Home ›› 08 Oct 2021 ›› Sport
Today I want to talk about one of our childhood cricket heroes– Hanif Mohammad. When he came to play some Tests in Dhaka Stadium in the mid-fifties, some of us managed to go near the barbed wire fence and collect his autograph. As players relaxed after playing an innings, they used to come down the stairs and oblige fans with their autographs. I was lucky enough to get autographs of a number of Pakistani players, including Hanif Mohammad. My other idol was Fazal Mahmood. I also had the autographs of Richie Benaud, Neil Harvey, Norman O’Neil and many other English players. Unfortunately, I lost the entire autograph book during the turmoil of 1971.
Youngsters of the day were awestruck by his good looks, walking and batting style. He was a graceful man, a gentleman, in every sense of the term. He was like a demigod to the youngsters. Even when he played in other countries, we used to sit glued to the radio set to listen to the running commentary and clap and hoot when he scored a run.
Undoubtedly, Hanif Mohammad was the first ‘star’ of Pakistan cricket, who was given the epithet “Little Master” by the cricket pundits of the time. Record books are full of records that he achieved which took many decades for other cricketers to break. For example, he played the longest innings in Test history when he spent 970 minutes at the crease to score 337 against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58 (Brian Lara broke this record in 1994). A year later, he played the highest first-class innings of 499 runs. He was run out before he could score 500. Many scribes say that he had the yogic power of concentration while at the crease.
Cricket in Pakistan was considered a game for the educated elites. Commoners could not become members of prestigious clubs. But Hanif broke the myth with his scintillating feats in the field against tough opponents, one after another. After him, came his brothers, all migrants from India. Together they contributed to making cricket the people’s game in the country.
Hanif Mohammad was known for his impenetrable defence against any bowling– fast, leg break, off break, googly, etc. He hardly hit the ball in the air. Though he played copybook cricket, curiously enough, he is credited with the shot called ‘reverse sweep’. He could also keep wickets. But that he could bowl with both arms is news for us.
He was the epitome of gentleness in behaviour among all in the Pakistan cricket team- past or present. His brothers- Mushtaq, Sadiq and Wazir, all played for Pakistan in Tests. Later, his son Shoaib Mohammad also joined the team.
He played for Pakistan in 55 Tests between the 1952–53 and the 1969–70 season. He averaged 43.98, scoring 12 centuries. At his peak, he was considered one of the best batsmen in the world despite playing when Pakistan played very little Test cricket.
Hanif Mohammad also has the world record for scoring the slowest Test triple century in terms of minutes (858) and is the only player in Test history to have spent over 970 minutes to score a Test triple ton.
In 1958–59, he surpassed Don Bradman’s record for the highest individual first-class innings. Hanif made 499 for Karachi in a match against Bahawalpur before being run out attempting his five hundredth run.
As long as he lived, Hanif used to be called the Living Legend.
Shahnoor Wahid is the Associate Editor at The Business Post.
