Carrying the bat is a term that is peculiar to cricket. It dates back to the time when team members used to share bats so the outgoing batsman would leave the bat at the crease for the next batsman to use. The batsman who remained not out at the end of the innings would be the one to finally carry the bat back to the pavilion. The expression is now applied exclusively to an opening batsman who remains not out at the end of a completed innings when all the wickets at the other end have fallen. This was first achieved in Test cricket in 1889, when a South African opener Bernard Tancret, remained unbeaten with 26 runs while his team crashed to 47 all out against England at Cape Town.

The first occasion on which a Pakistani batsman carried his bat through an entire completed Test innings was in October 1952. Pakistan were on their inaugural tour of India and after suffering a heavy defeat by an innings in the first Test at Delhi, were playing their second Test at the newly laid University Ground in Lucknow.

India won the toss and elected to bat. The jute matting wicket offered good and consistent bounce, which suited Fazal, who was instrumental in dismissing the Indian team for merely 106 runs. Pakistan began with Nazar Mohammad and Hanif Mohammad who added 46 without loss by the close of play, with Nazar on 21. Hanif fell the next morning, when the opening stand was worth 63 and Nazar was joined by Waqar Hasan. Displaying cautious defence, they took the score to 118, before Waqar, too, left. Imtiaz made a brief appearance before Maqsood partnered Nazar and attacked in his typical cavalier fashion, scoring 41 runs in a 4th wicket partnership of 47, taking the score to 167 for 4. Hafeez Kardar and Anwar Hussain also fell cheaply before a 29 run cameo from Fazal Mehmood took Pakistan to 239 for 7 by the second day's end. Nazar was unbeaten on 87, having scored 66 patient runs during the day in five and a half hours of play.

Pakistan accelerated their scoring rate on the third day adding 92 runs in just 75 minutes. They were all out for 331 with Nazar unbeaten on 124. He had batted for 8 hours and 37 minutes, carrying his bat through an innings that lasted 194.3 overs.

Pakistan subsequently dismissed India for 182 to win by an innings and 43 runs and record a victory in only their second Test outing. Apart from carrying his bat, during this Test Nazar also became the first ever Test cricketer to stay on the ground for the entire duration of a Test match.

In 1982-83 India toured Pakistan for a six Test series which is perhaps best remembered for Pakistan's comprehensive 3-0 win and Imran Khan's 40 wickets. Often forgotten is the prodigious high scoring form of the Pakistani batsman, headed by Mudassar Nazar who scored 761 runs in the series with 4 centuries and an average of 126.83.

In the 5th Test of the series at Lahore, India put Pakistan into bat after winning the toss. Pakistan responded with a total of 323 all out, centred mainly around a 3rd wicket stand of 148 runs in just 183 minutes, between Mudassar Nazar and Javed Miandad. Mudassar, who had opened the batting, carried his bat through the innings, remaining unbeaten on 152 and in doing so he emulated his father's feat achieved thirty years prior. This is the only instance in Test history of a father and son both carrying their bat through a completed Test innings. Interestingly on both occasions the opponent was India. While Nazar had taken over eight hours for his landmark, Mudassar took just under five hours for a higher score. His knock accounted for 47% of Pakistan's entire innings total. Incidentally, this was the second of three consecutive innings in which Mudassar scored over 150 runs against a demoralized Indian bowling attack. Unfortunately this innings was of little avail for Pakistan as the last two days of the Test were washed out by unseasonal rain.

The third Pakistani batsman to carry his bat through a complete Test innings was the majestic Saeed Anwar and the opponents were yet again India. In the opening match of the Asian Test Championship in 1999, Pakistan played India at Kolkata, and recovered from 26 for 6 to 185 all out. India replied with 223. Trailing by 38 runs on the first innings, the highlight of Pakistan's second knock was a sublime innings by Saeed Anwar, full of defiant resistance and exquisite stroke play. Apart from Mohammad Yusuf who assisted him in a fourth wicket partnership of 115 runs in 139 minutes, only two other batsmen reached double figures. In seven and a half hours at the crease Saeed scored an unbeaten 188, as Pakistan were dismissed for 316. He had carried his bat through the innings, scoring 59.5% of the team's total runs. His innings was embellished with 23 fours and a six, and was at the time the highest Test score by a Pakistani batsman on Indian soil. His solo effort would prove enough to earn Pakistan a 46 run victory in the match, albeit in an empty stadium, as the crowd had rioted after Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal due a run out and the ground had to be emptied to allow the match to continue.

The fourth and last Pakistani batsman to carry his bat in a Test innings was Imran Farhat in the third and final Test of Pakistan's away series in New Zealand in November-December 2009. The two teams were locked at 1-1 in the series when they met for the third and final Test at Napier. Pakistan who won the toss and elected to bat, soon found themselves in considerable trouble at 51 for 5, with the captain Mohammad Yousuf, Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq all having departed in quick succession without scoring. Imran Farhat, who had opened the batting with Salman Butt, stood firm at one end and at lunch the score was 83 for 5 with Imran on 47. He reached his century on the stroke of the tea interval by which time Pakistan had progressed to 180 for 7. The innings folded up 45 minutes after tea at 223, and Imran Farhat remained unbeaten, carrying his bat for 117.

The regular fall of wickets at the other had not deterred Imran from playing his strokes. His knock of 117 contained 14 fours and a six and he had faced just 169 balls. He had held the Pakistani lower order together, adding 39 runs with Kamran Akmal for the sixth wicket and 69 and 35 runs with Mohammad Amir and Umar Gul for the seventh and eighth wickets respectively. This was also the first century by a Pakistani opener outside the subcontinent since January 2005, a gap of almost 6 years. The Test was eventually drawn.

In ODIs a total of only 12 batsmen have ever carried their bat through an entire completed innings. Two of them happen to be Pakistanis.

In February 1995 Pakistan faced Zimbabwe in an ODI in Harare. Batting first Zimbabwe put up a score of 219 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs. Pakistan opened with Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail and soon lost 2 wickets for 13 runs, before the captain Saleem Malik and Saeed Anwar restored order with a 3rd wicket partnership of 55 runs. Saeed also received useful support from Ijaz Ahmed and Shakeel Ahmed, so that only 51 runs were needed from the last 10 overs with 6 wickets still intact. At 172 for 4, Shakeel was run out after a valuable 5th wicket stand of 67, triggering a mini collapse. Saeed, however, continued to stand firm, showing grit and courage interspersed with elegant strokes all round the wicket.

When the last over began Pakistan needed just 6 runs to win with two wickets standing. Aamer Nazir was caught in the deep off the very first ball and this brought Wasim Akram to the crease. Earlier in the day Wasim had split the webbing in his right hand while attempting a return catch off his bowling and needed six stitches. As the batsman had crossed during Aamer's hit, Wasim was at the non-striker's end. Saeed Anwar now reached his century with a well struck boundary and a leg bye off the next delivery left the scores level. Sadly, Wasim who was playing with only one hand, could do no more than tamely lob the ball back to the bowler for a caught and bowled dismissal. Pakistan were all out with one ball to go and the scores equal. The match was officially tied.

Saeed Anwar had become the second batsman till then, after Grant Flower of Zimbabwe, and the first centurion, to carry his bat through a completed ODI innings. His 103 not out from 131 balls was a restrained but exceedingly responsible effort that single handedly almost took Pakistan to the very verge of victory.

Saeed Anwar is one of only 5 batsmen who have carried their bat in both Tests and ODIs. The other four are Alec Stewart of England, Javed Omar of Bangladesh, Tom Latham of New Zealand and Dimuth Karunaratne of Sri Lanka. Chris Gayle of the West Indies has the unique distinction of being the only batsman to carry his bat in both Tests and T20 Internationals. In fact he is the only batsman to achieve this feat in the shortest version of the international game.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka faced off in a five match ODI series in Sri Lanka in June 2012. In the 4th ODI staged in Colombo, Sri Lanka batted first and scored 243 for 8 in their 50 overs. In reply Pakistan started with Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali, but lost Hafeez in the very first over. Asad Shafiq then joined Azhar Ali for a useful stand of 53 before departing.

Misbah-ul-Haq came next and in an entertaining partnership of 113 for the third wicket in 24 overs, he and Azhar took the score to 166 for 2. Pakistan appeared to be coasting to a comfortable win before one of those dramatic unpredictable collapses ensued, that are an accepted feature typifying Pakistan cricket. 166 for 2 soon became 179 for 9 and 199 all out as the Pakistani batting line-up inexplicably folded. Azhar stood steadfast but could not salvage Pakistan from the detritus that had quickly enveloped it. He was left stranded on 81, having carried his bat in a losing cause as Pakistan fell 45 runs short of their target.

Besides these six occasions where a Pakistani batsman has carried his bat in a Test or an ODI, there is also an instance of a very narrow failure to do so. In January 1986, in the second Test of their New Zealand tour, at Auckland, Pakistan lost by an innings and 99 runs. They managed just 169 runs in their first innings to which New Zealand responded with a large total of 451 runs for 9 wickets declared. The Pakistani second outing again saw a succession of quick wickets with only a determined Mudassar refusing to concede at one end. When the ninth wicket fell with Azeem Hafeez's departure at 178, Mudassar, batting on 84, was joined by Wasim Akram who was making his Test debut. Not trusting the batting ability of the debutant, Mudassar decided to hit out in an attempt to reach his century. Unfortunately, he could only get to 89 before he was bowled by Lance Cairns off an attempted slog, thus not only missing his hundred but also the opportunity to carry his bat in a Test innings for the second time. It is a decision he has subsequently regretted.

Interestingly of these six occurrences when Pakistani batsmen carried their bat in international matches, five have taken place overseas, and even the near miss by Mudassar was on foreign soil. Unvanquished, conquering hero or merely a survivor as colleagues meekly surrender around him, the batsman carrying his bat is a part of cricket's folklore, revered and venerated as a member of an esteemed elite.

– 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