Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan (born June 12, 1957), known in the Cricketing World as Javed Miandad, was born in Karachi, Pakistan. He had a long career as an international cricketer for Pakistan between 1975 and 1996, and had 3 mildly successful but controversial coaching runs with the team as well.
Career
He made his Test debut against New Zealand at Lahore on October 9, 1976 and one-day international debut against West Indies at Birmingham in Cricket World Cup 1975.
Miandad made a glorious debut with a century and soon after scored a double century in the same series to break George Headley's 47 year old record of the youngest player to score a double century. Miandad was the youngest player to score 100 runs on his debut. He scored a century in his first appearance against India in the course of which he completed 1000 runs in 23 innings to become the second youngest to score 1000 runs at the age of 21 years and 26 days.
Javed Miandad played 124 Tests and had the most innings for a Pakistani (189). His aggregate of 8,832 Test runs with 23 centuries and 43 fifties at an average of 52.57 is the highest for a Pakistani batsman. Miandad is one of only two batsmen, the other being Herbert Sutcliffe, to maintain an average of above 50 throughout a career of more than 20 innings. He scored six double centuries which is the most by a Pakistani and 5th in the all-time list. His highest score was 280 not out versus India.
Miandad's Test career average of 52.57 puts him among the top flight of batsmen to have played international cricket.
Australasia Cup 1986
The highlight of Javed's career came during the Australasia Cup in 1986. The Pakistanis had managed to make it to the final, and were up against India.
India batted first, with the Indian batsmen made 245 runs, leaving the Pakistanis with a required run rate of 4.92 per over.
Javed Miandad came in to bat at number 4, with the score at 39 for 2 wickets, and the required run rate had risen to 7 an over. Four runs were required off the last ball, and Javed Miandad hit a six that sealed the victory for Pakistan.
Pakistan suddenly became considered as one of the best cricket playing countries in the world, and Javed Miandad became a hero.
His famous last ball six against India in Sharjah is still considered as one of the most historic moments in one-day cricket history. His amazing ability to work the ball in the places where fielders weren't present was appreciated very rightly by Viv Richards, who was once quoted saying, "If there was any batsman for which I could go and buy a ticket to see him batting that was Javed Miandad."
He was also complimented by the New Zealand commentator John Wright, who refused to concede victory to India, saying, "As long as Javed is there, anything can happen". Javed referred to this in his autobiography as, "One of the best compliments he has received in all his cricket years."
Controversies
Although a superb batsman with an excellent batting average, Javed was never far from controversies. Whether it was the controversial run out of Rodney Hogg, or the famous argument with Dennis Lillee, Javed Miandad always had controversies dogging him till the very end. His gritty attitude led him into many infield and onfield scuffles which only increased the controversy. This though, had little impact on Miandad, who used it to spur him on to greater heights.
The same cannot be said of his coaching. His first term began in late 1998, during a period when Pakistani cricket was on its last legs due to politics and "superstars". He single-handedly changed the face of Pakistani team, which went from a joke to World Cup favourites, becoming a public favourite in the process. But, as it was, Miandad also had a celebrity attitude, creating conflicts with then senior players, and resigned just a few weeks before the 1999 Cricket World Cup. His second term began with in 2001, but he was neither as successful nor as influential as the last time, and was fired at a time which is considered the darkest period of Pakistani cricket, which continued till the 2003 Cricket World Cup, after which many players were fired and forced into retirement. That's when his third term as coach began. This time he had a supportive environment (albeit not without controversy), with 2 supporting captains (first Rashid Latif, then Inzamam-ul-Haq), but this time he lost to changing times and resigned to make way for the current coach, Bob Woolmer.
International Records
Javed Miandad's career performance graph.Miandad has some unique records. He is the only batsman not only to score 100s in his 1st, 50th and 100th Test matches, but also in his 1st, 50th and 100th Test innings. In the 1000th Test match ever to be played, between Pakistan and New Zealand in 1982-83, he scored 100s in both innings. He is also the youngest cricketer to make a triple hundred in first class cricket. He scored nine back to back 50s in 1987-88 which is also a record in ODIs. He was never dismissed for a duck on his home soil, either in Test matches or ODIs.
Miandad is the only cricketer to appear in six World Cup competitions; the first six. He was named as one of the cricketers of the year in 1982 by Wisden.
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