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| Born | (1934-12-21)21 December 1934 Junagadh,Junagadh State,British India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 11 August 2016(2016-08-11) (aged 81) Karachi,Sindh,Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Little Master | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-armoff break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Wazir Mohammad (brother) Raees Mohammad (brother) Mushtaq Mohammad (brother) Sadiq Mohammad (brother) Shoaib Mohammad (son) Mohammad Wasim Jr (grandson) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 4) | 16 October 1952 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 24 October 1969 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Cricinfo,3 August 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pride of Performance Award Recipient | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1959 |
| Country | Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
| Presented by | Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
Hanif MohammadPP (21 December 1934 – 11 August 2016) was a Pakistanicricketer.[1] He played for thePakistani cricket team in 55Test matches between the 1952–53 season and the 1969–70 season. Heaveraged 43.98, scoring twelve centuries. At his peak, he was considered one of the best batsmen in the world despite playing at a time when Pakistan played very little Test cricket; Hanif played just 55 Test matches in a career spanning 17 years. In his obituary byESPNcricinfo, he was honoured as the original Little Master, a title later assumed bySunil Gavaskar andSachin Tendulkar.[2] He was the first Pakistani to score a triple hundred in a Test match.[3]
Hanif was born to aMemon family that had settled inJunagadh state. He was trained byAbdul Aziz, an Afghan cricket player, who had earlier played inRanji Trophy forJamnagar and father of Indian cricketer,Salim Durani. He made hisfirst-class debut playing for Pakistan against theMCC in November 1951. He made 26 in 165 minutes. His Test debut was in Pakistan's first ever Test match against India in October 1952, where he was the top scorer of Pakistan's first innings.[4]
The highest of Hanif's Test centuries was a famous 337 made against theWest Indies in a six-day test atBridgetown in 1957/58. It is still the highest score by a player in away Tests.[5] After Pakistan found itself following on from a first-innings deficit of 473 runs on the afternoon of the third day, Hanif spent more than sixteen hours at the crease compiling his runs, helping Pakistan to draw the game.[6] It remains the longest innings in Test history[7] (and stood as the longest in allfirst-class cricket for over 40 years[8]). It was the only Test match instance of a triple century in a team's second innings[9] until it was equaled by New Zealand cricketerBrendon McCullum against India in 2014.[10] Displays such as this earned him the nickname "Little Master".[11][2] Hanif Mohammad also has the world record for scoring the slowest test triple century in terms of minutes (858)[12] and the only player in test history to have spent over 970 minutes to score a test triple ton.[2] He also captainedPakistan in 11 Tests from 1964 to 1967 before retiring in 1969.
In 1958–59, he surpassedDon Bradman's record for the highest individual first-class innings. Hanif made 499 forKarachi in a match againstBahawalpur before being run out attempting his five hundredth run; this stood for more than 35 years before being passed byBrian Lara in 1994.[2] It was the first instance of a triple and quadruple century being scored in theQuaid-e-Azam Trophy.[13] In all he made 55 first-class centuries and finished with a strong first-class career average of 52.32. He could bowl with either arm, andkept wicket on a number of occasions. He is known to have played the slowest test innings when he scored 20 off 223 balls at a strike rate of 8.97.
Hanif's career lasted until 1975–76, but he never played in theEnglishCounty Championship, although he did have an outing for theNorthamptonshire Second XI in August 1965 whilst preparing for his appearance for a Rest of the World XI againstEngland at theScarborough Festival a few days later. Hanif was named as aWisden Cricketer of the Year in 1968 and in January 2009 he was named along with two other Pakistani players,Imran Khan andJaved Miandad, among the inaugural batch of 55 inductees into theICC's Hall of Fame.[2]
In one Test match against Australia, Hanif scored a century in the first innings. In the second, he was given out stumped byBarry Jarman off the bowling ofTom Veivers for 93. Hanif respected the umpire's decision. Later in a press conference Jarman admitted that Hanif was not out.[14]
In 1972, after retiring from international cricket, Hanif co-founded the magazineThe Cricketer Pakistan. He edited this magazine for two decades. He also served as the team manager forPakistan International Airlines (PIA).[2]
Hanif was one of the five Mohammad brothers, four of whom (Wazir,Mushtaq,Sadiq and Hanif himself) playedTest cricket forPakistan,[15] as did his sonShoaib. Another brotherRaees was once twelfth man for Pakistan, and four nephews had first-class careers. Hanif's grandson,Shehzar Mohammad, is also a Pakistanifirst-class cricketer. Hanif's mother Ameer Bee was a national badminton champion in pre-independence British India.[2]
Hanif Mohammad was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013. He had been undergoing treatment for lung cancer inKarachi'sAga Khan Hospital. He died on 11 August 2016 at age 81.[2]
In 2018, aGoogle Doodle was created to celebrate his 84th Birthday.[16] Hanif's triple-century against the West Indies team in 1957/58 made him a legend in the cricketing world. He was one of the original inductees into theICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[2]
The grade-II four-day competition has been renamed theHanif Mohammad Trophy by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in honor of one of the forefathers of Pakistan cricket's early years.
Hanif received thePride of Performance Award in 1959 by theGovernment of Pakistan[17]
TheMemon community of Karachi has built a park in his honor for representing the community called "Cutchi Memon Family Park and Little Master Hanif Mohammad Cricket Ground."[18]
In December 2016 thePakistan Cricket Board opened the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Sports Centre in Karachi, next to theNational Stadium.[19]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Pakistan Cricket Captain 1964–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Records | ||
| Preceded by | Highest individual score in first-class cricket 499Karachi v Bahawalpur at Karachi 1958–59 | Succeeded by |