Pakistan was the making of Dennis Amiss as an international batsman. He went there as a richly gifted player for whom the descriptions "young and promising" were rapidly becoming unreliable. Amiss was 29, approaching 30, when he and the England team arrived there in February 1973. He had first played for Warwickshire 13 years previously when he was 17, he had appeared in 12 Tests of the 50 England had played since he was first picked in 1966. His top score had been 56 and he had been dropped again on the first leg of the winter tour in India..
England begin the rest of their lives on Saturday. It is likely that nothing they do again on a cricket field will match either their great deeds of last summer or the emotions they stirred in those watching. But when the incredible story is retold, as it will be repeatedly down the years, human nature will demand to know what happened next, and the First Test against Pakistan in Multan will start to provide the answer. Very little in terms of side-to-side movement, uses a big, wide chest to present a big target to his opponent. Questions still over his "heart"; quit on his stool after damaging a shoulder, and forced to dig deep when badly cut by Lennox Lewis.MovementNot much, actually.
Adopts a wide stance and plants his feet firmly on the canvas. Diametrically different to that most graceful of linear champions, Muhammad Ali Strong legs, though.Gary Lemke. Doesn't seem to have crippling one-punch power; his stoppages tend to come as a result of accumulation. Heavy hands, but perhaps doesn't punch as hard as he should.Upper bodyStrong and chiselled.