Danny Morrison, the former New Zealand fast bowler, has expressed that Javed Miandad was one of the toughest opponents he faced in the cricket field and rated the former Pakistan captain as a very courageous player.

The former cricketer from Karachi, having done exceptionally well at the junior level as well as in first-class cricket, made his international debut in 1975. Miandad remained an integral part of the Pakistan team for more than two decades and helped the Green Shirts become a real force in international cricket.

The 55-year-old former player represented his country in six consecutive ICC Cricket World Cups between 1975 and 1996. Having scored more than 16 thousand runs at the highest stage of the game in an era which was dominated by high-quality fast bowlers, Miandad remains one of the finest batsmen produced by Pakistan. The right-handed middle-order batsman scored 31 international centuries to go with his 93 fifties.

While speaking exclusively to Pakpassion, the former Kiwi cricketer showered praise on Miandad and feels that the gutsy batsman was one of the fiercest competitor he has ever faced.

“Javed Miandad whom I played towards the end of his career in 1989, 1990 and 1992-93. Javed was a street fighter. He was there to hang around and didn’t look the prettiest player,” said Morrision. “He was squared up and looked as if he was playing a bit of French cricket. He had wonderful tenacity, guts and courage. He stands out to me as a great opponent who was difficult to get out.”

The former cricketer, who coached the national team on multiple occasions, is presently the Director General of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Apart from Miandad, Morrison has immense respect for Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara as well, two modern-day greats, and expressed that the two master-blasters were quite contrasting in nature but equally effective.

“The guys you probably think as true legends, people like Tendulkar and Lara, had very difficult styles,” he added. With 286 wickets in international cricket, Morrison himself is considered to be one of the best pacers produced by New Zealand, who represented his country between 1987 and 1997.