Wazir Mohammad … Pakistan’s longest lived Test cricketer | Sports

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Wazir Muhammad was the eldest of five Muhammad brothers, and the elder statesman of Pakistan’s – and arguably the world’s – most talented cricketing family. Eleven members of this family, across three generations, have played first-class cricket while five have represented Pakistan in Test matches. They hold the unique distinction of being the only family whose members have collectively scored more than 100,000 runs, taken more than 1000 wickets and taken more than 1000 catches in first-class cricket.

Wazir was born on 22 December 1929 in Junagadh and came from a remote background. His father was a manager of a salt factory who also owned a petrol station and a motel called the Green Rest House. Both parents of the minister were keen on sports. His mother excelled in badminton and carrom while his father played club cricket for local teams.

The two elder brothers, Wazir and Rais, both played competitive school cricket in Junagadh for the Mohabat Madrasah school team. Their house was located in front of the school and a ball was hung from a tree for the school team members to practice on. Wazir learned early in his life that only when you hit the ball with a straight bat, and through the middle of it, will it come back to you. This lesson on the importance of a straight bat stood him in good stead throughout his life.

The family migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and settled in Karachi where they initially faced great hardships. The father soon moved away and both Wazir and Raiz had to take up jobs to keep the household financially afloat. As for cricket, both Wazir and Rice joined the city’s famous Pak Mughal Club. The club held daily net practice at Jehangir Park where the brothers honed their skills and soon began to make an impression.

Wazir made his first-class debut in 1950 against the visiting Ceylonese (Sri Lanka) team, playing for Karachi/Sindh. His second first-class match also marked his debut for the Pakistan national team, when he represented them against the visiting MCC side in an unofficial Test at Lahore in 1951. His next first-class match was against the same opposition and playing for the combined Karachi/Bahawalpur team in which he scored his first fifty in first-class cricket.

These performances resulted in Wazir’s selection for the Pakistan team on the inaugural tour of India in 1952–53. A maiden first-class century against West Zone earned him a team berth in the third Test where he made little of the mark. He admitted many years later that the pressure of an unused, big-match opportunity to play in front of big crowds got to him. He found it difficult to read Minkid’s delivery unless they were already standing, and was left with little reaction time.

Wazir was in the Bahawalpur side that won the inaugural Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in 1953-54 and was selected for Pakistan’s 1954 tour of England. He played in the last two Tests of the series and made his mark in the final Test at the Oval.

In a low-scoring match, Pakistan were bowled out for just 133 in the first innings to which England replied with just 130, as Fazl took 6 for 53. In their second innings, Pakistan were 73 for 6 when Wazir came to the crease. They soon lost two wickets in a precarious 82 for 82, as Wazir Zolfar was involved, a tail-ender who could be quite easy with the bat.

Over the next 90 minutes the pair faced the best England could throw at them. Those were the days of bare pitches and the rain-affected wicket misbehaved with uneven bounce. A scandal from the minister helped him. A yorker from Statham hit him on the toe. The minister pretended it was more painful than it really was. A physiotherapist was called to the ground and kept playing for a few minutes while he attended to the batsman. When play resumed, English wicketkeeper Godfrey Evans shouted to Statham that the Minister’s foot was badly injured and he would not be able to move his feet well, so continue to bowl him. This was what the minister wanted because it was more difficult to face undersupply due to the erratic behavior of the playing surface. After each delivery he would deliberately hop around it and grunt as if in pain. The bowlers continued to bowl the full length and Wazir made the most of it.

Zulfar played strokes with Aban while Wazir relied on singles. A priceless partnership of 58 took the score to 140, before Zulfiqar fell for 34. When last man Mehmood Hussain joined him, Wazir went into the attack, and he scored 18 of the last 24 runs, including four boundaries. When Pakistan’s innings closed on 164, Wazir scored 42 runs in nearly three hours of resolute batting. This effort would ultimately prove to be the match-winning partnership.

England managed just 143 in reply, making Pakistan worthy winners by 24 runs. Fazal took 6 more wickets for the 12-over match and has been hailed as the hero of this famous Pakistani victory. However, the truth is that Wazir was an equal architect of that victory, as without his inflexibility Pakistan would have been dismissed for a thrilling score that England would have comfortably backed away from.

In the 1954-55 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Wazir reached some new landmarks. He became the first batsman to score a century for Karachi in the history of the tournament, when he made 122 not out against Railways, and in the final of the championship, where Karachi combined services, Wazir, Rice and Hanif beat Karachi in their first innings with centuries. It marked the first time three brothers scored centuries in the same innings of a first-class match.

In 1956, Australia toured Pakistan for a Test. A mere 80 runs were scored in their first innings in a low-scoring match at the National Stadium, Karachi, Australia. Pakistan did no better and lost their half for 70. At this stage, Kardar and Wazir combined for an innings saving stand of 104 runs. Kardar adopted an attacking role, while Vizier defended Doorly. In an agonizingly slow-moving match, Wazir Kardar’s contribution provided the most refreshing period of the game. Wazir scored 67 runs and his score of 189 was the eighth wicket to come. Pakistan were eventually all out for 199, taking a match-winning lead of 119. Australia managed just 187 in their second outing and Pakistan reached the target of 69 for the loss of just one wicket. Fazal has been hailed as the hero of Pakistan’s Test victory with 13 wickets in the match, but Wazir’s contribution was also crucial to the team’s success.

Wazir was instrumental in two of Pakistan’s famous victories against what was now the bane of world cricket, showing his excellent temperament and tremendous mental strength in extreme endeavors.

He toured the West Indies with the Pakistan team in 1957-58 and his batting flourished on the hard, bouncy tracks of the Caribbean. He opened with a century in the opening warm-up match against Barbados, and followed it up in the opening Test with a 119-run stand for the fourth wicket with Hanif, who scored 337 in Pakistan’s famous River Guard action, as they recovered from a first-innings deficit of 475 to post a match-saving 657 for 8 in their second innings.

His good form continued in the side’s games but just before the start of the second Test in Trinidad, Wazir suffered a severe allergic reaction that left him both breathless and speechless. He spent most of his time in hospital, only coming out to bat and getting the only double of his career.

However, he more than redeemed himself in the remaining Tests. 97 not out in the fourth Test in Guyana after a century in the third Test in Jamaica. He also had another century in a side match before returning to Trinidad for the final Test. There was no allergic attack this time and Fit Wazir scored with a brilliant knock of 189 as Pakistan won by an innings and a run. Wazir once again played a part in Pakistan’s victory over a major Test cricketing powerhouse.

Wazir had 440 runs for the Test series, while Hanif scored a total of 628 runs. This is the only time in the history of cricket that two brothers have scored more than 1000 runs between them in a Test series.

The West Indies tour was the peak of Wazir’s Test career. He retired from Test cricket in 1959 and scored 801 runs at an average of 27.62 from 20 Tests, doing little justice to his critical approach and contribution to one of the most important achievements in Pakistan’s early Test cricket history.

He was nicknamed “Wisden” by his teammates because of his mastery of the rules of the game. He recalled that in the West Indies series of 1957-58, when Sober scored a record 365 not out in Jamaica, many spectators descended on the field, and ambushed the wicket a bit. The West Indies announced but the minister advised Kardar not to send the Pakistani openers as the rules of cricket state that if the wear and tear in the pitch is not due to natural causes, it will not be considered fit for batting. The umpires initially disagreed, but on reading the rule book realized that the minister was right. Pakistan were thus spared a potentially dangerous 90 minutes of batting while the wicket was repaired for the next day’s play.

Wazir’s knowledge of records played a key role in another feat that has become an integral part of Pakistan’s cricketing heritage. In January 1959, Karachi, led by Wazir, were playing Bahawalpur in the semi-finals of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the Karachi Parsi Institute ground. At the end of the second day’s play, Karachi scored 383 after dismissing Bahawalpur cheaply on the opening day, with Hanif making an unbeaten 255. Hanif recalled that he was physically exhausted from the effort but came to him later that evening and told him that he was eyeing Don Bradman’s record for the highest innings in first-class cricket. The minister informed him that the record was 452, and urged Hanif along with his mother to go for it. That night he arranged a body massage with olive oil for Hanif and left instructions for proper rest and diet the next day, which was an official rest day at the match. On the third day of play, a motivated and rejuvenated Hanif comfortably surpassed Bradman’s tally and set a new world record for the most individual innings in first-class cricket before 499 runs out.

After his retirement, Wazir contributed to the development of cricket in Pakistan. He led a successful Pakistan Eaglets side on the tour of England in 1963. The team had 14 future Test players and 4 future Test captains – Antikhab Alam, Dhirwat Mohammad, Majid Khan and Asif Iqbal. Wasir is also credited with spotting Wasim Bari and recommending it to the Karachi cricket authorities.

The minister’s professional career as a banker eventually took him to Britain, where he settled in the leafy suburbs of Solhull. His only child, Waqar Muhammad, also took up cricket and represented Warwickshire under-15s. A short career with local clubs and some minor counties followed. Wazir evidently remained active even in his old age and his brother Sadiq remembers that “Wazirbhai continued to play badminton till he was 89 years old.”

The minister died on 13 October 2025 at the age of 95 years and 295 days. His longevity earned him the distinction of Pakistan’s longest-living Test cricketer, but he deserves to be remembered for more than just a lifetime. He also earned recognition as one of the key players who helped establish Pakistan firmly on the world Test cricketing map.

Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.

salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com