Unquiet Ones

The definitive history of a cricket team the world loves to watch but is at a loss to explain

The story of Pakistan cricket is dramatic tortured heroic and tumultuous.

Beginning with nothing after the Partition of 1947 to the jubilation of its victory against England at the Oval in 1954; from earning its Test status and competing with the best to sealing a golden age by winning the World Cup in 1992; from their magic in Sharjah to an era-defining low in the new millennium Pakistan's cricketing fortunes have never ceased to thrill.

This book is the story of those fortunes and how in the process the game transformed from an urban exclusive sport into a glue uniting millions in a vast disparate country. In its narration Osman Samiuddin captures the jazba of the men who played for Pakistan celebrates their headiest moments and many upheavals and brings to life some of their most famous - and infamous - contests tours and moments.

Ambitious spirited and often heart breaking The Unquiet Ones is a comprehensive portrait of not just a Pakistani sport but a national majboori a compulsion whose outcome can often surprise and shock and become the barometer of everyday life in Pakistan tailing its ups and downs its moods and character.