Now that time has reduced the playing career of Javed Miandad to the word “legend” and a collection of pretty good stats, it’s easy to forget just what a total arse he could be when he was playing – bad-tempered, argumentative, disruptive, arrogant… And even now he’s long retired, he’s still around, barking angrily at anyone who’ll listen.
As the Bucket sits in his lonely cupboard typing this, the last rites are being said over Pakistan’s Test series against Australia. Yes, it’s a 0-3 loss, but the way good old Javed is acting, his country came to Australia with high expectations, a tough, skilled, experienced outfit and have let themselves and everyone else down.
In fact, the side left a war-torn country, having not played much cricket in the past 10 years, with a bunch of raw, talented youngsters, given laughing-stock status against one of the world’s best teams. The fact that they’ve won a few sessions, tried hard and given some excellent kids a bit of experience – not to mention their country a bit to shout about – seems to have escaped the miserable Miandad completely.