THE FALLEN HERO
Incarcerated in a Pakistan jail for alleged corruption, Imran Khan, one of the world's greatest-ever cricketers, is in grave need of medical attention.
The news about Imran Khan’s deteriorating health has prompted 14 ex-international cricket captains to sign a petition appealing to the Pakistan government to provide him with “immediate and adequate medical attention.” Pakistan’s World Cup winning captain and former prime minister, 73, has been in prison since August 2023 after being charged with corruption. He was found guilty five months later and sentenced to 14 years behind bars. He has developed a serious eye problem in Rawalpindi central jail and there are fears he could go blind if he does not receive urgent treatment. Hence the plea in the letter signed by Michael Atherton, Mike Brearley, Belinda Clark, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Steve Waugh, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Clive Lloyd, Allan Border, Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, John Wright and David Gower and delivered to the Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier today.
It is a calamitous situation for one of the greats of the game who I encountered many times on the field, the first initiation depicted above. It was a cup semi-final between Sussex and Middlesex at Hove in my first season of county cricket. The thrill of seeing Imran charging into bowl were negated somewhat when I ended up in the middle. The experience of being non-striker was bad enough – the thundering approach of his feet to the crease, the exhale of breath as he hurled the ball down, and the audible smack as it was hammered into the middle of the wicket to soar past the striker – Wayne Daniel’s – unprotected face. How that ball didn’t decapitate him I still don’t know.
But then Daniel got a single and I had to face him. The feeling of trepidation was only matched one other time in my life when I entered a tight left hand corner out of control at 60mph lying headfirst on a ‘tea-tray’ on the famous Cresta (skeleton bobsleigh) Run. Neither experience lasted long. I was fortunate to escape with just a broken collar bone (from the Cresta) and a realisation that I would never be able to handle 90mph deliveries at your throat.
Despite Imran playing for Sussex he lived in Chelsea and sometimes used to come down to Lord’s to join in Middlesex net sessions. He taught us how to reverse swing the ball (doctoring the quarter seam) and was particularly friendly with the fast bowlers. I got to know him quite well. Some years after we had both retired I was in Pakistan covering an England A tour. I bumped into him and his (then) new wife Jemima Khan (nee Goldsmith) in Islamabad airport. They agreed to an interview at their home in Lahore (available to download below image.)
