This is the definitive story of Pakistan cricket, of its struggles from being an urban, exclusive sport to becoming a national, uniting game in a vast, disparate country, as well as its most democratic pursuit. It is a story told through its cricketers, administrators, patrons and benefactors and its many characters.

Along the way, through its headiest moments, through its many upheavals, it recreates some of its most famous and infamous contests, tours and moments; from the 1954 win at The Oval that announced Pakistan s arrival in the game, to the 1992 World Cup win, which confirmed Pakistan s status at the pinnacle of the sport; through to the Justice Qayyum hearings on match-fixing at the turn of the century that saw Pakistan at an era-defining low ebb.

At each turn it takes in the stories of the era s greatest cricketers, some of the greatest the game has seen anywhere, from Abdul Hafeez Kardar to Imran Khan to Wasim Akram.