Mushtaq Mohammad
Encyclopedia
Mushtaq Mohammad (born November 22, 1943, in Junagadh
- now in Gujarat, India
) is a former Pakistani cricket
er who played in 57 Tests
and 10 ODIs from 1959 to 1979. A right-handed batsman and a leg-spinner, he is one of the most successful Pakistani all-rounder
s and went on to captain his country in nineteen Test matches. He was one of the five Mohammad brothers, four of whom played cricket for Pakistan. Mushtaq recently coached the United States national cricket team, but has returned to commentary for Pakistani Television.
in county cricket
from 1966 to 1977, scoring more than 1,000 runs in every season. In both 1967 and 1971 he stayed with the county during Pakistan tours of England, playing for the touring side only in Test matches and a few other fixtures.
Mushtaq captained Northamptonshire between 1975 and 1977, and in 1976 led the side to victory in the Gillette Cup, the county's first-ever trophy, and to second place in the County Championship
, equalling its best-ever position. But his captaincy ended in some controversy. According to Wisden
1978 edition, Mushtaq resigned, claiming that his future had not been made clear and that there were rumours – which turned out to be true – that former captain Jim Watts was to be reappointed for 1978. Mushtaq had in any case signed for the Packer venture in Australia, but there were harsh words from the county's chairman about dressing room politics and Mushtaq did not play for Northants again.
He scored 72 hundreds in a 502 game first class career. He was the first Pakistani to score 25,000 first class runs, ending up with 31,091, more than half of them for Northamptonshire. His record included a highest score of 303 not out. As a wrist-spinner, he bowled the legbreak, googly and flipper.
and Hanif
into Test cricket. At 15 years and 124 days, he was the youngest person to play Test cricket at the time, though some doubt exists as to his exact age. He scored only 18 runs in the match as Pakistan were defeated by an innings and 156 runs. The first of his ten Test hundreds would come in his 6th Test, 101 against India in Feroz Shah Kotla
. He is believed to have been just 17 and 78 days old at the time of the innings which became a record. The record stood for over 40 years until it was bettered by Mohammad Ashraful
. His next century came against England in 1962 and he would have to wait another 9 years until his next.
In 1970 he played for the Rest of the World
against England in the series that was later stripped of its Test status. Early in 1973, he scored 121 against Australia
at Sydney
and 201 against New Zealand
in his next match a month later. In the latter game, he became the only cricketer other than Denis Atkinson
to score a double century
and take five wickets in a Test match. He finished the year with 777 runs @ 86.33.
He captained Pakistan in 19 Test matches from 1976-77 to 1978-79. During this time, he scored 121 & 56 and took eight wickets against West Indies
at Port of Spain
in 1976-77 to inflict a rare home defeat on West Indies. He led Pakistan to a 2-0 win over India
when the two countries played their first series against each other in eighteen years in 1978-79.
Mushtaq is regarded as one of the first cricketers to use the reverse-sweep. He joined Kerry Packer
's World Series Cricket
in the late seventies. He went on to become coach of Pakistan and led the side which reached the final of the 1999 World Cup.
Junagadh
Junagadh is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is the 7th largest in Gujarat. The city is located at the foot of the Girnar hills, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The city is in western India. Literally translated,...
- now in Gujarat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) is a former Pakistani cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played in 57 Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and 10 ODIs from 1959 to 1979. A right-handed batsman and a leg-spinner, he is one of the most successful Pakistani all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
s and went on to captain his country in nineteen Test matches. He was one of the five Mohammad brothers, four of whom played cricket for Pakistan. Mushtaq recently coached the United States national cricket team, but has returned to commentary for Pakistani Television.
First Class
Mushtaq began his first class career at the age of 13 years and 41 days, scoring 87 and taking 5 for 28 on debut. He played for Karachi and Pakistan International Airlines at home and went on to represent NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
in county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
from 1966 to 1977, scoring more than 1,000 runs in every season. In both 1967 and 1971 he stayed with the county during Pakistan tours of England, playing for the touring side only in Test matches and a few other fixtures.
Mushtaq captained Northamptonshire between 1975 and 1977, and in 1976 led the side to victory in the Gillette Cup, the county's first-ever trophy, and to second place in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
, equalling its best-ever position. But his captaincy ended in some controversy. According to Wisden
Wisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
1978 edition, Mushtaq resigned, claiming that his future had not been made clear and that there were rumours – which turned out to be true – that former captain Jim Watts was to be reappointed for 1978. Mushtaq had in any case signed for the Packer venture in Australia, but there were harsh words from the county's chairman about dressing room politics and Mushtaq did not play for Northants again.
He scored 72 hundreds in a 502 game first class career. He was the first Pakistani to score 25,000 first class runs, ending up with 31,091, more than half of them for Northamptonshire. His record included a highest score of 303 not out. As a wrist-spinner, he bowled the legbreak, googly and flipper.
Test Cricket
On March 26, 1959 against West Indies at Lahore, Mushtaq succeeded his elder brothers WazirWazir Mohammad
Wazir Mohammad is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 20 Tests from 1952 to 1959....
and Hanif
Hanif Mohammad
Hanif Mohammad is a former Pakistan cricketer. He played for the Pakistani cricket team in 55 Test matches between 1952/53 and 1969/70 and averaged 43.98, with twelve hundreds....
into Test cricket. At 15 years and 124 days, he was the youngest person to play Test cricket at the time, though some doubt exists as to his exact age. He scored only 18 runs in the match as Pakistan were defeated by an innings and 156 runs. The first of his ten Test hundreds would come in his 6th Test, 101 against India in Feroz Shah Kotla
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C...
. He is believed to have been just 17 and 78 days old at the time of the innings which became a record. The record stood for over 40 years until it was bettered by Mohammad Ashraful
Mohammad Ashraful
Mohammad Ashraful is a Bangladeshi international cricket player and has represented the Bangladesh national cricket team. A top-order batsman with a penchant for flashy strokeplay, he has also been selected to represent ACC Asia XI ODI side...
. His next century came against England in 1962 and he would have to wait another 9 years until his next.
In 1970 he played for the Rest of the World
Rest of the World cricket team in England in 1970
A Rest of the World cricket team was assembled to play five-day cricket matches against the full England team in 1970 after the cancellation of the scheduled tour by the South African cricket team. At the time the matches were deemed to be Test matches, but that was later revoked.-The background to...
against England in the series that was later stripped of its Test status. Early in 1973, he scored 121 against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
and 201 against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
in his next match a month later. In the latter game, he became the only cricketer other than Denis Atkinson
Denis Atkinson
Denis St Eval Atkinson was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches as an all-rounder, hitting 922 runs and taking 47 wickets. He also played first-class cricket for Barbados and Trinidad...
to score a double century
Century
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
and take five wickets in a Test match. He finished the year with 777 runs @ 86.33.
He captained Pakistan in 19 Test matches from 1976-77 to 1978-79. During this time, he scored 121 & 56 and took eight wickets against West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
at Port of Spain
Queen's Park Oval
Queen's Park Oval, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, is currently the largest capacity cricket ground in the West Indies and has hosted more Test matches than any other ground in the Caribbean. It also hosted a number of matches in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. It is privately owned by the...
in 1976-77 to inflict a rare home defeat on West Indies. He led Pakistan to a 2-0 win over India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
when the two countries played their first series against each other in eighteen years in 1978-79.
Mushtaq is regarded as one of the first cricketers to use the reverse-sweep. He joined Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
's World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
in the late seventies. He went on to become coach of Pakistan and led the side which reached the final of the 1999 World Cup.