Pakistan Eaglets were a team of young

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

ers from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, founded by Justice A.R. Cornelius. They toured

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

every year from 1952 to 1959, Malaya and

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 1960–61, and England again in 1963. Most of their matches were non- first-class, but they played 11 first-class matches between 1960 and 1963. Many Pakistan Eaglets players went on to play

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

for

Tours to England and Wales, 1952 to 1959

These tours usually lasted a few weeks in the warmer months of July and August and included matches against club sides, minor county sides, and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

second elevens. More than half of the matches were in either

or the west of England. None of the matches were first-class.

First first-class match

Pakistan Eaglets played a three-day first-class match in Lahore in May 1960 against the touring

Indian Starlets Indian Starlets were a team of young Indian cricketers who played 16 first-class matches between 1960 and 1967. Tour of Pakistan, 1959-60 Seventeen players took part in a tour of Pakistan in April and May 1960. They played seven first-class match ...

side, a team of young

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n cricketers. In the drawn match, Ijaz Butt was the Eaglets' top scorer with 161.

Tour to Malaya, Singapore and Ceylon, 1960-61

From late August to late September 1960 the Pakistan Eaglets played four matches in Malaya, three in Singapore, and four in Ceylon. The tour ended with a first-class match against the Ceylon Cricket Association in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, a slow, low-scoring affair that ended in a draw. Ijaz Butt top-scored in each innings with 54 and 67, and Fazal-ur-Rehman took 5 for 61 in the first innings.

Third first-class match

In 1961-62 a team from India representing the Associated Cement Company played three first-class matches in Pakistan. The match against the Pakistan Eaglets in Lahore was drawn with the Eaglets seven wickets down for 101 in pursuit of a target of 130 for victory. Iqbal Sheikh took 7 for 46 and 5 for 120 with his off-spin, and the wicket-keeper Fasihuddin made 147.

Tour to England, 1963

Pakistan Eaglets, sponsored by

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines, commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier of Pakistan. With its primary hub at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the airline also operates from its secondary hubs at Allama Iqbal International Airport ...

, played 20 matches on their 1963 tour of England and Wales.'' Wisden'' 1964, pp. 684-92. They were captained by the experienced

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

player Wazir Mohammad. In their eight first-class matches they had innings victories over

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, lost to

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, and drew the other four. Faqir Aizazuddin made the highest first-class score, 187 against Cambridge University, and Mushtaq Mohammad hit two centuries and made most runs, 593 at an average of 53.90. Mohammad Munaf had the best bowling figures of 8 for 84 against Kent, but the highest overall wicket tally was shared by Asif Iqbal, 19 at 14.73, and Intikhab Alam, 19 at 23.15. Of the 18 players on the tour, 14 played Test cricket. Four (Intikhab Alam, Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal and Mushtaq Mohammad) went on to captain the Test team.

References

{{reflist

External links

Lists of Matches played by Pakistan Eaglets at CricketArchive
Former senior cricket clubs of Pakistan Pakistani first-class cricket teams