The Australian cricket team toured Pakistan in September and October 1982 to play three Tests and a two-match One Day International series. Pakistan won the Test series 3–0, and one day series 2–0. Australia failed to win a single game on the entire tour.
In the words of Wisden, "The Australians proved ill-equipped to cope with a Pakistan side beginning to exert its international authority under the leadership of Imran Khan... For Pakistan it was the country's finest cricketing hour. Their three-nil Test victory was unprecedented in a short series there... It all amounted to a tour to rank among the most dismal ever made by an Australian side."
Peter McFarline of The Age wrote "on a ratio of defeats to games, the 1982 Australians in Pakistan have been this country's worst national team."
Australia's wicketkeeper on the tour, Rod Marsh, later wrote that "the more you think of the 1982 Australian cricket tour of Pakistan the more you want to forget it."Marsh p 8
Australian squad Australia had just defeated Pakistan 2–1 at home during the 1981–82 summer season and several of the players had previously toured Pakistan.
Captain Greg Chappell and fast bowlers Dennis Lillee and Len Pascoe who had all just toured New Zealand were all unavailable for selection on the tour. Chappell was replaced as captain by Kim Hughes, his vice-captain, despite the fact that many observers felt the more experienced Rod Marsh should have gotten the job. Hughes had led Australia to defeat on tours of India (1979) and England (1981).
The Australian squad announced on 26 March 1982 was: Batsmen – Kim Hughes (captain), Allan Border (vice-captain), Graeme Wood, Bruce Laird, John Dyson, Greg Ritchie, Wayne Phillips (also back up wicketkeeper) Fastbowlers – Jeff Thomson, Geoff Lawson, Ian Callen, Terry Alderman Spinners – Bruce Yardley, Peter Sleep, Ray Bright Wicketkeeper – Rod Marsh Manager – Col Egar Tour doctor – Dr Paul Koenig Tour physiotherapist – Fergus Nelson
Rick Darling was overlooked despite having scored over 1,000 first class runs that summer. However Ritchie had made 836 runs at 59.5 and Phillips had scored 857 runs at 47.6. John Inverarity (30 wickets at 21.6), Jim Higgs (29 wickets at 39.3) and Bob Holland (27 wickets at 24) had taken more wickets as spinners than Sleep (22 at 33) or Bright (20 at 37) at first class level that summer but were not taken. Ian Callen had not toured with Australia since he went to the West Indies in 1978 but had taken 31 wickets over the 1981–82 summer.
Rod Marsh refused to serve as vice captain under Kim Hughes, saying he wanted "to give a younger player the experience of being vice-captain." He was replaced by Border.
The selection panel on tour was Hughes, Border and Laird. Wisden later reported "it seemed that Kim Hughes had a strong and well-balanced team under his command." Hughes thought the team was in better shape than the squad which lost to Pakistan in 1980: We struggled before, but the spinning combination of Ray Bright and Bruce Yardley, the left- and right-arm orthodox bowlers, gives us a better balance and makes me optimistic of winning the series... But I'm not underestimating our quicks. Jeff Thomson can get us into a winning position if the wickets allow. But he may not be able to get amongst them on the final day and our spinners will have to knock them over. Hughes would be facing Imran Khan as Pakistan captain. ""I have a healthy respect for Imran", said Hughes. "He is fiercely competitive but fair."
Preparations Col Egar flew to Pakistan in July in order to help plan the tour.
The team met for four days in Perth for a training camp on 4 September. Kim Hughes said he was pleased with the squad: Pakistan are in the process of developing one of their best sides ever and they seem to be able to bat well down the order... The boys will have to handle a different diet, customs and outlook on life — but it will be worth it.... Sleep and Yardley have been to India and that should stand them in good stead... In the spin department we have the great balance of a left-arm orthodox in Ray Bright and a right arm exponent in Yardley... The five regular batsmen, Border, Dyson, Bruce Laird, Graeme Wood and myself have seen a lot of cricket, and Ritchie and Phillips will be given every chance to be considered for the Tests. There had been criticism of Pakistan pitches over the years. The curator of the WACA ground, John Maley, went to Pakistan in 1981 to advise the Board of Cricket Control on making of wickets. Maley found some suitable soil and recommended that the Test strips in Karachi, Faisalabad and Lahore be dug up and relaid.
Tour The team left Perth on 9 September and travelled via Singapore to Karachi before flying to Rawalpindi. Rod Marsh stayed behind a few days to help his small child recover from an illness.
BCCP Patron's XI v Australians at Rawalpindi, 12–14 September 1982 Scorecard of BCCP Patron's XI v Australians accessed 4 July 2014
Australia's first tour game was against the BCCP Patrons XI. Wayne Phillips played as wicketkeeper because of Marsh's unavailability, and Australia decided to play three spinners, Sleep, Bright and Yardley.
Australia began well in the first innings, making 9-327 with a century from Kim Hughes, and half centuries from Graeme Wood and Allan Border. Hughes brought up his century with a six off the last over of the day.
However Australia's bowlers struggled to dismiss the opposition, who declared at 5-424, with contributions from Masood Anwar (125), Mansoor Akhtar (130) and Haroon Rasheed (94); Yardley's figures were 2-136. A second innings collapse saw Australia come close to losing the game, falling to 5-82 before recovering to 8-166 at close of play. It ended in a draw.
BCCP XI v Australians at Multan, 16–18 September 1982 Australia fared much better in the next tour game, against BCCP XI, where they almost forced a victory. Wood, Hughes and Greg Ritchie both scored half centuries in Australia's first innings total of 277. BCCP XI went from 0-96 to all out for 177, with Ray Bright and Geoff Lawson picking up five wickets each. Australia responded with 3-124 (Hughes opening made 43) then declared. The BCCP XI were 4-67 at close of play. Ritchie's first innings score of 59 put him in contention for test selection.BCCP XI v Australians at Multan 1982 accessed 4 July 2014
1st ODI: Pakistan v Australia at Hyderabad (Sind), Sep 20, 1982 1st ODI match report at Wisden
Australia travelled to Hyderabad to play Pakistan in a one-day international. It was the first such game Australia had played in Pakistan. The locals were led by Zaheer Abbas in the absence of Imran Khan, who had a side strain. It was the first one-day match Australia had played in Pakistan. Australia played five batsmen (Wood, Laird, Hughes, Border, Dyson) and five bowlers (Thomson, Yardley, Lawson, Alderman and Ian Callen – the latter playing his first international for Australia since 1978).
The crowd of 30,000 was 5,000 more than capacity. About 3,000 police were on duty, many using riot shields, and extra security was implemented as the match went on. A two-metre high steel fence with tipped lances had been erected around the playing area at a cost of A$30,000.
Hughes won the toss and elected to bowl. Mohsin Khan put on 83 with Mudassar Nazar. During Pakistan's innings, some crowd members ran on to the pitch and some Australian players had to defend themselves from what reports described as "enthusiastic mobbing". Kim Hughes had to push away one persistent youth who rolled over on the ground to the cheers of the crowd. When Graeme Wood caught Zaheer Abbas for 26 off Bruce Yardley, large numbers of the crowd passed through loopholes in the fence and charged on to the field, making for Mohsin Khan who was then on 97. Police and officials took five minutes to chase them off using batons and staves. Moshin went on to make a century, prompting another pitch invasion by a youth who attempted to garland him and Allan Border, fielding at square leg. The Australian manager, Col Egar, protested and it was announced soon after noon that the teams would return to Karachi if any further disturbances occurred. The game resumed and Pakistan ended with 6-229 off 40 overs. The crowd continually threw stones at police and during the break, one youth impaled himself on the fence and was taken away for treatment.
In response, Wood and Bruce Laird took Australia to 0-104 off 23 overs before a collapse resulted in them being dismissed for 9-170. Tauseef Ahmed took three wickets and Imran's replacement, Jalal-ud-Din took a hat-trick consisting of Marsh, Yardley and Lawson off the fourth, fifth and sixth balls of his seventh over.1st ODI scorecard
1st Test: Pakistan v Australia at Karachi, Sep 22-27, 1982
Australia's team for the first test was Wood, Laird, Dyson, Border, Hughes, Greg Ritchie (making his test debut), Bruce Yardley, Ray Bright, Jeff Thomson and Geoff Lawson. Geoff Lawson was picked over Terry Alderman who was made 12th man.
Pakistan's team was Mohsin Khan, Mansoor Akhtar, Haroon Rasheed, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Mudassar Nazar, Imran Khan, Tahir Naqquah, Wasim Bari, Abdul Qadir and Iqbal Qasim.
Hughes won the toss and decided to bat. There were 3-202, with good innings from Dyson (87) and Hughes (54) when Australia lost two quick wickets – Hughes and Ritchie. Rod Marsh later wrote these two wickets meant "we probably lost the entire series in just half an hour on the first day of the first test.. it was just what the Pakistanis needed and just what we didn't. They came out next day and skittled us with the new ball. Had we got through that crisis time and resumed with only three down, it might have been a new ball game, a new series."Marsh p 14 Wisden reported that "Australia's 218 for five at the close of the first day was inadequate considering the excellent conditions." Australia were dismissed for 284 with Border 55 not out.
Pakistan made 419 in response, with the Australians dropping key catches. Zaheer Abbas, for instance, was dropped at nine, 61 and 80 and made 91.
"We lost concentration with the interruptions, dropped catches, but the bowlers, particularly the pacemen, Jeff Thomson and Geoff Lawson, were magnificent", said Kim Hughes. "Not once did they knock back a spell but just kept going."
The "interruptions" were serious. Items being thrown on the ground – including stones, potatoes and onions – led to Hughes taking his side off the ground on two separate occasions on the third day – one for 14 minutes, one for 25 minutes.1st test match report at Wisden
Hughes said, "We should have gone off earlier, but I was sorry for the umpires and the other people who had paid good money to see cricket."
Sikander Bakht, a Pakistani paceman not playing in the Test, said the local players were used to this behaviour. "But I don't blame the Australians for going off", he said.
Hughes later threatened to call off the tour if any of his players were injured. I'm not going to let my fellows* heads be cut open by razor-sharp stones... This is an insult to the Australian players – we are being treated like animals in a zoo... We should have gone off earlier, but I was sorry for the umpires and the other people who had paid good money to see cricket... We are here to play cricket and are being treated like animals. No wonder other cricketing countries are loath to come here. What bothers me is what happens when we are in a winning position? The same treatment was handed out to the West Indians. We can take the verbal abuse, but I've reached a position where our blokes don't want to field at fine leg.