Who writes your scripts?
It’s the question that was once famously asked of Ian Botham when he conjured yet another improbable miracle on his Test comeback in 1986. It could just as easily have been posed today to Shahid Afridi. On a drizzly morning in Providence, Afridi returned to the international fold and delivered a performance so staggering that it seemed written by a mischievous dramatist: 76 runs off 55 balls, then 7 wickets for 12 runs. It was one of the greatest all-round shows ever in one-day internationals.
A Comeback Overshadowed by Skepticism
Afridi’s return to Pakistan’s ODI side had been met with raised eyebrows, even quiet derision. In recent months, Pakistan had purged the experienced ranks — Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal all axed — and many wondered if Afridi, with no wickets in his last six ODIs and a self-conception more as a bowler these days, deserved yet another resurrection.
Those doubts were crushed under the weight of Afridi’s own audacity. This was not a cricketer tentatively seeking redemption; this was a comet blazing defiantly across a skeptical sky.
First, The Bat — Reckless and Sublime
The stage was set for disaster. Jason Holder’s menacing spell (8-4-8-4) had reduced Pakistan to 47 for 5. Misbah-ul-Haq was in his usual monk-like vigil, inching along at barely a run an over. Into this ruin walked Afridi, who on his third ball lofted a nonchalant six over long-off. A man of lesser ego might have dug in. Afridi swung again, sending the ball and West Indies’ plans into orbit.
Chris Gayle dropped a tough chance at slip, and after that Afridi simply galloped. Samuels offered long hops, Sammy was dabbed cheekily then driven mercilessly, and Sunil Narine — the mystery spinner deemed West Indies’ best threat — was bludgeoned out of the attack, taken for 32 runs in three overs.
On a pitch where Pakistan’s other batsmen ground out 120 off 245 balls, Afridi breezed to 76 from 55. His innings was both an act of liberation and madness, the reckless poetry that only he can script.
Then, The Ball — Sorcery and Ruin
The real genius of Afridi’s day lay not only in what he did, but when he did it. Pakistan’s 224 seemed a formidable score once West Indies slumped to 7 for 3 — their second-lowest ever after three wickets down in an ODI. Mohammad Irfan’s thunderbolts did early damage, but it was Misbah’s direct hit that sent Chris Gayle trudging off, a fatal blow to Caribbean hopes.
Still, Samuels and Simmons mounted a cautious, slow crawl. The required rate crept past six. Enter Afridi as Pakistan’s sixth bowler — and the game dissolved under his spell. Simmons was stumped, Bravo trapped plumb next ball. Afridi wheeled away in his star-man celebration, arms aloft, face aflame with childlike triumph.
His legbreaks, sliders, the odd googly and even an offbreak — each was a riddle too complex for West Indies’ batsmen. Pollard, starved of confidence after three ducks in four innings, was caught for three. Samuels fell lbw to a ball that bit sharply. Roach offered a tame return catch to give Afridi five-for.
By the time he returned for one final over, Sammy and Narine — who had miraculously survived the other bowlers — perished swiftly. West Indies folded for 98, their lowest ever ODI total at home. Afridi’s final figures: 9 overs, 2 maidens, 12 runs, 7 wickets.
The Symbolism — Folly, Genius, and the Intoxicating Unknown
Afridi’s cricket has always danced on the knife’s edge between genius and self-destruction. Dare to dismiss him as a fluke, a casino dice-roller masquerading as a cricketer, and he replies with days like this. He holds the record for the fastest ODI hundred. He helped Pakistan lift a World T20. His shelf groans under Man-of-the-Match awards.
Yet no one — least of all Afridi himself — knows what comes next. That is his singular magnetism: the thrill of living a daydream, so absurd it belongs to boys on dusty grounds, not men on international stages.
The Larger Lament — West Indies’ Brittle Promise
Amid this theatre of Afridi, spare a thought for West Indies. Always a side on the cusp of renaissance, always a side slipping backward again. Their bowlers had Pakistan on the mat on a pitch Misbah called “one of the toughest” he’s ever played on. Yet their famed big-hitters mustered only 98 in 257 balls, flailing against both spin and psychology.
Providence Stadium had not seen international cricket for two years, owing to administrative wranglings. The local fans, starved of spectacle, were finally treated to one — though it was Pakistan’s flamboyant mercenary who provided it, not their own.
The Question of Legacy — What now for Afridi?
Afridi was dropped from the Champions Trophy, much to his chagrin. His social media missives and media sound bites since then have brimmed with desire to sign off on his terms — by playing the next World Cup. In fairness, his batting against South Africa was vibrant too, though he was judged harshly on his bowling in a series unsuited to spinners.
Why was Afridi overlooked while others of dubious merit went to England? Perhaps because with Afridi, there is never certainty — only the guarantee that when he does perform, it is seismic.
How long will this last? Not even Afridi can tell you. But for one electric day in Guyana, he gave cricket lovers the sort of soaring escape normally reserved for dreams.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
