Pakistan cricket is the greatest enigma in the world of sport. Cricket is a way of life for many millions of Pakistanis, woven into the fabric of society and encoded into the DNA of a complex nation. The history of Pakistan cricket is a tale of joy, excitement, ineptitude and despair; a triumph of raw talent in the face of crippling circumstances. Cricket is a metaphor for life in Pakistan. The cricketing clash between Pakistan and England, the home of cricket, is a fascinating and controversial struggle to shake a colonial legacy. Our story begins in 1982 when Imran Khan, Pakistan's greatest cricket captain, began to establish his country as a force, and culminates in a surprising tussle between these two nations in the United Arab Emirates in 2012. Security fears mean that international cricket is not possible in Pakistan but the country still boasts a powerful team, which plays in exile. How is this possible? How has the relationship between Pakistan and England survived some of the greatest controversies in the history of sport, such as the spotfixing tour of 2010 and the forfeited Test match of 2006? Indeed, how has Pakistan cricket managed to survive at all? Kamran Abbasi has been a leading international writer on Pakistan cricket since 1996. He has followed Pakistan cricket closely from the 1970s and experienced every high and low of supporting the country of his birth although living for the most part in England. He has been a powerful and independent voice on the state of Pakistan cricket and the Asian experience of cricket in England. This is a unique history, a real life account of the successes and failures of Pakistan cricket and a fluctuating relationship with England. No other writer has published so eloquently and consistently on these themes, especially from a Pakistani perspective. Zindabad: The English Chronicles is the first in a series of themed collections that relive the thrills and the despair of following the most fascinating team in the history of sport.
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