international cricket. But the man who led the way was Fazal Mahmood. His deeds inspired others like Imran Khan, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, all world-class bowlers and veritable match-winners on their day.

A gentleman to the core, Fazal Mahmood did enormous charitable work for a village in Lahore he had adopted. He kept in touch with the game by being present at all the international matches. He had nothing but great praise for young Indian pace bowler Irfan Pathan when he saw him in Pakistan last year. He had put his right-arm around the youngster and told him “You will go far in this game. Just don’t let up.”

Irfan was not even fully aware of the great reputation of the man who had given a pat on his back. When told by others, he buried his face in his palms and then looked up to say “God, how lucky I am to be blessed by such a great man.”