Al-Qaeda, by contrast, never played cricket and favoured volleyball

So cricket is one of the rare things which can bring the Pakistan military and the Taliban together, in what amounts to a temporary ceasefire. For example, it is not unknown for army bulldozers to clear the wickets of debris at the start, and for the Taliban to provide security while tournaments are under way. My informants told me that the Al-Qaeda, by contrast, never played cricket and favoured volleyball. They also liked football - but never cricket.

P. Oborne, Wounded tiger (2014), 411-2

Astonishing teenagers are a recurring theme in Pakistan's cricket history

Astonishing teenagers are a recurring theme in Pakistan's cricket history. Of the 33 players recorded as making their Test debut before the age of eighteen, 15 are Pakistanis.

P. Oborne, Wounded tiger (2014), 386

In the wake of the 1992 World Cup triumph, the historian of Pakistan cricket begins to feel sympathy with Edward Gibbon as he came to terms with the final centuries of the Roman Empire

In the wake of the 1992 World Cup triumph, the historian of Pakistan cricket begins to feel sympathy with Edward Gibbon as he came to terms with the final centuries of the Roman Empire. It becomes necessary to deal with a succession of short-lived rulers, installed, deposed and occasionally reinstalled after regular revolts from the legions. While the army remains full of soldiers of the highest quality, still capable of famous victories, too often it is fatally undermined by indiscipline and corruption.  

P. Oborne, Wounded tiger (2014), 347

This was simply not cricket, but it did not matter as long as you did not lose

Shuja-ud-Din, who played in this poignant contest, recorded: 'This was simply not cricket, but it did not matter as long as you did not lose.'

...

It was becoming evident that Tests between Pakistan and India had developed a unique sensibility. Those who ere normal became slightly mad. Those who were already troubled were temporarily blinded with a kind of insanity.

P. Oborne, Wounded tiger (2014), 109

Alexander the Great needed four months to capture Multan in 325 BCE ... It took Ben Stokes three and a half days

Alexander the Great needed four months to capture Multan in 325 BCE, and was hit by an arrow that nearly killed him. It took Ben Stokes three and a half days, despite a touch of flu. By presiding over victory in perhaps the region's most ancient city, he achieved what no cricketing general from English shores ever had - a second successive Test win in Pakistan, and the chance of a whitewash. 

D. Wilson, 'Pakistan v England: second test', L. Booth (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2023), 411

If the latter [religion] is truly opium for the masses, cricket remains purely its marijuana

Cricket is like religion, it is said of the subcontinent, and of India in particular. For India's neighbour, though, the analogy assumes a deeper, more convoluted significance. In Pakistan, cricket is not really like a religion. If the latter is truly opium for the masses, cricket remains purely its marijuana: teasingly recreational, and definite not as all-consuming.

O. Samiuddin, 'With Allah on their side', M. Engel (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2006), 44