This father-son duo used to bat at the speed of a turtle and made two special records in Tests

New Delhi. Many father-son pairs have not only played in Test cricket but have also achieved success. Prominent among them are Lala Amarnath-Surinder Amarnath of India, Hanif Mohammad-Shoaib Mohammad and Nazar Mohammad-Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan. These pairs have special records in the oldest format of cricket. Lala Amarnath and Surinder Amarnath scored a century in their debut Test while Hanif-Shoaib have the distinction of being the first father-son pair to score a double century in Test cricket. Nazar Mohammad and Mudassar Nazar have the record of carrying their bat and opening the innings in Tests. Not only this, this father-son pair has opened the innings in batting and bowling in Tests.

Another special reason for which Nazar and his/her son Mudassar were in the news was their snail’s pace batting. Although five-day cricket is called a test of patience. In this, the batsman takes the innings forward after getting set, but both Nazar and Mudassar used to bat at such a slow pace that many times the spectators who came to the ground to watch the match would get bored. Father Nazar played cricket in that era when scorers generally did not count the balls played by the batsman and only the minutes spent on the wicket and the total overs played were counted. Nazar Mohammad scored 277 runs in his/her short career of 5 tests, which included a highest score of 124 not out. he/she played this innings against India in Lucknow in October 1952. Son Mudassar’s top score (231 runs) is also against India, which he/she made in Hyderabad, Pakistan in 1983.

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Mudassar scored 114 runs in 449 balls in 1977
Mudassar holds the record for the slowest century in terms of minutes in Test cricket. he/she spent 591 minutes on the wicket against England in Lahore in December 1977 and scored 114 runs (strike rate 25.38) playing 449 balls. In his/her Test career which lasted from 1976 to 1989, Mudassar scored 4114 runs in 76 matches with the help of 10 centuries, during 6 of these 10 centuries his/her strike rate was below 50. It is true that as an opener Mudassar had the responsibility of giving a good start to the team by ‘bending his/her shoulders’ but even after setting his/her sights on the wicket, he/she used to maintain the same style.

A real all-rounder, he/she played cricket and tennis for the country, his/her son is also in the national team

Some other lazy innings of Mudassar in Test cricket
66 runs from 232 balls (against England, Hyderabad 1978, strike rate 28.44)
49 runs from 190 balls (against Australia, Lahore 1988, strike rate 25.78)
38 runs off 139 balls (against New Zealand, Wellington 1985, strike rate 27.33)
31 runs off 116 balls (against England, Leeds 1978, strike rate 26.72)
30 runs from 112 balls (against England, Birmingham 1978, strike rate 26.78)
27 runs from 133 balls (against England, Hyderabad 1978, strike rate 20.30)
10 runs off 47 balls (against England, Birmingham 1987, strike rate 21.27)

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Father Nazar had scored 124* in 515 minutes

Like Mudassar, his/her father Nazar Mohammad was also ‘famous’ for slow batting. In the second innings of the Lucknow Test against India in October 1952, Pakistan scored 331 runs in 194.3 overs (run rate 1.70), in which Nazar Mohammad remained on the wicket for 515 minutes during his/her unbeaten innings of 124 runs. At the time when Nazar played cricket, the number of balls played by a batsman in Test cricket was not recorded, but according to the calculations done later, he/she faced 520 balls in this century innings. In terms of overs, this innings of Nazar Mohammad is counted among the slowest innings in Test cricket.

Saw Lara score 501 and Hanif Mohammad score 499, born in India but played for England

Both remained unbeaten after opening
Both father Nazar Mohammad and son Mudassar Nazar have the record of opening the innings and remaining unbeaten. Nazar opened the innings in the 1952 Lucknow Test against India and remained unbeaten on 124 runs. 31 years later, son Mudassar repeated this feat in the Lahore Test against India. In this Test, Mudassar opened the innings with Mohsin Khan and returned to the pavilion unbeaten on 152 runs after Pakistan’s innings folded in 103.5 overs.

Played only one Test and one ODI, neither took wickets nor scored runs, garnered attention for wrong reasons

Started both the innings in batting and bowling
Nazar Mohammad opened both the batting and bowling for Pakistan in the 1952 Test match against India at Eden Gardens. Like his/her father, Mudassar also opened the batting and bowling for Pakistan in 9 Tests, including 4 against New Zealand and 3 against Australia.

tag: pakistan cricket, pakistan cricket team, Test cricket