Dear Cricket Monthly,I had never seen a first-class cricket match when Hanif Mohammad scored his famous 187 not out in the Lords Test in 1967. However, I read everything about it in the Daily Telegraph.I was so moved by this feat of endurance that I wrote an essay on Hanifs innings for my English class. I told the story of how this tiny figure had defied the might of the English bowling attack for hours on end, like Leonidas defending the pass at Thermopylae. Ever since, Hanif Mohammad has remained for me the symbol of courage, endurance and stoicism.I was ten years old at the time and the 1967 series left on me the impression that Pakistani players could be heroic but that their team was not terribly good. This changed four years later with the 1971 tour. I can still feel my shock at the deeds of Zaheer Abbas in the first Test.England had recently returned from Australia, where, thanks to the brilliant bowling of John Snow, they had secured an epic series win in the Ashes. In consequence I was looking forward to a summer of easy victories over a docile Pakistani team.It wouldnt be quite right to say that Zaheer tore the English attack to pieces. He dismantled it with quiet efficiency in the course of his 274 runs, each one of which was painfully etched into my teenage soul. The performance was all the more shocking because he looked like a gawky student, shambling to the wicket in spectacles.Until the 1971 tour I had classified Test teams into two categories. There were teams as good as England, or better - West Indies, Australia and South Africa (until their ejection from international cricket). And there were the teams who made up the numbers - New Zealand, India and Pakistan.Zaheers 274 marked the moment Pakistan moved from the second to the first category. As an England fan, I resented this very much. The half-season tour of 1974, which Pakistan went through unbeaten, confirmed that they were on the up. So did the growing number of Pakistanis in county cricket - and the stars who were later recruited by Kerry Packer.The series of 1982, when Pakistan were led for the first time by Imran Khan, made an even deeper impression on me. By now Imran was well on his way to becoming one of the greatest players the world had ever known, and he led a team that could outplay England on their day. The 1982 series was a terrific contest and I watched with shame the decisions given by umpire David Constant during the nail-biting third Test at Headingley. I am sure that umpire Constant was not consciously biased, but some of his decisions defied belief and they all seemed to favour England.This was a moment of awakening: I suddenly realised that there was something ugly and hypocritical about the English attitude to Pakistani cricket. As soon as they stopped being deferential losers we began to demonise them. We were all too quick to condemn Pakistan as cheats, but when an England umpire meted out unfair treatment to Pakistan he was guilty of nothing more than a mistake. I could see this double standard was a metaphor for something deeper.In the 1980s, English cricket supporters ceased to feel well disposed towards Pakistan. They now felt fear and hostility. We as a nation ought to have welcomed the arrival of Imrans brilliant team on the world stage. Some of us did, but too many resented it. When Pakistani bowlers invented reverse swing - the greatest innovation of the modern game - we once again accused Pakistanis of cheating. Meanwhile, the behaviour of our own players was beyond belief.I believe that the shouting match between Mike Gatting and umpire Shakoor Rana in Faisalabad was one of the lowest points in English sporting history. I do not believe that Gatting would ever have used such foul language towards an Australian or a South African umpire. Watching those horrifying pictures go round the world, it was obvious that Gatting should have been stripped of the captaincy. Instead, the tour management signalled its approval of his awful behaviour when they awarded Gatting and his team a hardship bonus.Something went very wrong with English cricket in the 1980s. Two years after the Shakoor Rana incident, Gatting led the so-called rebel tourists to apartheid South Africa. The mentality of an English captain who could take such deep offence at an umpiring decision but turn a blind eye to the moral depravity of apartheid defies explanation. Meanwhile, Imran was turning Pakistan into the greatest and most joyous cricket team in the world. In 1992, as an England fan, I was shattered by our defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the World Cup final. As someone who loved cricket and all the splendid things it stands for, I had no choice but to celebrate. Imrans team was not only better than England. Morally they belonged to another universe.It has been very hard as a lover of cricket to follow Pakistan in the last 25 years. On the one hand, cricket still stands for all that is best and most exciting about Pakistan. On the other hand, it also expresses the corruption and the weakness of parts of the Pakistani state. The fact that some of Pakistans greatest players have been tainted in various corruption scandals is too heartbreaking for words. This is the reason why I have come to admire the current Test captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, so much. Misbah took the reins of Pakistan cricket in one of its darkest hours, in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal in 2010.Misbah had to confront not just corruption but also the consequences of terrorism, which, ever since the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009, has prevented foreign teams from visiting Pakistan and condemned its international players to foreign hotels for the majority of the year. In the face of this double catastrophe, there was every chance that Pakistan cricket could have collapsed. It took leadership of an exceptional kind for Misbah to hold the team together.Just as Hanif glued his teams batting together at Lords 49 years ago, so Misbah has done with Pakistan cricket itself, along with the great Younis Khan. It is an extraordinary achievement, which required discipline, sacrifice and an intense patriotism. Alongside Imran Khan and Abdul Hafeez Kardar, he can be counted as one of his countrys greatest captains. I hope and believe this remarkable man will be given a heros reception in England this summer.Peter OborneVince Carter Jersey . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Tracy Mcgrady Magic Jersey . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-terrence-ross-magic-jersey/ . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Jerian Grant Magic Jersey . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Vince Carter Magic Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury.What happened last night that you need to know about? Joe McDonald gives us his take on the biggest and best performances. This is where we say, Morning, Joe.Crosby sharp in return: The best player in the world was back on the ice for the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night to lead them to a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers at PPG Paints Arena. After being sidelined with a concussion, Sidney Crosby scored a goal, had four shots and logged 18:02 of ice time as the Penguins rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Panthers. No. 87s return was a major boost for the Penguins, as youd expect. Crosby, who helped the team win the 2016 Stanley Cup while earning himself the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, suffered a concussion during practice on Oct. 7 and was forced to miss the teams first six games. Crosby is no stranger to concussions: This was his third, and there was a time during the 2011-12 season that he didnt know if he would return. Hes smart enough to know he cant dismiss a head injury, so when he suffered his latest, it made the entire hockey world wonder how long he would miss. It was a positive sign when he quickly returned to practice and said he was making progress. Then to see his production on Tuesday was a huge sigh of relief for the Penguins, their fans and the hockey world. Like him or not, Crosby is the best in the world -- and hes only 29. It would be a shame if he was stripped of his prime because of concussions, so heres hoping Crosby remains healthy until he decides to walk away from the game.Matthews leading the way: Fans have to be excited about the progress of Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews. Despite a 7-3 loss Tuesday to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Matthews scored his sixth goal of the season and now has 10 points -- giving him the league lead. The 19-year-old forward is also tied with the Chicago Blackhawks Richard Panik for the league lead in goals. Matthews is leading the Calder Trophy race overr the Winnipeg Jets Patrik Laine, who has four goals and two assists for six points in six games.dddddddddddd Theres no way Matthews can keep up this pace, right? He has the ability, skill and maturity to do so, but at some point he has to settle in and even off. Hes proven to be able to sustain this type of success at every level. No doubt hell experience the typical ebbs and flows of a rookie season, but in the early going hes showing no signs of getting to that point just yet. The Maple Leafs will become a winning team again and Matthews will be a major part of that success. Until then, enjoying watching him become one of the best in the game.Stamkos lighting it up: At the start of the season, many experts picked the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup. So, its no surprise the team has gone 5-1-0 for 10 points, only one behind the Montreal Canadiens (5-0-1) in the Atlantic Division. On Tuesday, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos had a monster night, scoring two goals and posting two assists for four points en route to a 7-3 win over the Maple Leafs. When the 26-year-old forward signed an eight-year contract in the offseason with the Lightning worth $68 million, it was a sign he believed in the organization and wanted to help it win a Stanley Cup. Even though he has security, hes not one of those players to relax and cruise through his career. Its obvious he wants to win -- and he deserves to win a championship. Hes been nothing short of spectacular. Hes a perfect fit in Tampa Bay and no doubt he will deliver on his promise to bring the Lightning a Stanley Cup on his watch. Only six games into the regular season and he has five goals and four assists for nine points. He was my pick to win the Hart Memorial Trophy this season as the leagues MVP and hes showing signs of making me look like a genius for once. ' ' '