Wazir Mohammad, who passed away on October 13, aged 95, near Birmingham in England, was the lone survivor of the Pakistan team that toured India in 1952, when the country played its first Test match.

He was the eldest of the five ‘Mohammad brothers’ — Wazir, Raees, Hanif, Mushtaq and Sadiq — four of whom played Test cricket.

Born in Junagadh in undivided India, Wazir played for his school team, the Mohabat Madrassah. In 1947, like many Muslim families, the Mohammads too migrated to Pakistan and settled in Karachi.

Wazir then joined the Pak Mughal Cricket Club. They had nets at Jahangir Park, where around 12 clubs practised daily. During that period, all Test cricketers of Karachi were products of Jahangir Park.

The eldest of the famous five cricketer ‘Mohammad brothers’, Wazir Mohammad, passed away last week. Pakistan’s memorable Test wins of the early days have a lot to do with him

In the early 1950s, the wealthy Bahawalpur state attracted the country’s top talent. It was for Bahawalpur that Wazir first came into prominence. In 1951, against the MCC (as the touring England national teams were called then), he scored 77 for the Bahawalpur XI. This led to his selection for the unofficial Test between Pakistan and MCC.

The following year, Pakistan was awarded the Test status and played its first Test series in India. Overlooked for the first two Tests, Wazir scored a match-saving 104 not out in the tour game versus West Zone and subsequently played in the third Test. It was an inauspicious debut; he scored eight and four in the two innings.

The 1954 tour of England was a watershed in Pakistan’s cricket history. By winning the fourth Test at Oval, Pakistan not only squared the series but also became the first country to win a Test match in its maiden visit to the ‘Mother Country.’

Wazir played a stellar role in that victory, which has since become a part of Pakistan’s sporting folklore. In the low-scoring game, Wazir’s unbeaten 42 in the second innings was Pakistan’s highest in the match. Pakistan were 82 for eight. In partnerships with the number 10 and number 11 batsmen, he doubled the score to 164. Pakistan’s winning margin was just 24 runs. Hence, the importance of his contribution.

Wazir mentioned something more about it to me during an interview: “During my 42 at The Oval, early in the innings, a yorker from Brian Statham hit my toe. It hurt a little, but I created quite a scene and pretended to be in great pain. A physiotherapist came on to the ground. When I was again on my feet, I overheard the England wicketkeeper, Evans, suggest to his captain, Hutton, ‘It will not be easy for him to move the leg, so better bowl yorkers to him.’ Statham and other fast bowlers did so. That made it easier for me. The rain had badly affected the uncovered wicket. Even good-length balls were popping up dangerously. Yorkers were easier to play. I continued pretending by repeatedly holding my foot. It all helped me settle down and score.”

His Test record of 801 runs at an average of 27.62 in 20 Tests might not be impressive. But Pakistan’s memorable Test wins of the early days have a lot to do with Wazir.

In Pakistan’s first-ever Test against Australia in 1956, Wazir joined skipper A.H. Kardar when Pakistan was reeling at 70 for 5. He scored 67. Their partnership of 104 in a total of 199 was the highest of the match and played a pivotal role in Pakistan’s victory.

Next, in the West Indies in 1957-58, his tremendous knock of 189 not out in the fifth Test was the only century of the match. Pakistan had its maiden Test win against the West Indies. Thus, Wazir played a stellar role in each of Pakistan’s first Test successes against England, Australia and the West Indies, the three biggest cricketing powers of the day.

The 1957-58 tour of the West Indies was Wazir’s finest, with Test scores of 189 not out, 106 and 97 not out against some of the fastest bowlers of the time and the legendary off-spinner Lance Gibbs. However, brother Hanif’s epic innings of 337 in the first Test — the second-highest individual Test score at the time and also the longest innings in first-class cricket (970 minutes), overshadowed his achievements.

Wazir often felt that he lived under his legendary brother’s shadow: “Hanif was counted among the best contemporary batsmen of the world right from his early Test days. I was often introduced as his elder brother, even during my playing days.”

However, he always took pride in sharing a century partnership with Hanif during each of his two world record innings: 337 in Pakistan vs West Indies (1957-58) and 499 in Karachi vs Bahawalpur (1958-59). The latter remained the highest individual score in first-class cricket until Brian Lara bettered it in 1994.

In 1959, Wazir played against the visiting Australians. He was surprisingly dropped from the squad for the next Test tour to India in 1960-61. His younger brother Mushtaq Mohammad told me in an interview: “There were too many Mohammad brothers to fit in the Pakistan team. In Pakistan’s initial years of Test cricket, the Number 2 brother, Raees, could not win a Test cap — he was the 12th man once — as Wazir and Hanif were regulars. I made my first tour of India, in 1960-61. Wazir also merited a place. But with Hanif and me already in, he was not selected.”

Wazir also mentored his younger siblings. The youngest, Sadiq, wasn’t a natural left-hander. Wazir persuaded him to bat left-handed as the Pakistan team lacked a sound left-hand batsman at the time. Sadiq stood a good chance to excel in domestic cricket, as the Pakistani bowlers were not used to bowling to lefties. At times, Sadiq’s right hand was tied during practice by Wazir to get him accustomed to using his left hand. Sadiq played Test cricket from 1969 to 1981.

Later on, Wazir served Pakistan cricket in different capacities. He had retired from first-class cricket in 1963. The year before, Pakistan had its most disastrous Test series, losing 0-4 in England. On the cricket board’s request, he agreed to captain a young Pakistan Eaglets to England. The Eaglets faced strong county sides in 1963. Many represented Pakistan later for an extended period. They included Intikhab Alam, Mushtaq Mohammad, Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal, Sadiq Mohammad and Pervez Sajjad. Aside from Intikhab and Mushtaq, it was the maiden international tour for the others.

Wazir also served for multiple terms on the national selection committee, including stints as the chief selector.

A student of cricket in every respect, Wazir was an encyclopaedia of laws and records. As related to me by Wazir, in the Kingston Test of 1957-58, when Sir Garfield Sobers made the record score of 365, the crowd stormed the ground, resulting in creating a crater on the pitch. The West Indian captain immediately declared. Thus, Pakistan had an awkward 90 minutes to bat that day. Wazir advised his captain, Kardar, to tell the umpires that, according to the laws, the wicket was unsuitable for batting since the wear and tear was not due to natural reasons. The umpires disagreed initially, but relented after consulting the rule book.

His knowledge played a part in creating a world record, too. Wazir was captaining Karachi when Hanif scored 499, surpassing Don Bradman’s record highest first-class score (452). He was unaware of the milestone. Nearing his triple century, Hanif’s concentration wavered. Wazir told his brother about the impending landmark and said “You have been dominating the bowling. The record is very much achievable.” And Hanif regained his focus.

Cricket didn’t pay much in those days. Wazir worked as a banker, first in Pakistan and then in England, where he settled near Birmingham, not far from his brother Mushtaq’s place.

Wazir Mohammad’s place will always be engraved in Pakistan cricket’s history for his immense contributions in the newly independent country’s memorable victories that established Pakistan on the world cricket stage.

The writer is a freelance sports journalist based in Lahore. He can be contacted on ijaz62@hotmail.com.
X: @IjazChaudhry1

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 19th, 2025