Sarfraz Nawaz facts for kids

Sarfraz Nawaz Malik is a famous former Pakistani cricketer and politician. He was born on December 1, 1948. Sarfraz Nawaz played a big part in Pakistan's first ever Test series wins against India and England. From 1969 to 1984, he played in 55 Test matches and 45 One Day International (ODI) games. He took 177 wickets in Test matches. He is especially known for being one of the first bowlers to use a special technique called reverse swing.

About Sarfraz Nawaz

His Family and Early Life

Sarfraz Nawaz grew up in a Punjabi family. His family business was in construction, which means they built things. His father, Malik Muhammad Nawaz, was a contractor. Sarfraz himself joined the construction business in 1965. He even planned to build a cricket stadium for a university, but it didn't happen because of a war between India and Pakistan in 1965.

His School Days

Sarfraz finished school in 1962. He played cricket for a local club. Later, he became the captain of the Punjab University cricket team. This shows he loved cricket from a young age.

His Life in Cinema

In 1985, Sarfraz married Rani, a famous Pakistani film actress. He even had chances to act in movies himself in the 1970s. For example, he got offers in England in 1974 and later from a well-known Pakistani film director. However, he always said no because he felt acting wasn't his strong point.

Sarfraz Nawaz's Cricket Career

Starting His Cricket Journey

Sarfraz Nawaz played his first Test match against England in Karachi in 1969. He was only 20 years old. He didn't take any wickets in that match and was not chosen to play for the national team for the next three years.

In 1972–73, he played against Australia in Sydney. He took 4 wickets in each innings, getting rid of some top Australian players. Even with his good performance, Australia won the match.

In 1974, at Headingley, Sarfraz scored 53 runs quickly. This helped his team get a better score in a match where runs were hard to get. Later, against the West Indies in 1974–75, he took 6 wickets in Lahore. Both that match and the series ended in a draw.

Sarfraz was made the vice-captain for a short time. In 1978, he took 5 wickets against England at Headingley, but rain stopped the game from having a clear winner. More importantly, in 1978–79, Sarfraz took 4 wickets and then 5 wickets against India in Karachi. This helped Pakistan win the final Test match by eight wickets. He took 17 wickets in that series, which was the most by any player. This win was very special because it was Pakistan's first Test series victory against India since 1952.

Amazing Performance in Australia (1979)

Sarfraz Nawaz had his most incredible bowling performance in a Test match in Melbourne on March 15, 1979. Australia needed only 77 more runs to win, with two of their best batsmen still playing. Sarfraz then took 7 wickets for only 1 run in just 33 balls! This amazing effort helped Pakistan win by 71 runs, which was a big surprise. His 9 wickets for 86 runs in that innings was one of the best bowling performances in Test cricket history at the time.

In the next match in Perth, Sarfraz was involved in a rare event. An Australian batsman was given out for "handling the ball." This happened when the batsman picked up the ball and gave it to Sarfraz. Sarfraz appealed, and the umpire gave the batsman out. It was only the second time in 100 years of Test cricket that this had happened. Even though it was technically correct, some people felt it was against the friendly spirit of the game.

Later Career Highlights

Sarfraz also played for Northamptonshire in England. In a final match in 1980, he took 3 wickets to help his team win by a small margin.

In 1983–84, he took 4 wickets and 2 wickets against England in Karachi. He even scored the winning runs for Pakistan in that match.

His last Test match was in Lahore in 1984. In the first part of the game, his 4 wickets helped Pakistan limit England's score. Later, when Pakistan was struggling, Sarfraz scored 90 runs, which was his highest score ever in Test and first-class cricket. He shared a huge partnership with his captain, Zaheer Abbas. This match helped Pakistan win their first Test series against England.

Sarfraz's Bowling Style

Sarfraz Nawaz was very tall, standing 6 feet 6 inches. He was strong and could bowl at a fast-medium speed. He was good at making the ball move in the air in different ways. He also developed a special bowling technique called reverse swing. At the time, commentators didn't fully understand what he was doing, but they noticed he could make the old ball swing in unusual ways. He shared this secret with other famous Pakistani bowlers like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis, who later became very famous for using reverse swing in the 1980s and 1990s. As a batsman, he was good at hitting the ball hard, especially lower down the batting order.

After Cricket

His Political Career

After retiring from cricket in 1985, Sarfraz Nawaz started a new career in politics. He was elected as a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab in 1985. He later became the vice chairman of the Punjab Sports Board under Nawaz Sharif.

Sarfraz then joined the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). He was appointed as an adviser on sports to the Prime Minister at the time, Benazir Bhutto. In 2011, Sarfraz joined another political party called Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

His Coaching Role

In 2006, Sarfraz Nawaz became the bowling coach for the Delhi cricket team in India. He helped train their bowlers for a major cricket tournament.