by AN OBITUARY
Pakistani cricket fans look towards 1996 as their team's '92 World Cup hopes
finally succumbed to a series of mortal wounds, the most recent and
overwhelming of which is the exit of bowling sensation Waqar Younus due to
a vertebral stress fracture. The '92 cup hopes were born in Lahore in 1987,
at the moment that English umpire***ie Bird ruled Imran Khan caught
behind off Allan Border in Pakistan's '87 cup semi-final match against
Australia. Despite these morbid circumstances of birth, the hopes for '92
grew steadily as Pakistan won the Jawaharlal Nehru cup in 1989. The hopes
then went from strength to strength as batting star Salim Malik enjoyed
a superb county season in England and as the trio of Waqar Younus, Wasim
Akram and Aaqib Javed emerged as arguably the best bowling outfit in
international cricket. It was during the winter of 1991 that the shots
first rang out. The first series of bullets hit the Pakistani batting line-up
and crippled them out of form. Another bullet hit superstar Javed Miandad
and ruled him out of competition. Stray bullets grazed the skin as Pakistan
embarrasingly salvaged a draw against Victoria, and lost to South Africa
and Sri Lanka in pre-tournament warm-up games. Finally, a burst of fire
in the form of a stress fracture diagnosis eliminated Waqar Younus.
The last breath escaped the body of the '92 cup hopes on the morning of
February 17, 1992. Fateha for the deceased will be held in Room 235, Bryan
Neurobiology Building, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, from 5-7 pm on
February 18, 1992. Condolence messages can be sent to Imran Khan in
Australia.
Sob!!!
--