Saeed Anwar: 10 interesting things to know about the Pakistani opener

Born September 6, 1968, Saeed Anwar is one of Pakistan’s finest ever opening batsmen. On his day, the elegant left-hander was a force to be reckoned with, as India found out when he hit the then-highest ODI score of 194. On his 47th birthday, Shiamak Unwalla lists 10 interesting things to know about the Pakistani opener.

1.  Cricketing family

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Cricket was something of a family sport to the Anwars. Saeed’s father was a club cricketer as well who — according to Saeed — once hit a straight six so long it nearly cleared two grounds. Saeed’s younger brother Javed, nine years his junior, played a couple of First-Class games as well.

2.  Early life

Anwar’s father was an engineer who had shifted to Tehran in search of a better future. The political climate of the late 1970s meant that the Anwars shifted to Saudi Arabia. The young Saeed was sent to live with his grandparents in Karachi, where he started honing his cricketing skills in the garage.

3.  The 194

Unarguably his best innings in ODIs, Anwar’s 194 against India at Chennai in 1997 resulted in Pakistan amassing 327. No other Pakistani batsman crossed 39 in the innings. Despite an excellent 107 from Rahul Dravid, India fell short by 35 runs. Anwar’s 194 was the highest ODI score for 13 years (it would later be joint-highest with Zimbabwean Charles Coventry) before Sachin Tendulkar broke it en route to his 200 not out against South Africa in 2010.

4.  Asia basher

Despite having an impressive international record, Anwar reserved his very best for his Asian counterparts. In 302 matches across formats, Anwar scored 12,876 runs at 41, but his stats against India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh are outstanding. Against Bangladesh he averaged 64.33, against India 44.92, and against Sri Lanka 47.95. In addition, he scored 15 of his 31 international centuries against his Asian rivals.

5.  Following in his father’s footsteps, in more ways than one

As mentioned above, Anwar’s father was a cricketer as well, albeit at a club level. However, Anwar also emulated his father’s profession; he too became an engineer later in life.

6.  Wisden honour

Anwar was named one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year for his exploits in 1997.

7.  A tragic loss

One of Pakistan’s finest Test victories ended in a devastating loss for Anwar on a personal level. Pakistan thrashed Bangladesh at Multan in the Asian Test Championship in 2001. Bangladesh were bowled out for scores of 134 and 148 (Danish Kaneria took six wickets in each innings) while only six Pakistani wickets fell in the match. Anwar himself scored 101 while Mohammad Yousuf (then Yousuf Youhana) scored 102 not out, Taufeeq Umar made 104, Inazmam-ul-Haq retired on 105, and Abdul Razzaq made an unbeaten 110 as the hosts declared at 543 for 6 and won by an innings and 264 runs. The match was over in three days. It was the only time five batsmen have ever scored centuries in the same Test innings.

However, even as the rest of Pakistan would have been celebrating, Anwar and his Pakistan teammates were mourning. Anwar soon announced the reason: his three-year-old daughter Bismah had passed away that day. She had been suffering from an illness, and finally succumbed on the day of one of Pakistan’s biggest Test wins.

8.  Turning to religion

Bismah’s death changed Anwar’s life. He grew out a beard, turned to religion, and traded in his books on the likes of Don Bradman with the Koran. He started preaching and advocating Islam, urging youngsters to look to religion rather than films.

9.  Leaving on a high

Anwar’s final farewell came in the 2003 World Cup. In his penultimate match for Pakistan, he scored 101 against India in the famous match at Centurion only to see Tendulkar’s 98 lead India to a memorable win. His final Test innings was the 101 against Bangladesh.

10.  A dream unfulfilled

One of the few regrets Anwar has of his Test career was a lack of a triple century. He once said in an interview, “I always dreamt of scoring a Test triple hundred, but I guess I was not destined to get it.”

(Shiamak Unwalla is a proud Whovian and all-round geek who also dabbles in cricket writing as a reporter with CricketCountry. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)