In Lahore, during the first Test of the current Pakistan-South Africa cricket series, spinner Noman Ali from Pakistan made a huge mark. With another 10-wicket haul in a match, with a reasonably good bowling average, his performance brought back memories of some remarkable left arm spinners of my childhood, such as Derek Underwood from England, Bishan Singh Bedi from India and Iqbal Qasim from Pakistan.

This was not the first time that Ali had played so well. Unfortunately, he got the chance to play Test cricket quite late in the day and remains the oldest member of the team, with only 21 Test caps over the last four years.

Ali’s ancestral roots are in Attock, Punjab, but he was born in Khipro, district Sanghar, Sindh. He played most of his cricket for teams from Sindh. In the national departmental cricket, he has played for the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) but his regional teams remained Hyderabad and Karachi Whites.

I was waxing lyrical about Ali’s performance when speaking to my journalist friend and author Aslam Khwaja. As soon as the call ended, Khwaja sent me the image of an article, titled ‘The History of Cricket in Karachi’, by J. Naoomal, published in one of the 1941 issues of the bi-monthly The Sindhian World. It was a magazine brought out from Amil Colony, Bunder Road Extension, Karachi. In the 1930s, playing by the name of Naoomal Jeeomal, J. Naoomal had also appeared in three Test matches for India. In 1980, he passed away in Mumbai.

Naoomal’s longish piece in The Sindhian World traces the beginning of cricket in Karachi by describing the cricket clubs that predated the city’s cricket association that was later formed and which organised the leagues and tournaments. The article spans two decades, from the 1920s to 1940. One of the earliest cricket associations in India was established in 1924 in Karachi, earlier called the Karachi Cricket Association but renamed in 1928 as the Sind[h] Cricket Association. Initially, there were 14 clubs that formed the association. By the time Naoomal was writing, the membership of the association had soared to 40 clubs.

Some friends coming from the backgrounds of serious journalism, literature or academia find it hard to comprehend the interest in the game of cricket that is displayed by some of their fellow scholars, creative writers or poets. Perhaps, what bothers them is how come people with intellectual or artistic pursuits not only indulge in but get so passionate about a game.

If one looks at the names of the individuals who played a key role in drafting rules and establishing the association, or the names of the teams that played quadrangular, pentangular or other matches and tournaments organised by the association, one finds an even mix of Europeans, Parsis, Hindus, Muslims and others. In many cases, they had their separate clubs or bigger teams made up of different clubs. Nonetheless, there was a healthy competition between them and a camaraderie among them when they played teams from other parts of India or England, either in Karachi or away.

There were matches held between Quetta and Karachi from the very beginning. Teams from both regions visited each other quite regularly. Parsis from the two cities played a key role in managing these trips. The Sind Cricket Association also took a fruitful trip to Delhi, where the Sindh team played against Delhi, Punjab, St Stephen’s College and other teams. Naoomal has even shared the full scorecards of these matches.

One truly celebratory moment for the cricketers of Karachi was on October 16, 1926 when the historic Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) arrived from England to tour India. According to Naoomal, MCC sent a strong, 14-member squad, which benefitted Indian cricket a lot at that time. He shares details of the four matches played by the MCC in Karachi.

The first one was against a team called ‘Muslims and Parsis’, the second against the ‘Hindus and the Rest’, the third against ‘Europeans’ and the last against the ‘Karachi XI.’ Naoomal provides sufficient information on the four matches. The MCC toured India again after some years. I have also found a picture from their tour of 1933-34, when they played a match in October 1933 against the Karachi XI. Naoomal’s piece is both educational and interesting on various counts. Through the lens of cricket, we can also attempt to understand the pre-1947 sociology and cultural dynamics of Karachi.

Lately, during the past few weeks, I have not only witnessed but have been a part of a conversation where some friends coming from the backgrounds of serious journalism, literature or academia are finding it hard to comprehend the interest in the game of cricket that is displayed by some of their fellow scholars, creative writers or poets. Perhaps, what bothers them is how come people with intellectual or artistic pursuits not only indulge in but get so passionate about a game. To them, my simple answer remains that Test cricket combines the collective mental, physical and artistic pursuits like no other sport.

Like the Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma once said, “You have to use your brain to time the ball.” From among the literati, none other than the great British dramatist and essayist, Harold Pinter says: “I tend to think that cricket is the greatest thing God has ever created on earth — certainly greater than sex, although sex is not that bad either.”

Let me end with the lines from Sir Donald Bradman, which I often quote: “Reading poetry and watching cricket were the sum of my world, and the two are not so far apart as many aesthetes might believe.”

The columnist is a poet and essayist. His latest collections of verse are Hairaa’n Sar-i-Bazaar and No Fortunes to Tell

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, October 26th, 2025