Soft Footprints - Obituary of Naushad Ali
Regardless of who was at the helm of affairs at PCB, Naushad Ali for good two decades remained a fair bet as one of the first names for management roles in Pakistan cricket, having previously played six Test matches in the mid-1960s, as a wicket-keeper batsman.
As a mild-mannered individual, led by sound articulate mind, he carried the soft image of the country when undertaking appointments overseas. Naushad’s standing in the game was further enhanced when appointed ICC Match Referee. His passing away in Islamabad on 20th August, at the age of 79, leaves behind a void, strongly felt by both in and outside the game.
Fourth in line of six siblings, Syed Naushad Ali Rizvi, born in Gawalior (Madhya Pradesh) British India, on October 1, 1943, would soon experience uprooting, for in 1949 along with hundreds of families who chose to migrate to Karachi, his too arrived in the capital of Pakistan - a newly independent Muslim state – determined to start afresh. As a resident of Nazimabad, a suburb in the city established in 1952, Naushad made lifelong friends, who still recall his Vespa scooter and the rush to be at the 2pm nets in extreme heat of Karachi, at the National Stadium.
Having taken to cricket in a big way, he represented both Model HS and Sind Muslim College, in Karachi and stepped into the first-class arena, with his selection for Karachi University in the 1960-61 Ayub Trophy. Steady and reliable were the first two qualities that would steer him towards induction in Karachi Blues squad for the 1961-62 QA Trophy. Initially skipper Alim-ud-din banked on Ahmed Mustafa to keep wickets before replacing him with Naushad into the playing eleven for the knockout stages, to be played at NS. Karachi. The 18-year old chipping in with an unbeaten 58 against Karachi Whites in the semi-final and then featured in his side winning the National Championship, by beating Combined Services.
In 1962 both Naushad’s batting and wicket-keeping, came under the watchful gaze of Master Aziz, Nazar Mohammad and Maqsood Ahmed – three national coaches - when invited to a six-week residential summer camp for upcoming University cricketers by Pakistan Sports Board, held at N.S. Karachi. The coaches in the camp observed Naushad’s batting grip that had both hands well apart and encouraged him to carry on with it. Following his successful adaptation to domestic cricket, he saw no reason to change it and was happy to stick to his strengths and contribute with the bat. In Karachi club cricket, he represented Pak Wanderers and Clifton Gymkhana.
There were immediate results for all to see when representing Karachi B against Lahore A at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore in the 1962-63 QA Trophy, Naushad stood up to the pace of Farooq Hameed and Bashir Haider to hit 99. Two days later he pounced on to an opportunity to compile a maiden first-class hundred – 158 in a stay of 9 hrs and 11 mins with 17 fours –, against Railways at Moghalpura Institute Ground. With the great Hanif Mohammad as a role model, this was very much how most of the Karachi batsmen had learnt to put a price to their wicket and frustrate the opposition. This however could not be done without strong defensive technique and knowing one’s limitation in selection of strokes. The cautious and risk-free approach of Karachi certainly complemented the more flamboyant approach of the batsmen in Punjab, to cover all eventualities, when it came to Pakistan’s international exchanges.
On the tour with 1963 Pakistan Eaglets, Naushad was a first-choice opening batsman alongside Salim-ud-din, brother of Alim. He returned home with moderate success though having gained useful experience of batting on soft English wickets, with a top-score of 88 scored against Scotland at Selkirk. The tour proved a stepping stone for a number of youngsters, as seven players including Naushad from an 18-man squad, would go on to represent Pakistan. Back home, in the memorable final between the two Karachi sides in the 1963-64 QA Trophy where Blues, for whom Naushad top scored with 83 on the opening day, beat Whites by mere 18 runs in a thrilling climax on the final day.
The national selectors’ somewhat surprising and undignified manner of dumping Imtiaz Ahmed in October 1964, suddenly changed the whole landscap. It was simply more than a mere change of guard and in reality a complete reshuffling of the pack. The spotlight now was on two young Karachi wicket-keepers and the rivalry between Naushad and Abdul Kadir would keep both men on their toes and convinced new Pakistan captain Hanif Mohammad to back the pair for the eight Test matches scheduled in the winter of 1964-65. The general opinion indicated Kadir as a marginally better batsman whereas Naushad was more competent of the two with gloves.
It is to be recalled that it were the days when expectations from wicket-keepers in Pakistan were rather low and at least 5-10 years behind the top international teams. Their prime job was to stop the ball, give away minimum runs with often fine-leg positioned ‘extra fine’ as its back-up and gobble up what was in their reach, with no concept of diving, having brought up on hard grounds in Pakistan. Even the slip cordon was often occupied by fielders with limited agility, rather than as a specialist, in those crucial catching positions.
After first choice Kadir suffered a hand injury in the first over of a one-off Test against Australia at Melbourne, Naushad walked in and despite his rival’s return to the team purely as a batsman, would open the batting and keep wickets in all three Test matches in New Zealand. He would hold on to his slot in the return series at home against the same opposition. A top-score of 39 at N.S. Karachi, was significant for he and fellow opener Mohammad Ilyas (126) put together 121 runs to see Pakistan achieve their first ever 200 plus runs target in the fourth innings of a Test. With the next Test series two years down the line, it proved to be the end of his international career.
Since 1960s was a barren period in terms of opportunities for international exposure, as Pakistan only played 29 Test matches (two wins) in the entire decade, Naushad switched his attention to a career in the Pakistan Army, which ruled him out of contention for the 1967 tour of England. With no let off in his ambition to come back into the national side, he was allowed time out as a serving Army officer to appear in domestic cricket and also entrusted to revive Inter-Services Cricket Championship, after a lapse of considerable period, in the years Pakistan twice engaged in war with India.
As a guest player appearing for East Pakistan, along with Nasim-ul-Ghani and few other Karachi players, Naushad carried his bat with 107 not out in his side’s 247 all out against Railways at the Railways Stadium, Lahore in the semi-final defeat in the 1966-67 QA Trophy, played a year later than originally scheduled. He compiled a typically dogged 140 for President’s XI against a touring Commonwealth pace attack led by Ken Shuttleworth and Keith Boyce, adding 208 for the 3rd wicket with Javed Burki (93) – his Rawalpindi captain in the domestic cricket – at Pindi Club Ground in 1967-68.
One of the highlights of Naushad’s successful opening pairing with Sadiq Mohammad (101) was 188-run stand and his own contribution of unbeaten 152 for Karachi Blues against Punjab University at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore in the final of the 1970-71 QA Trophy. His winter aggregate of 560 runs @ 46.66 and winning the best wicket-keeper of the season by Pakistan Cricketers Guild, was enough to win him selection for the 1971 tour of England, although in Punjab, Kamran Rasheed was seen as the better option for a second wicket-keeper to Wasim Bari, who by now was world-class and keeping all his contemporaries, at bay. It was the first instance in Pakistan for a senior wicket-keeper, chosen to be an understudy to the first choice, on an overseas tour.
In the last phase of his playing career in the domestic cricket, by now Major Naushad, he represented Peshawar, NWFP, Karachi Whites, Punjab & captained Combined Services, before signing off with 125 in what turned out to be his final appearance in the 1978-79 Patron’s Trophy. Afterwards Naushad was a member of the National Selection Committee on six occasions, between the period of 1983-2000. Kicking off with a series against Sri Lanka in 1985-86, Naushad was appointed ‘Team Manager’ for home series, offering supportive role to Pakistan captains: Javed Miandad and Imran Khan.
Naushad was appointed manager of Pakistan team on their tour of Australia and New Zealand, which would bring an end to Javed Miandad’s reign as captain. He was handed a similar role with Pakistan A squad for the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia in 1998-99. The Ad-hoc Chairman of the PCB, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, with whom Naushad had a strong ties in reference to REDCO, entrusted him as Chairman of National Selection committee in August 1999. In the same year, he also served as Director Operation of the PCB, ICC Match Referee and a Match Referee in Pakistan’s Domestic Cricket, having served in the last capacity since 1994-95. In October 2001 during the one-day series between Zimbabwe and England, Naushad as a Match Referee questioned the legality of James Kirtley’s bowling action. In 2014-15 PCB offered Naushad a role that entailed observing and putting forward his recommendations in stadium upgrading and work on suspect bowling actions.
On retirement from Pakistan Army, where he often was attached to Ordnance, Naushad had reached the rank of Colonel and was now based in Islamabad - the present capital of Pakistan. With that his input, on regional cricket in both Rawalpindi and Islamabad, was of considerable value in Board meetings. In his autumn years he often bumped into Javed Burki in the Islamabad Golf Club, having found a new sporting pursuit and enjoying being outdoors. He married twice – each time to a family in Rawalpindi – and is now survived by his second wife, son and daughter from his first.
The scribe reached out to Asif Iqbal, Majid Khan, Mushtaq Mohammed, Intikhab Alam, Sadiq Mohammed, Mohammad Farooq, Shafiq Ahmed, Salim-ud-din, Mian Saleem Asghar, Khalid Rafique, Mahmood-ul-Hasan & Masood-ul- Hasan.