The original 'Little Master': Hanif Mohammad, Pakistan’s first great Test batter

Even earlier Pakistan had Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, oregon Shoaib Akhtar, it had Hanif Mohammad. Pakistan’s archetypal large cricketer did not denote himself with powerfulness oregon speed, but with time.

Lots of it. He built a squad astir the thought that you could garbage to lose.Hanif was Pakistan cricket’s archetypal existent star. At a clip erstwhile the state was caller and inactive uncovering its voice, helium gave it 1 done the bat. His feats, heard crossed Pakistan connected radio, took the crippled retired of drafting rooms and assemblage grounds and into streets, maidans, and homes. Cricket stopped being a pursuit of a small, educated elite and became a athletics for everyone.Hanif Mohammad was calved successful 1934 successful Gujarat, successful undivided India. After Partition, his household moved to Pakistan, and truthful did his cricketing future. Hanif played 55 Tests, including Pakistan's archetypal against India successful 1952. He played for Pakistan crossed a vocation that lasted 17 years, scoring 3,915 runs astatine an mean of 43.98. Those numbers matter, but they lone archer portion of the story. Hanif’s existent worth laic successful what helium represented and however helium played.

He was called the “Little Master”. He stood 5 feet 3 inches tall. When helium archetypal appeared successful top-level cricket, helium looked younger than his property and smaller than astir astir him. When helium walked retired to bat astatine Lahore successful November 1951, during the archetypal unofficial Test betwixt Pakistan and MCC, helium was lone 16. It was his first-class debut."He looked astir 12, Brian Statham said, arsenic cited by Wisden successful its obituary of Hanif. By the extremity of the day, the gag had worn thin.

Hanif made 26 successful 165 minutes. In the precise adjacent match, helium batted for implicit 4 hours to people 64 arsenic Pakistan chased 288. That innings, quiescent arsenic it was, changed things. Eight months later, Pakistan were granted Test status.With Abdul Hafeez Kardar arsenic skipper and Fazal Mahmood starring the attack, Hanif was the 1 who held the innings together. Time and again, helium stood betwixt Pakistan and defeat, gathering agelong innings based connected defence, judgment, and discipline. Nothing defines him amended than the innings that inactive stands unsocial successful cricket history. Bridgetown, 1957–58. Pakistan were touring the West Indies. West Indies made 579. Pakistan collapsed for 106 connected the 3rd time of what was a six-day match, and were asked to travel on, trailing by 473. Defeat was not a question of “if”, lone “when”.Hanif reached 61 connected stumps connected Day 3, having endured Roy Gilchrist’s short-pitched assault, helium chose not to hook.

Over the adjacent 3 days, Hanif batted. And batted. He added precisely 100 connected the 4th time arsenic Pakistan mislaid conscionable 1 wicket. On the 5th day, helium defied symptom from thighs bruised by Gilchrist, and sunburn that caused the tegument nether his eyes to peel away. During intervals helium would beryllium successful a country of the dressing country and devour a portion of chicken.

By stumps helium had 270, and Pakistan a tiny lead. He scored 337, batted for 970 minutes, and shared period partnerships with 4 players, including his member Wazir.

Pakistan declared connected 657 for 8. The lucifer was drawn. Hanif's innings stay the longest idiosyncratic innings (by minutes) successful Tests.A twelvemonth later, Hanif showed that this was nary one-off. Playing for Karachi against Bahawalpur successful 1959, helium scored 499 successful a first-class match. It was the highest first-class people astatine the time. He was tally retired successful the last implicit portion trying for his 500th run. The grounds stood for 35 years, until Brian Lara made 501 for Warwickshire.That estimation sometimes reduced him to a caricature, but Hanif was much than a blocker. He could onslaught erstwhile required and is often credited arsenic the originator of the reverse sweep. His accomplishment acceptable was wide. He captained Pakistan, kept wicket, and adjacent bowled right- and left-handed successful Test cricket. Yet, supra all, helium was a maestro of 1 thing: staying in.Hanif’s vocation was not without thin phases. His 1962 circuit of England brought his archetypal sustained tally of debased scores.

He managed 177 runs successful the bid astatine an mean of 17.70, with a highest people of 47. Five years later, nearing his mid-30s, helium returned to England with a constituent to prove. English accelerated bowlers thought the abbreviated shot would occupation him. John Snow tested him repeatedly. Hanif answered with 187 not retired successful the archetypal Test astatine Lord’s. It took 556 balls and the lucifer was drawn. By the precocious 1960s, consistency became harder to support and Hanif decided to measurement away.

He finished with 12 Test centuries and 15 fifties. His average, erstwhile supra 47, settled astatine 43.98. He scored Test centuries against each opponents distant from home, dismissing immoderate thought that helium was babelike connected location conditions. His distant mean of 42.62 was adjacent to his wide mean successful Tests.Hanif was besides portion of 1 of cricket’s astir singular families. Three of his brothers — Wazir, Mushtaq and Sadiq — played Test cricket.

Another brother, Raees, was erstwhile Pakistan’s twelfth man. In 1969–70, Hanif, Mushtaq and Sadiq played unneurotic against New Zealand astatine Karachi, Hanif’s last Test, echoing the Grace brothers’ feat for England successful 1880. At slightest 1 member featured successful Pakistan’s archetypal 89 Tests. His lad Shoaib aboriginal played 45 Tests.Hanif Mohammad passed distant connected August 11, 2016, successful Karachi, aged 81 years and 234 days. By then, Pakistan cricket had seen accelerated bowlers who terrified batters, captains who won satellite titles. But earlier Pakistan learned however to win, it learned however not to lose. That acquisition came from Hanif Mohammad, who was calved connected this time (December 21) successful 1934.