Saeed Anwar PP (Urdu: سعید انور; born 6 September 1968) is a Pakistani former cricketer and a former captain for Tests and ODIs.
An opening batsman and occasional slow left arm orthodox bowler, Anwar played international cricket between 1989 and 2003.
Anwar is credited for being one of the most stylish batsmen of 1990s alongside Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn and Sourav Ganguly.
[12][13] He made his return to cricket after a long hiatus and was one of the most consistent Pakistani batsmen in the 2003 World Cup.
[15] During his career, he was an elegant batsman and played particularly well on the off side, his trademark flick being a sure shot feature in almost all of his innings.
He is the seventh-highest run scorer for Pakistan in Test cricket, and scored 11 centuries and 25 half-centuries during his international career.
[19][20] He scored many of his centuries away against almost every team he toured, and averaged more than 40 against three of the four nations – South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England – which have been most difficult for Asian batsmen.
[21] Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja commented the "[Anwar] used an eclectic approach to batting – classical betrothed to unorthodox, footwork against spin as quick as a hiccup supple yet powerful to brush the field like a Picasso.
"[22] He made his Test debut against the West Indies in a match which Pakistan lost at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, in 1990.
[26] Scroring fifties—85 and 77 runs—in both the innings of the first Test against Australia at Karachi in September 1994, Anwar helped Pakistan led the three match series 1–0.
[27] In the same season against Zimbabwe, he was unsuccessful with bat in the away series; he only managed 45 runs playing in four innings of two Tests.
[31][34] In the 1996–97 season, he played two Tests against the touring Zimbabwe and aggregated 182 runs in three innings, the second highest after Wasim Akram's 292.
[36] He was the second highest run-scorer once again, accumulating 157 runs in three innings, including 149 in the second Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
[42] In the 1998–99 season, Anwar played two Tests against the touring Australia, and scored 290 at the average of 96.66, including two centuries.
[43] His partnership of 120 runs with Mushtaq Ahmed, for the ninth, prevented Pakistan's collapse in the first innings of the first Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
[note 2] Anwar played three Test during Pakistan's tour of Australia in 1999–2000 season, scoring 282 runs at the average of 47.00.
[5] Anwar was the first Pakistani batsman to score a century against India on Indian soil in an ODI match.
[63] Under the captaincy of Imran Khan, Anwar started his international career in January 1989 with an ODI match played at WACA Ground which Pakistan lost to West Indies.
[65] In the 1989–90 World Series Cup, Anwar played nine matches and scored 293 runs with the help of a century, and at the average of 32.55.
[74] He scored a century against Sri Lanka at Gymkhana Club Ground in October 1996, while captaining the team.
In 1999 Cricket World Cup, he made two consecutive centuries, 103 against Zimbabwe and 113 not out against New Zealand in the Semi-final, and led Pakistan into the Final.
[88] In the previous match played against India which Pakistan lost by six wickets, he scored his fourth century against them and 20th overall.