Pakistani cricket team in South Africa in 1997–98

Pakistan in South Africa 1997-98
	South Africa	Pakistan
Dates	29 January 1998 – 10 March 1998
Captains	Gary Kirsten (1st Test) Hansie Cronje (2nd and 3rd Tests)	Aamer Sohail (1st and 2nd Tests) Rashid Latif (3rd Test)
Test series
Result	3-match series drawn 1–1
Most runs	Mark Boucher (188)	Azhar Mahmood (327)
Most wickets	Allan Donald (16)	Waqar Younis (16)
Player of the series	Azhar Mahmood (PAK)

The Pakistan national cricket team toured South Africa during the 1997–98 season, playing three Tests from 14 February to 10 March 1998.

Pakistan was led by Rashid Latif while South Africa was led by Hansie Cronje. The tour began with a Test series consisting of three matches. Both captains had to withdraw from part of the Test series with injury.^[1]

The series was drawn 1–1.^[2] At the end of the series, Azhar Mahmood of Pakistan emerged as the top run-scorer with 327 runs, with an average of 65.40; Saeed Anwar followed close behind with 236 runs.^[3] Waqar Younis and Allan Donald finished the series as top wicket-takers capturing 16 wickets respectively, with Mushtaq Ahmed taking 13.^[3] Azhar Mahmood was named "man of the series".^[4]

The Pakistan tour was followed by a tour of Zimbabwe, followed by a triangular One-Day tournament played in South Africa, which included Sri Lanka as the third team.^[5] Pakistan and South Africa qualified for the final from the group stage.^[6] Pakistan were defeated in the Final by South Africa.^[7]

Squad

Pakistan[8][1]
Rashid Latif (c, wk) Aamer Sohail (vc) Saeed Anwar Inzamam-ul-Haq Ijaz Ahmed Yousuf Youhana Moin Khan (wk) Mohammad Wasim Saqlain Mushtaq Azhar Mahmood Ali Naqvi Shoaib Akhtar Mohammad Akram Waqar Younis Mushtaq Ahmed

Fazl-e-Akbar, Mohammad Hussain, Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram later reinforced the party.

Tour matches

Nicky Oppenheimer XI v Pakistanis

29 January 1998 Scorecard

Pakistanis  299/4d (56 overs)	v	Nicky Oppenheimer XI 239/6 (42 overs)
Inzamam-ul-Haq 107 (88) NC Johnson 2/32 (9 overs)		DM Benkenstein 94 (69) Azhar Mahmood 3/82 (12 overs)

Match drawn NF Oppenheimer Ground, Randjesfontein Umpires: K Lavery and S Wadvalla Player of the match: Inzamam-ul-Haq (PAK)

This match did not have List A status.

Four-day: Griqualand West v Pakistanis

30 January–2 February 1998 Scorecard

Pakistanis	v	Griqualand West
418/8d (97 overs) Saeed Anwar 117 (156) GA Roe 3/98 (27 overs)		218 (86.4 overs) PH Barnard 101 (175) Mushtaq Ahmed 6/63 (27.4 overs)
216/9d (69.1 overs) Aamer Sohail 61 (144) GJ Kruis 4/41 (17.1 overs)		109 (39.2 overs) W Bossenger 39 (46) Mushtaq Ahmed 5/18 (10.2 overs)

Pakistanis won by 307 runs De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley, Northern Cape Umpires: SB Lambson and CJ Mitchley

• Pakistanis won the toss and elected to bat.

Four-day: Border v Pakistanis

6–8 February 1998 Scorecard

Pakistanis	v	Border
232 (62.4 overs) Yousuf Youhana 77 (139) M Ntini 3/99 (18 overs)		244 (54.4 overs) W Wiblin 82 (113) Azhar Mahmood 4/66 (18 overs)
124 (39.5 overs) Moin Khan 42 (77) D Taljard 6/49 (17.5 overs)		113/5 (29 overs) PC Strydom 41* (36) Saqlain Mushtaq 2/26 (10 overs)

Border won by 5 wickets Buffalo Park, East London Umpires: RE Koertzen and DL Orchard

• Pakistanis won the toss and elected to bat.
• The match was scheduled for four days but completed in three.

Three-day: Free State v Pakistanis

21–23 February 1998 Scorecard

Free State	v	Pakistanis
334/7d (91 overs) WJ Cronje 150* (199) Shoaib Akhtar 2/62 (16 overs)		441 (104.5 overs) Inzamam-ul-Haq 119 (142) JF Venter 4/106 (33.5 overs)
21/3 (8.2 overs) JF Venter 8 (25) Fazl-e-Akbar 2/9 (4 overs)

Match drawn Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein Umpires: WA Diedricks and DL Orchard

• Free State won the toss and elected to bat.

Test matches

1st Test

14–18 February 1998

South Africa	v	Pakistan
364 (104.2 overs) PL Symcox 108 (157) Mushtaq Ahmed 3/66 (27 overs)		360 (94.1 overs) Azhar Mahmood 136 (215) L Klusener 4/93 (24 overs)
44/0 (10.3 overs) AM Bacher 20* (29) Waqar Younis 0/18 (5.3 overs)

Match Drawn New Wanderers, Johannesburg Umpires: CJ Mitchley (SA) and P Willey (ENG) Player of the match: PL Symcox (SA) and Azhar Mahmood (PAK)

• Pakistan won the toss and elected to field.

2nd Test

26 February–2 March 1998

Pakistan	v	South Africa
259 (73.2 overs) Azhar Mahmood 132 (163) AA Donald 5/79 (19.2 overs)		231 (90 overs) SM Pollock 70* (106) Shoaib Akhtar 5/43 (12 overs)
226 (79.3 overs) Saeed Anwar 118 (209) SM Pollock 6/50 (22.3 overs)		225 (88.2 overs) MV Boucher 52 (100) Mushtaq Ahmed 6/78 (37 overs)

Pakistan won by 29 runs. Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban Umpires: MJ Kitchen (ENG) and DL Orchard (SA) Player of the match: Mushtaq Ahmed (PAK)

• South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
• Fazl-e-Akbar and Yousuf Youhana (both PAK) and HD Ackerman (SA) made their Test debuts.

3rd Test

6–10 March 1998 Scorecard

South Africa	v	Pakistan
293 (99 overs) WJ Cronje 85 (170) Waqar Younis 6/78 (23 overs)		106 (40.5 overs) Wasim Akram 30* (47) PS de Villiers 6/23 (11.5 overs)
206/7d (65.4 overs) JH Kallis 69 (143) Waqar Younis 4/55 (17.4 overs)		134 (60.5 overs) Saeed Anwar 55 (109) AA Donald 4/27 (15 overs)

South Africa won by 259 runs St George's Park Cricket Ground, Port Elizabeth Umpires: RS Dunne (NZ) and RE Koertzen (SA) Player of the match: MV Boucher (SA)

• Pakistan won the toss and elected to field.
• There was no play on the second day.

See also

• 1997–98 Standard Bank International One-Day Series

References

1. "The Pakistanis in South Africa and Zimbabwe, 1997-98". Wisden. Reprinted by ESPNcricinfo. 1999. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
2. Grundlingh, Albert (2018), "Diffusion and Depiction: How Afrikaners Came to Play Cricket in Twentieth-Century South Africa", Cricket and Society in South Africa, 1910–1971, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 191–206, ISBN 978-3-319-93607-9, retrieved 29 January 2024
3. "South Africa v Pakistan 1997/98 Averages". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
4. "Pakistan in South Africa and Zimbabwe 1997/98". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
5. "Standard Bank International One-Day Series, 1997-98". Wisden. Reprinted by ESPNcricinfo. 1999. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
6. "Standard Bank International One-day Series (Pak, SA, SL), Apr 1998 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
7. "Final, Cape Town, Apr 23 1998, Standard Bank International One-Day Series". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
8. "Pakistan Team for the Tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe". ESPNcricinfo. 21 January 1998. Retrieved 24 February 2021.

External links

• Tour home at ESPNcricinfo
• Pakistan in South Africa, Jan-Mar 1998 at ESPNcricinfo archive
• Pakistan in South Africa and Zimbabwe 1997/98 at CricketArchive (subscription required)
• Engel, Matthew, ed. (1999). "The Pakistanis in South Africa and Zimbabwe, 1997-98". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1999. Guildford, Surrey: John Wisden & Co Ltd. ISBN 9780947766504.