Hanif Mohammad was Pakistan’s first great batsman, and a player blessed with remarkable powers of concentration. His Wisden obituary in 2017 told the story of a remarkable career.
Hanif Mohammad died on August 11, 2016, aged 81.
Hanif Mohammad was only 16 when he walked out to bat in the first unofficial Test between Pakistan and MCC at Lahore in November 1951. It was his first-class debut, and a match of overwhelming significance for his country. He stood 5ft 3in and weighed barely nine stone. “He looked about 12,” said Brian Statham. But, as the day progressed, sympathy evaporated: Hanif made 26 in 165 minutes. “We never looked like shifting him.”
The MCC attack were the first to experience what bowlers around the world would discover over the next two decades: bowling to Hanif was the most thankless job in cricket. In the next game, he batted more than four hours for 64, as Pakistan chased down 288. It was an innings of incalculable value: eight months later, they were granted Test status.
Having dug Pakistani cricket’s foundations, Hanif set about erecting its walls. With Abdul Hafeez Kardar as captain and Fazal Mahmood as strike bowler, he was part of a formidable triumvirate who carried the emerging nation’s hopes. Despite his stature, Hanif shouldered the responsibility – time after time constructing monumental innings of concentration, courage and exemplary defence. “He lacked a sense of cricket as a sport, let alone entertainment,” wrote Peter Oborne in Wounded Tiger, a history of Pakistan cricket. “For Hanif it was a solemn duty, indeed a vocation, whose fundamental purpose was to ensure that his country was not defeated.”
He worked for Pakistan International Airlines, managing their team to three successive Wills Cup wins in the 1980s, ran the PIA colts scheme with his trademark zeal, and oversaw the early development of several future Test players. He was also a selector. His death marked the end of an era, and sparked an inevitable discussion about whether he ranked above Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Younis Khan as Pakistan’s greatest batsman. “I have no doubt he was,” said Asif. “He played in an era when Pakistan were one of the weakest sides, and had a huge responsibility. If you look at all the people who have scored Test triple-centuries, very few did so in conditions alien to them, against strong bowling attacks and without the benefit of protective clothing.” Sadiq put it more succinctly: “Whenever he went in to bat, the country was glad he was there.”
