Pakistan Combined Schools

Last updated

The Pakistan Combined Schools cricket team played one first-class match in the 1954-55 season, against the touring Indian Test team. It is the only occasion in the history of cricket when a schools team has been accorded first-class status.

First-class cricket is an official classification of the highest-standard international or domestic matches in the sport of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adjudged to be worthy of the status by virtue of the standard of the competing teams. Matches must allow for the teams to play two innings each although, in practice, a team might play only one innings or none at all.

The India national cricket team toured the Pakistan during the 1954–55 cricket season. They played five Test matches against the Pakistan cricket team, with the series drawn 0–0. It was the first Test series to be played in Pakistan.

Contents

The match

The match, played at the Karachi Gymkhana Ground from 22 to 24 February 1955, was the final match of the tour before the Fifth Test. The Indians batted first and declared on the second day at 352 for 5. Pakistan Combined Schools replied with 267 for 9 declared, of which the captain, Hanif Mohammad, scored 163. In the brief period remaining on the third and final day, the Indians made 36 for 2. [1]

Hanif Mohammad was a Pakistani cricketer. He played for the Pakistani cricket team in 55 Test matches between the 1952–53 season and the 1969–70 season. He averaged 43.98 scoring twelve centuries. At his peak, he was considered one of the best batsmen in the world despite playing at a time when Pakistan played very little Test cricket; Hanif played just 55 Test matches in a career spanning 17 years. In his obituary by ESPNcricinfo, he was honoured as the original Little Master, a title later assumed by Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. He was the first Pakistani to score a triple hundred in a Test match.

The team

Anwar Elahi was a Pakistani cricketer who played first-class cricket irregularly from 1953 to 1969.

Wallis Mathias was a Pakistani cricketer who played in 21 Tests from 1955 to 1962. A Catholic, he was the first non-Muslim cricketer to play for Pakistan.

Mohammad Munaf Iraqi-American terrorist

Mohammed Munaf is an Iraqi–American terrorist convicted in 2008 for his role in the March 2005 kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Iraq. He has been convicted of terrorism charges in Romania but has not yet been brought to Romania to serve his sentence, although Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, pledged in April 2011 to cooperate with his extradition to Romania. In addition to his conviction in Romania, he was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court in October 2006 for his involvement in the kidnapping of the Romanian journalists in 2005, but his conviction was vacated on technical grounds by the Iraqi Court of Cassation on February 29, 2008, and remanded to the lower court for retrial. His habeas corpus petition to prevent his transfer to the Iraqi government was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied certiorari; the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in Munaf v. Geren, which rejected Munaf's claims and ruled that his transfer to Iraqi custody was legally valid, was therefore allowed to stand.

Hanif Mohammad had already played all 13 of Pakistan's Test matches. Two other team members, Wallis Mathias and Mohammad Munaf, later played Test cricket. All of the team had subsequent first-class careers.

Test cricket the longest form of the sport of cricket; so called due to its long, grueling nature

Test cricket is the form of the sport of cricket with the longest duration, and is considered the game's highest standard. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined and conferred by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The term Test stems from the fact of the form's long, gruelling matches being both mentally and physically testing. Two teams of 11 players each play a four-innings match, which may last up to five days. It is generally considered the most complete examination of a team's endurance and ability.

Ahmed Mustafa, who was supposedly only 10 years old at the time of the match, later revealed that he was "actually about 15". [2] There may be other such discrepancies between players' supposed and actual ages.

Later match

Pakistan Combined Schools also played a two-day match in 1955-56 against the MCC. It too was drawn. Five of the team from the first match also played in this match. [3]

An English cricket team sponsored by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) visited Pakistan from December 1955 to February 1956 and played fourteen first-class matches including four against the Pakistan national cricket team.

Related Research Articles

Fazal Mahmood Pakistani cricketer

Fazal Mahmood, was a Pakistani cricketer. He played in 34 Test matches and took 139 wickets at a bowling average of 24.70. The first Pakistani to pass 100 wickets, he reached the landmark in his 22nd match.

Venkatappa Musandra Muddiahpronunciation (help·info) was an Indian cricketer who played in 2 Tests from 1959 to 1960.

Maqsood Ahmed Pakistani cricketer

Maqsood Ahmed was a Pakistani cricketer who played in 16 Tests from 1952 to 1955. He was educated at Islamia College, Lahore.

Duncan Albert Sharpe is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in three Tests in 1959–60. Sharpe is of Anglo-Indian heritage and was the third of the four Christians who have played Test cricket for Pakistan.

The Pakistan cricket team toured England in the 1962 season to play a five-match Test series against England. They also played a match in Ireland. The team is officially termed the Second Pakistanis as it was their second tour of England, following their inaugural tour in 1954. The Test series was the third between the two teams after those in England in 1954 and in Pakistan in 1961–62. Ted Dexter captained England in four Tests and Colin Cowdrey in one; Javed Burki captained Pakistan in all five Tests. England won the series 4–0 with one match drawn.

This article describes the history of cricket in Pakistan from 1947 to 1970.

The Pakistan national cricket team toured India in the winter of 1960–61. They played five Test matches against the India national cricket team, and also played against several local Indian squads.

The Pakistan national cricket team toured India in the 1952-53 season, playing five Tests. The First Test was the first-ever Test for Pakistan and the second match resulted in Pakistan's first Test victory. India won the series 2-1 with two Tests being drawn.

Raees Mohammad is a former first-class Pakistani cricketer who played in 30 first-class matches from 1948 to 1963. A right-handed batsman and a leg-spinner; he scored 1,344 runs with the help of two centuries, and took 33 wickets. He was one of the five Mohammad brothers, four of whom played Test cricket for Pakistan. Former Test cricketer Shoaib Mohammad is his nephew.

Between the 1954–55 and 1970–71 seasons, 13 first-class cricket teams from East Pakistan played in the Pakistan domestic cricket competitions, the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy and the Ayub Trophy. With the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, this participation ended. An East Pakistan Governor's XI also played a first-class match against the touring International XI in 1961-62.

Combined Services (Pakistan) cricket team were a first-class cricket team for members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. They competed in Pakistan's first-class tournaments between 1953-54 and 1978-79.

The Australian national cricket team visited Pakistan in November and December 1959 and played a three-match Test series against the Pakistani national cricket team. Australia won the Test series 2–0. Australia were captained by Richie Benaud and Pakistan by Fazal Mahmood.

The New Zealand national cricket team toured Pakistan in October to November 1955 and played a three-match Test series against the Pakistan national cricket team. It was the first Test series between the two teams. Pakistan won the Test series 2–0. New Zealand were captained by Harry Cave and Pakistan by Abdul Hafeez Kardar.

Ikram Elahi is a former Pakistani cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1953 to 1970. He toured England in 1954 and the West Indies in 1957-58 with the Pakistan team but did not play Test cricket.

Ahmed Mustafa was a Pakistani cricketer in the 1950s and 1960s who later became a prominent coach. At 10 years 352 days, Ahmed Mustafa was, officially at least, the youngest-ever first-class cricketer.

The Ceylon cricket team toured Pakistan in November 1966. Ceylon did not then have Test status, but three five-day unofficial Tests were played, Pakistan winning all three by large margins in only four days. The tour also included two other first-class matches before the unofficial Tests.

References

  1. ↑ "Pakistan Combined Schools v Indians 1954-55". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Wisden 2014, p. 191.
  3. ↑ "Pakistan Combined Schools v MCC 1955-56". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.