THE timing could not have been more perfect for a book launch on Pakistan cricket to complement the start of the first Test of the four-match series between England and Pakistan starting at Lord’s on Thursday (today).

White on Green, the latest book on Pakistan cricket authored by Richard Heller and Peter Oborne, was launched here at the Pakistan High Commission on Tuesday and attracted a huge audience that also included PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam, the indomitable former ICC president Zaheer Abbas, Ameena Saiyid of the Oxford University Press and Nadeem Omar, the franchise owner of Quetta Gladiators.

There were parliamentarians, writers, politicians and literary figures in attendance as High Commissioner of Pakistan Syed Ibne Hasan welcomed the authors and praised their book.

The book, in fact, is a companion addition of Wounded Tiger — a history of Pakistan cricket written by Peter Oborne which was published by the Simon Schuster a couple of years ago. That book was well received and by the looks of it, the present publication will also get the same billing as the Test series progresses.

The PCB chairman spoke highly of the publication which profiles Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohsin Khan, Intikhab Alam, Prince Aslam of yore, a first class cricketer of the fifties, besides Tauseef Ahmed’s dream Test debut. Also in the book are Moin Khan, Wasim Bari, Raees Mohammad and Rashid Latif.

The contribution of Nadeem Omar of Quetta Gladiators and late Dr. Mohammad Ali Shah to the game are also well profiled.

The former president Gen Pervez Musharraf, who also happened to be the patron of the PCB, features in the book prominently revealing cricketing matters of his time in candid detail. Not only that but there is Abdul Qadeer Khan, the nuclear scientist whose interest in the game is tremendous.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2016