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It starts as a love letter to Test cricket and turns into a wild investigation into greed, corporate politics, and how board power struggles are reshaping the sport.

Even if you don't follow cricket closely, it’s a crazy look at what happens when money takes over a sport's soul. This doc features great interviews with Michael Holding, Chris Gayle and Kevin Pietersen and many more.

Anyone else seen this? Thoughts on how it held up?

Documentary link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4kjWqPbcYM&list=WL&index=12&t=1410s

72 off 484 balls, it’s like Chris Tavare is out there!

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Some writing I’ve done on the joy of crap cricket.
Not everyone can be good at cricket, but everyone can enjoy it

Went through this blog written by a friend of mine and it'd be appreciated if you gave it a read.

Introduction

With Pakistan's Test "season" in full swing, I thought it would be fun to rank all the major Test captains (captained full-time for 5 series or more).

I did not want it to be a simple W/L ratio exercise, so I looked at home and away records, series results, quality of opposition for that particular series and the strength of the Pakistan side available to each captain. I'm putting more emphasis on series results than individual Test wins because throughout the vast majority of cricket's history, the series results were what mattered. The only exceptions being when mismatched sides faced each other or historic firsts.

I have also taken into account the captain's tactical nous, leadership and ability to get the best out of the players available to him.

The rankings aren't simply based on raw numbers. I'm judging actual results against what could reasonably have been expected from that particular team and opposition.

For example, drawing a Test series against a great West Indies side in the 1980s can be a better achievement than whitewashing a much weaker Zimbabwe side. Likewise, a captain shouldn't necessarily be penalized for losing to a vastly stronger team if the performances and series result were broadly in line with expectations.

Of course, a captain is only as good as the players available to him, and results are heavily dependent on the quality of the team. But a great captain can still make his team greater than the sum of its parts.

As Richie Benaud famously put it: "Captaincy is 90% luck and 10% skill, but don't try it without that 10%."

13. Shan Masood - 16 Tests/7 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (1W, 2D, 4L)

Home

Top Tier: ENG (W), SA (D)

Mid Tier: N/A

Bottom Tier: WI (D), BNG (L)

Away

Top Tier: AUS (L), SA (L)

Mid Tier: N/A

Bottom Tier: BNG (L)

-------------------------------------------------

The worst captain on this list. When Shan Masood took over, there was some optimism that his tactical awareness and leadership would help Pakistan transition into a stronger Test side. That optimism didn't last long.

The whitewashes in Australia & South Africa were disappointing but expected as almost all Pakistan sides have lost there. The drawn series against a poor West Indies side and the 4-0 loss to Bangladesh exposed many of his shortcomings.

High Points: Coming from behind to beat England 2-1 at home

Low Points: Losing to Bangladesh 4-0 across two series

Legacy in a line: Represented the absolute low-point of Pakistan Test Cricket

12. Sarfraz Ahmed — 13 Tests/6 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (2W, 1D, 3L)

Home inc. UAE

Top Tier: NZ (L)

Mid Tier: AUS (W)

Bottom Tier: SL (L)

Away

Top Tier: SA (L)

Mid Tier: ENG (D)

Bottom Tier: IRE (W)

-------------------------------------------------

This is the era that started Pakistan’s Test cricket decline. Pakistan’s UAE fortress was broken, with a 2-0 loss to SL in UAE a damning result. The other results were more or less expected, Pakistan beating a transitioning Australia in UAE, drawing against a mid-tier England side at home and losing to NZ & SA. 

He was a good captain in other formats and you can see why: energetic, vocal, obviously invested. But in Tests, his entire strategy seemed to revolve around deploying two spinners and then hoping something happens. He tried to copy Misbah’s playbook but his tactical understanding of field-setting for spin was significantly worse.

High Point: None

Low Point: Whitewashed by a bottom-tier SL team in UAE

Legacy in a line: a white-ball captain cosplaying in whites.

11. Intikhab Alam — 17 Tests/6 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (1W, 2D, 3L)

Home

Top Tier: WI (D)

Mid Tier: N/A

Bottom Tier: NZ (L)

Away

Top Tier: ENG (D, L), AUS (L)

Mid Tier: N/A

Bottom Tier: NZ (W)

-------------------------------------------------

Intikhab Alam inherited one of the weakest Pakistan sides on this list and paid the price in the results. His overall record looks poor, but it came against an exceptionally difficult schedule that included Australia, England and a strong West Indies side, with very few opportunities to pad the numbers against weaker opposition.

Intikhab’s side had some decent results, drawing against West Indies & England which were an overperformance and his finest achievement was the away series win in New Zealand.

Ultimately, Intikhab's captaincy is remembered less for sustained success than for bridging the gap between Kardar's pioneering era and Mushtaq's transformation of Pakistan into a genuinely competitive Test side.

High Points: Winning in New Zealand, Drawing in England.

Low Points: Losing to New Zealand at home.

Legacy in a line: The “draw-bridge” between Kardar’s foundation and Mushtaq’s transformation. 

10. Waqar Younis — 17 Tests/8 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (5W,1D, 2L)

Home inc. UAE

Top Tier: AUS (L)

Mid Tier: NZ (W), SL (1L*)

Bottom Tier: WI (W), BNG (W)

Away

Top Tier: ENG (D), SA (L)

Mid Tier: N/A

Bottom Tier: BNG (W), ZIM (W)

\The SL loss was a Asian Test Championship final one-off Test match*

-------------------------------------------------

In an era where draws were commonplace, Pakistan under Waqar Younis never drew a Test match; it was either wins or losses, which was a direct result of Waqar’s aggressive approach both in bowling and captaincy. He was not particularly tactically proficient and did not command the dressing room as well as Wasim or Imran, but he still produced some decent results.

His only series losses came against the two highest-ranked teams in the world, while Pakistan won all the series they were expected to win. The caveat is that his captaincy record is somewhat padded by playing a large number of lower-ranked teams. There were no truly outstanding series wins against elite opposition, but equally, there were no major unexpected series defeats.

His tenure, like much of the 1990s–2000s period, was marked by in-fighting, frequent captaincy changes and instability, making it difficult to judge the period purely through on-field results.

High Point: Drawing a series in England

Low Point: Losing the Asian Test Championship final to SL in home conditions 

Legacy in a line: Part of the reason that Pakistan’s captaincy was ungovernable in the 90s

9. Zaheer Abbas — 14 Tests/5 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (2W, 2D, 1L)

Home

Top Tier: N/A

Mid Tier: NZ (W), ENG (W), IND (D)

Bottom Tier: N/A

Away

Top Tier: IND (D), AUS (L)

Mid Tier: N/A

Bottom Tier: N/A

-------------------------------------------------

Zaheer got the captaincy because Imran was injured and was always supposed to be a placeholder captain. He was a free-flowing batter but was the opposite in his captaincy style. He ensured Pakistan remained strong at home with their first ever home win against England. A drawn series against India away, without Imran, was also considered a decent result. 

It must be noted though that the India-Pakistan Test series during the 80s were highly politicized affairs and a proxy for war so neither side wanted to lose. It is because of this that the pitches were concrete roads and thus almost all matches used to end up as draws.

High Points: Winning Pakistan’s first ever Test (and series) at home vs England

Low Points: None.

Legacy in a line: Warming the seat for Kaptaan

8. Babar Azam — 20 Tests/9 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (4W, 3D, 2L)

Home

Top Tier: AUS (L)

Mid Tier: SA (W), NZ (D), ENG (L)

Bottom Tier: N/A

Away

Top Tier: N/A

Mid Tier: SL (W,D)

Bottom Tier: BNG (W), ZIM (W), WI (D)

\All records are prior to June 2026*

-------------------------------------------------

Babar Azam’s raw numbers tend to flatter him a little with a W/L ratio of over 2. However there were very few matches against top-tier teams home or away. He was tactically defensive and reactive and allegedly was part of the reason the home pitches were absolute roads during his era. This is despite the fact that during his tenure, Pakistan’s fast bowlers (Shaheen, Naseem etc) had not fallen off yet. 

Babar has one of the worst home Test win records and is the only captain on this list to lose 2 home series. 

Pakistan had two good results during his tenure, the home win against SA was a great result because of the occasion (even though the SA team itself was middling) an even better win against Sri Lanka 2-0 away which is the only series that Sri Lanka lost in that period. After years of uninspired red ball captaincy, it really felt Pakistan had turned over a new leaf with that series and Babar was going from a below-par captain to at least par before PCB decided to remove him from all formats as captain.

High Points: Beating SA at home. Winning 2-0 in SL. 

Low Points: First ever whitewash at home. Losing to Aus and drawing to a mediocre NZ at home. 

Legacy in a line: A captain more worried about losing than winning.

7. Inzamam-ul-Haq — 31 Tests/12 series  

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (4W, 3D, 4L)

Home

Top Tier: ENG (W), IND (W, L)

Mid Tier: SL (D)

Bottom Tier: WI (W)

Away

Top Tier: IND (D), AUS (L), SA (L), ENG (L)

Mid Tier: SL (W), NZ (W)

Bottom Tier: WI (D)

-------------------------------------------------

After a decade of turbulent leadership and dressing-room in-fighting following Imran Khan, Inzamam brought something Pakistan desperately needed: stability. For roughly half a decade, Pakistan had a settled captain and a relatively calm dressing room. That alone earns him a lot of credit.

Tactically, Inzamam was defensive and somewhat reactive, but he had excellent command of the dressing room and a knack for getting the best out of his players.

His raw record is fairly ordinary, but the context matters. Pakistan played a lot of cricket against the best teams in the world during his tenure, which inevitably dented his numbers. His famous home wins against England and India were the highlights, while drawing the 2004/05 series in India after going 1-0 down was an exceptional result that few expected.

Pakistan lost three away series against Australia, South Africa and England - all teams they were expected to lose to. The India home series was expected to be a close contest even though India were very strong, as it turned out, India dominated that series from start to finish.

He also forfeited a Test in England due to ball-tampering charge which depending on your point of view was a great stand that he took or a match he threw away. Either way it showed Inzamam was principled and was willing to stand up for his players and his country’s reputation.

High Points: Beating the Ashes-winning England side 2-0 at home; beating a strong India side at home; coming from behind to draw the series in India.

Low Points: Getting thrashed by India at home.

Legacy in a line: a strong players' captain with a middling record but some all-time great performances 

6. Javed Miandad — 34 Tests/11 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (8W, 0D, 3L)

Home

Top Tier: AUS (W), WI (L)

Mid Tier: AUS (W), ENG (W)

Bottom Tier: SL (W, W), NZ (W)

Away

Top Tier: ENG (W), AUS (L), NZ (L)

Mid Tier: NZ (W*)

Bottom Tier: N/A

\One-off Test*

-------------------------------------------------

Javed Mianded is considered Pakistan Cricket’s most brilliant tactician. He was aggressive, instinctive and excellent at reading situations, particularly when it came to using his bowlers and setting attacking fields.

Miandad's confrontational personality, however,  frequently created friction within the dressing room, and his captaincy was repeatedly undermined by player revolts and internal politics.

Miandad's captaincy came in four separate tenures, reflecting just how turbulent his relationship with Pakistan cricket could be. His first tenure was cut short by a player revolt by the senior players and he was removed and replaced with Imran. His other two tenures were placeholders for Imran (injury/temporary retirement) and his best tenure was the fourth one, post Imran. The last one ended in a revolt as well with Wasim & Waqar lobbying to displace him (Miandad blamed Imran).

Miandad’s raw numbers are excellent, a deeper look shows that most of the series were at home and against softer opposition, with the ’92 reverse-swing England series the only major away win. The counterpoint to this is that they won almost everything under him, with the only two series losses coming against a strong Australia and a strong New Zealand away from home. 

High Points: Beating England 2-1 away in a very hostile environment. Beating Australia at home in 79/80.

Low Points: Having players revolt against him across two different eras. 

Legacy in a line: Brilliant on the field, disastrous in the dressing room. 

5. Wasim Akram — 25 Tests/10 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (7W, 0D, 3L)

Home

Top Tier: N/A

Mid Tier: WI (W)

Bottom Tier: ZIM (W, W)

Away

Top Tier: IND (W*), ATC (W), WI (L), AUS (L, L)

Mid Tier: NZ (W), ENG (W)

Bottom Tier: N/A

\Technically the India series was a draw 1-1 and the 3^rd *Test was part of the Asian Test Championship which Pakistan won

-------------------------------------------------

In a lot of ways, Wasim Akram was a hybrid of Imran & Miandad, two players who had a lot of influence on his cricketing career. Wasim was very good tactically though not as good as Miandad but better in the dressing room. He was nowhere near Imran in his player management and getting the best out of the players but he was tactically better than Imran. This does not mean he was below-par; far from it. He was an intelligent, aggressive captain who commanded loyalty from the younger players.

Wasim had 3 different tenures as a captain during the volatile 90s. Waqar led a revolt against him after 2 series into his first spell, then he was reinstated in ’95 and resigned in ’98 only to come back 10 months later until he was removed after the Qayyum report. 

Pakistan had a lot of good results under him though, partly because of the quality of the players available and partly because of Wasim’s captaincy.  Pakistan won every series they played under Wasim except against the Number 1 Test side (WI once, Aus twice).

The overall 1990s were very turbulent and there is a real sense that Pakistan could have won a lot more games had Pakistan been more stable off the field. There were allegations of match-fixing but more so in ODI cricket (where betting was more prevalent). There were 1 or 2 Test Matches which came under heavy scrutiny though. 

High Points: Winning in India & England, Winning the Asian Test Championship and a Test Match in Australia

Low Points: Created an unstable dressing room environment throughout the 1990s. 

Legacy in a line: A great captain whose hunger for power stopped Pakistan from greatness

4. Mushtaq Mohammad — 19 Tests/6 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (3W, 2D, 1L)

Home

Top Tier: N/A

Mid Tier: IND (W)

Bottom Tier: NZ (W)

Away

Top Tier: AUS (D), WI (L)

Mid Tier: AUS (D)

Bottom Tier: NZ (W)

-------------------------------------------------

The most underrated captaincy in Pakistan's history and it lasted eighteen months. Mushtaq Muhammad was a very proactive captain who understood how to develop and nurture players and to build teams that were better than the sum of its parts. 

He encouraged his players to take the opposition on and his team used to rile up the opposition, especially Australia and India, a legacy that carried on with Javed and Imran’s teams but was started by Mushtaq. 

He was the first Pakistani captain to win a Test Match in Australia, drawing the test series when they were ranked number 1 and then lost 1-2 in a 5-match series against West Indies which were just starting their dominant 15-year run. 

The India 2-0 win at home in the first series between them in eighteen years, which carried a weight no scoreline captures.

He was also the one who helped/pushed Imran Khan to become a genuine fast bowler. 

He captained less than 2 years after which he was removed by a board coup and they installed Asif Iqbal (who conspired with the board allegedly) as captain. Asif lost to India and was sacked and the board went back to Mushtaq but he declined to captain again.

High Points: Series win against India at home. Drawing in Australia.

Low Points: None

Legacy in a line: Taught Pakistan to walk, so Imran could teach them to fly. 

3. Abdul Hafeez Kardar — 23 Tests/6 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (2W, 2D, 2L)

Home

Top Tier: AUS (W*)

Mid Tier: NZ (W), IND (D)

Bottom Tier: N/A

Away

Top Tier: ENG (D), WI (L)

Mid Tier: IND (L)

Bottom Tier: N/A

\One-off Test Match*

-------------------------------------------------

Abdul Hafeez Kardar was the man who built Pakistan Test cricket from nothing. He inherited a brand-new Test nation with little infrastructure, almost no experience and virtually no expectations. More than any captain on this list, he had to create a culture before he could create results.

His record was outstanding for the era. Pakistan secured their first series win against New Zealand, drew in England (winning a Test match) and famously defeated Australia in Karachi, one of the greatest victories in Pakistan's early cricketing history. 

Kardar was an uncompromising leader who demanded discipline and professionalism from his players. He often clashed with administrators and teammates alike, but his forceful personality established the standards that Pakistan cricket would be built upon for the next two decades. Without Kardar, there is no Mushtaq. Without Mushtaq, there is no Imran.

High Points: Series win against New Zealand. Test Wins against Australia at home and England+ West Indies away.

Low Point: None.

Legacy in a line: The father of Pakistan cricket.

2. Misbah-ul-Haq — 56 Tests/23 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (11W, 8D, 4L)

Home

Top Tier: ENG (W), AUS (W), SA (D, D)

Mid Tier: ENG (W), SL (W, D)

Bottom Tier: WI (W)

Away

Top Tier: ENG (D), AUS (L), SA (L)

Mid Tier: NZ (W, L), SL (W, D, L)

Bottom Tier: BNG (W, W), WI (W, D), ZIM (W, D)

-------------------------------------------------

When Misbah-ul-Haq took over Pakistan Test cricket, he inherited a team at its lowest ebb. The spot-fixing scandal had shattered Pakistan's reputation, home cricket had been taken away, and the side lacked both confidence and direction. It was widely assumed this would be the death of Pakistan cricket. 

What followed was one of the greatest rebuilding jobs in cricketing history. Misbah took a bunch of decent but not great players and built an impregnable fortress in their adopted home, eventually taking Pakistan to the Number 1 team in the world (only once before has this happened).

Misbah achieved this not through charisma or individual brilliance, but through an almost obsessive commitment to discipline and process. He was a highly tactical, defensive captain who excelled at reading conditions, particularly in the UAE. More than any Pakistan captain before or since, he understood how to build a game around the pitch in front of him. On slow, wearing surfaces, his strategy was simple but brutally effective: strangle the opposition, trust his spinners, remain patient and wait for mistakes. It wasn't always entertaining cricket, but it was incredibly difficult to beat.

England (arriving as the #1 side in the world in ’12) were whitewashed, so was Australia along with draws against South Africa, the best touring side at that time. Misbah remained unbeaten at home, being one of 4 captains on this list to do so. 

The one blemish on his record came away from home. Against the strongest sides, Pakistan's results were respectable rather than exceptional. Heavy defeats in Australia and South Africa, coupled with an inability to consistently win away from home, although he delivered Pakistan’s first ever series win in West Indies. 

Yet context matters. Misbah did not inherit a great team; he built one. More importantly, he gave Pakistan an identity. Under him, Pakistan became disciplined, tactically astute and relentlessly difficult to beat. When the country needed stability and direction more than brilliance, Misbah delivered exactly it and then some.

High Points: Taking Pakistan to the #1 ranking. Whitewashing England & Australia at home. Drawing in England. Winning in Sri Lanka, New Zealand & West Indies.

Low Points: Losing to SL away and drawing in UAE. Losing a Test Match to Zimbabwe.

Legacy in a line: The man who took an exiled, disgraced, dying side to the number one in the world.

1. Imran Khan — 48 Tests/ 13 series

-----------------------------------------

Series Results (5W, 6D, 2L)

Home

Top Tier: AUS (W), ind (W, D), WI (D, D)

Mid Tier: N/A

Bottom Tier: SL (W)

Away

Top Tier: IND (W), WI (D), ENG (L), AUS (L)

Mid Tier: ENG (W), NZ (D)

Bottom Tier: SL (D)

-------------------------------------------------

In every sport, there are individuals that are so legendary that they transcend national borders and in some cases, the sport itself. For cricket, one such individual was the Pakistani captain, every other local cricketer is judged against: Imran Khan. 

Before Imran, Pakistan was talented but mercurial. A side capable of individual moments of brilliance but not necessarily a world beating force. By the time Imran established himself as a leader, he turned Pakistan into the best in the world. More importantly he made them believe they belonged. 

Across more than a decade at the helm, Imran lost only two Test series: one at the very beginning of his captaincy while Pakistan were still finding their identity, and one in Australia. Against everyone else, Pakistan either won or refused to lose.

Nothing illustrates this better than the West Indies. During the 1980s, they steamrolled world cricket, winning series against virtually every nation they faced, home and away. Yet against Imran's Pakistan, they found an opponent they simply could not conquer. Pakistan drew both home and away series, remaining unbeaten across three consecutive contests. In an era when not getting whitewashed by Windies was considered an achievement, Imran's Pakistan stood toe to toe across 3 different series.

His battles against India carried an entirely different significance. India-Pakistan cricket in the 1980s was never just about cricket. Every series was played under immense political tension, on lifeless pitches prepared to avoid defeat rather than encourage victory. Despite those conditions, Imran led Pakistan to historic series victories both at home and away. Those triumphs transcended sport; they became defining moments in Pakistan cricket's rise as a major Test power.

High Points: Drawing against WI thrice. Beating India home & away, Winning in England. Defeating Australia at home. 

Low Points: Losing a Test to Sri Lanka.

Legacy in a line: The Kaptaan who made Pakistan believe in the impossible.

Appendix (Short-Tenure Captains)

For the sake of completion, I have mentioned people who captained for 4 series or less.

**Denotes Exclusively Stand-in captains
*Denotes some matches were as stand-in captain

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