We told her that she must not stand for this offhand treatment and pushed her back to Business class. Much to her credit, the second time around she went up to him and delivered a blistering critique of him personally and 15 or so loafers that constituted the Pakistan cricket team, this all in front of a bevy of air hostess waiting to get a share of the great man.

That was Pakistan cricket in the 1970s and 80s. A picture in an Australian newspaper showed a prominent Pakistani batsmen in the practice nets, beer bottle in one hand, bat in the other, wearing a comically large Mexican hat, either fresh from a flogging or about to get one, from serious Australian cricketers. Islam and Pakistani cricket were strangers and as Muslims living in Australia we were embarrassed by their poor performances and off field antics.

In recent years this situation has changed. The team performs much better, but much more interestingly it has become more religious and much better behaved. The story of Pakistan cricket’s spiritual transformation is remarkable.

Saeed Anwar was Pakistan’s world class opening batsman throughout the 1990s, he still holds the world record for the highest score in a one day match (194). He was a national hero in Pakistan when his daughter Bismah died of typhoid in August 2001. It lead to a journey of self reflection that has changed Pakistan cricket. The shock of death of a healthy child in a family with all the trappings of cricketing wealth was life-changing for Anwar.

He became much more religious, he arrived at a match sporting a long beard (typical of conservative Muslims) and was unrecognizable to his teammates. however as the senior batsman his influence on younger players was profound, most notably the current Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq. When Pakistan toured Australia in 2005 I saw Inzamam at a charity dinner, as guest of honour he delivered what can only be described as a Khutbah (religious sermon) about the evanescence of temporal existence and the certainty of faith. He did not seem particularly interested in discussing cricket (here! here!) nor did he seem interested in the Pakistani groupies that tried to have their photo taken by sitting on his lap (offers that he politely declined).

The most profound effect has been on batsmen Yusuf Yuhana, a Christian, who is currently Pakistan’s leading run scorer. He converted to Islam in private some years ago under the influence (but not pressure) of his teammates. Now Mohammad Yusuf, he is considered to be the most particular about his religious duties within the team. In this profile of him in The Age newspaper he discusses his life.