In Test cricket the term whitewash is used when a team wins all the matches played in a series of at least three Tests. In the history of Test cricket there have been 60 whitewashes and Pakistan has been the winning side in five of these.Pakistan’s first successful whitewash occurred in 1982. Australia were touring Pakistan for a three Test series under the captaincy of Kim Hughes. The first Test was played at Karachi and Australia opened after winning the toss. They were bowled out for 284 with fifties from Dyson, Hughes and Border. Pakistan replied with a large score of 419 for 9 declared. Zaheer Abbas was the top scorer with 91 while Haroon Rashid made 82. The famous Australian pace bowler Jeff Thomson received particularly harsh treatment from the Pakistani batsmen, ending up with just 1 wicket for 103 runs from 29 overs. When Australia batted again on the fourth day, the wicket was taking turn and Australia were totally at sea against the guile of Abdul Qadir, who took 5 of the first seven wickets to fall, leaving the Australian innings in tatters at 73 for 7. They were eventually all out for 179 and Qadir had figures of 5 for 49. Pakistan needed just 45 runs to win and ran out easy victors by nine wickets.

In the second Test at Faisalabad Pakistan batted first and began with an opening partnership of 123 between Mohsin Hasan Khan and Mudassar Nazar. Centuries by Zaheer Abbas and Mansoor Akhtar allowed Pakistan to declare at 501 for 6 wickets at the close of the second day’s play. Australia had difficulty handling the Pakistani spinners and made a painstakingly slow 168 off 102.5 overs. Qadir took for 4 for 76. Following on 333 runs behind, the Aussies put up a more spirited performance in their second outing, with an unbeaten 106 from Graham Ritchie and 60 from Bruce Laird. They were all out for 330, leaving Pakistan winners by an innings and three runs. With 7 for 142 in the second innings, Qadir had match figures of 11 wickets for 218 runs.

The third and final Test was played in Lahore. Pakistan put Australia in after winning the toss and bowled them out for 316. Dyson top scored with 85 and Lawson, batting at number nine, made a quick-fire 57 not out from 64 deliveries. Imran was the main destroyer with 4 for 45. Pakistan’s batting again demonstrated its strength in their reply of 467 for 7 declared, including centuries from Miandad and Mohsin. The Australian pace trio of Thomson, Lawson and Alderman conceded 308 runs between them. The Australian second innings lasted 90 overs for 214 runs. Dyson made 51 and Imran snared 4 victims for 35 runs. Pakistan needed 64 to triumph and did so by 9 wickets. Pakistan had won the series 3-0 for their first successful whitewash.

Pakistan’s next whitewash was against the touring New Zealanders in 1990. In the opening Test at Karachi Pakistan on the toss and bowled first, dismissing New Zealand for a paltry 196. Rutherford scored 79 while Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis shared 4 wickets each. Pakistan’s strong reply of 433 for 6 declared was underpinned by an unbeaten 203 from Shoaib Mohammad. New Zealand fared only marginally better in their second innings and despite a captain’s knock of 68 from Martin Crowe, could only manage 194, so that Pakistan won by an innings and 43 runs.

The second Test was at Lahore and New Zealand again batted first. They were bowled out cheaply for just 160, with extras being the top scorer with 38. In Pakistan’s response Shoaib scored his second successive ton, while Ejaz Ahmed managed 86 in Pakistan’s total of 373 for 9 declared. Martin Crowe batted superbly in the second innings for an unbeaten 108 and Rutherford with 60, provided him support in a 4th wicket stand of 132, but New Zealand could still muster only 287. Waqar Younis took 7 wickets for 86 runs in this innings and 10 for 106 in the match. Needing just 75 to win, Pakistan cantered home by 9 wickets.

In the third Test at Faisalabad, New Zealand elected to field after winning the toss. Pakistan’s batting collapsed as they were shot out for a mere 102, with Pringle taking 7 for 52. Another superb fast bowling spell from Waqar restricted New Zealand to 217 in their opening knock, including a rapid 61 off 42 balls from keeper Ian Smith. Pakistan’s second innings was a more robust affair as Shoaib made his third century in successive Tests. His 142 helped Pakistan to a total of 357 all out, a lead of 242 runs. Waqar again ran riot in the New Zealand second innings taking 5 for 54 as the visitors were dismissed for 177 and Pakistan won the match by 65 runs. Waqar’s match figures were 12 for 130, his second consecutive haul of more than 10 wickets in a Test. Pakistan had won the series 3-0.

The West Indies, under Courtney Walsh, were touring Pakistan in 1997. The opening Test was at Peshawar, where the tourists had first use of the wicket. Unable to decipher Mushtaq Ahmed’s leg spin, they collapsed to 58 for 7, before rallying to reach 151 all out. Mushtaq had 5 dismissals for 35 runs. Pakistan built their innings around a score of 92 not out from Inzamam-ul-Haq, with supporting fifties from Saeed Anwar, Ejaz Ahmed and Moin Khan. They were all out for 381, a lead of 230. Mushtaq tormented the Windies once more, when they batted again, taking 5 for 78, for a match tally of 10 for 113. The West Indian second innings total of 211 meant that Pakistan had secured victory by an innings and 19 runs.

The second Test at Rawalpindi began well for the West Indies. They put up a score of 303 in the first innings with Shivnarine Chanderpaul making 95. The Pakistan riposte saw a 323-run 3rd wicket partnership between Aamir Sohail and Inzamam that helped them to post a total of 471. Aamir made 160 and Inzamam 177. West Indies folded up for just 139 in their second visit to the batting crease. Only Hooper with 73 not out offered any resistance in an inning that saw three run outs. Pakistan won comfortably by an innings and 29 runs. This was their second innings win in a row.

The West Indies batting faltered in the third Test at Karachi as well. From 109 for 1, they slumped to 216 all out. Pakistan’s main wicket taker was Saqlain Mushtaq with 5 for 54. Pakistan began their reply with a 298 run opening partnership between Aamir, who scored 160, and Ijaz who made 151. Pakistan’s total of 417 ensured a first innings lead of 201. Hooper, with a fine 106, was the only West Indian batsman to stand firm, as his side collapsed again from 140 for 2 to 212 all out. Saqlain added 4 more wickets to his tally at the cost of only 26 runs. Pakistan were left to score just 12 runs for victory which they did that without losing a wicket. They had emphatically won the series 3-0.

Bangladesh arrived in Pakistan in August 2003 for a three test series. In the initial Test at Karachi Bangladesh were sent into bat by Pakistan and made 288 with Habibul Bashar’s 71 being the top score. Yasir Hameed playing his first Test for Pakistan made 170 on debut, in Pakistan’s reply of 346. Habibul Bashar was again in good form in Bangladesh’s second innings and his 108 allowed Bangladesh to reach 274, setting Pakistan a victory target of 217. Yasir Hameed got his second century of the match, making 105, as Pakistan coasted to victory by 7 wickets.

Bangladesh again batted first in the second Test and a promising start saw them reach 310 for the loss of just two wickets. This included 119 by Javed Omar and 97 from Habibul Bashar. However, a devastating spell from Shoaib Akhtar followed next and the remaining seven wickets fell for only 51 runs as Bangladesh were all out for 361. Shoaib took 6 for 50. Pakistan’s reply of 295 left them 66 runs behind on the first innings. Bangladesh’s second outing was a woeful affair as they were shot out for just 96 in 33.5 overs. Shoaib took four wickets for 30 for match figures of 10 for 80. Pakistan needed 163 runs to win and an opening partnership of 140 between Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar ensured a nine wicket win.

The third Test at Multan saw an intriguing contest between the two sides. Habibul Bashar made yet another fifty, scoring 72 in his team’s first innings total of 281. In reply Pakistan could only muster 175, giving the visitors a first innings lead of 106. Bangladesh, however, failed to take advantage of this and were bowled out for 154. Pakistan needing 271 to win were almost beaten with their score at 164 for 7. What followed was a superb innings of great character from Inzamam on his own home ground. Partnered by Saqlain, Mushtaq Ahmed and Umar Gul, Inzamam held the fort for the next three and a half hours to take Pakistan to victory by one wicket. His own contribution was an unbeaten 138. Pakistan had won the series 3-0.

Pakistan’s first four successful whitewashes had been on home turf. Their fifth and final one was in the UAE against England in 2012. In the opening Test at Dubai, England, batting first, could only manage 192, totally bamboozled by the indecipherable spin of Saeed Ajmal who took 7 for 50. Fifties by Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Misbahul Haq and Adnan Akmal took Pakistan to 338 all out and a first innings lead of 146. England’s second innings performance was even worse than their first innings show. A total of 160 left Pakistan a meagre target of 15 runs for victory which they duly reached without losing a wicket. Saeed Ajmal took 10 wickets in the match for just 97 runs.

The second Test at Abu Dhabi saw a mini collapse in Pakistan’s first innings as they went from 203 for 4 to 257 all out. Fifties from Alistair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad helped England to 327 and a lead of 70. When Pakistan were all out in their second venture for just 214, an English victory appeared to be a mere formality. However, much to everyone’s surprise the Pakistani spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman dismissed England for a paltry score of 72, with only two batsmen reaching double figures. Pakistan won by 72 runs.

The third Test at Dubai started on a low scoring note. To Pakistan’s pathetic first innings effort of just 99, England replied with 141 as Ajmal and Rehman shared 8 wickets between themselves. Pakistan’s second innings score of 365 owed much to a second wicket partnership of 216 between Azhar Ali who made 157 and Younis Khan who got 127. England’s victory target was 324 but they could only gather 252, to leave Pakistan winners by 71 runs. Pakistan had triumphantly completed their fifth whitewash 3-0 and their first on non-Pakistani soil.

Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.

salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com