Waqar Hasan Explained

Waqar Hasan
وقارحسن
Fullname:Waqar Hasan Mir
Birth Date:12 September 1932
Birth Place:Amritsar, Punjab, British India
Death Place:Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Family:
Pervez Sajjad (brother)
Sultana (mother-in-law)
Batting:Right-handed
Bowling:Right-arm
International:true
Internationalspan:1952–1959
Country:Pakistan
Testdebutagainst:India
Testcap:11
Testdebutdate:16 October
Testdebutyear:1952
Lasttestdate:21 November
Lasttestagainst:Australia
Lasttestyear:1959
Columns:2
Column1:Test
Matches1:21
Runs1:1,071
Bat Avg1:31.50
100S/50S1:1/6
Top Score1:189
Deliveries1:6
Wickets1:0
Bowl Avg1:
Fivefor1:
Tenfor1:
Best Bowling1:
Catches/Stumpings1:10/–
Column2:First-class
Matches2:99
Runs2:4,741
Bat Avg2:35.64
100S/50S2:8/27
Top Score2:201
Deliveries2:294
Wickets2:2
Bowl Avg2:86.00
Fivefor2:0
Tenfor2:0
Best Bowling2:1/9
Catches/Stumpings2:47/–
Source:http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/43541.html Cricinfo
Date:10 February 2020

Waqar Hasan Mir (Urdu: وقارحسن; 12 September 1932 – 10 February 2020) was a Pakistani cricketer who played in 21 Test matches from 1952 to 1959, and the last surviving member of Pakistan's inaugural Test team.[1] He scored 1,071 runs in Test cricket, and played in 99 first-class matches.[2]

Cricket career

Waqar Hasan attended Government College, Lahore, where he played for the cricket team. He toured England with the Pakistan Eaglets team of young cricketers in 1951.An "attractive stroke-making right-handed batsman, who was ideal in a crisis",[3] he played in Pakistan's first 18 Tests, including its first five victories. In Pakistan's first Test series, against India in 1952–53, he was the highest scorer on either side, with 357 runs at an average of 44.62, playing several defiant innings when Pakistan were in trouble.[4] He was less successful on the 1954 tour of England, with 103 runs at 14.71, but impressed with his fielding in the covers.[5]

He scored his only Test century against New Zealand in 1955–56 at Lahore, when he made 189 in 430 minutes, adding 309 for the seventh wicket with Imtiaz Ahmed to rescue Pakistan after they had slumped to 111 for 6.[6] His 189 set a new record for Pakistan's highest Test score which lasted only until Ahmed (who made 209) overtook it the next day.[7] Hasan played five more Tests without reaching 50.[8] He played first-class cricket in Pakistan from 1949 to 1966, with a highest score of 201 not out for L. W. Cannon's XI against Hasan Mahmood's XI in 1953–54.[9] He captained Karachi Blues to victory in the final of the 1963–64 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy[10] and in his last first-class match he again captained them to victory in the 1964–65 competition.[11]

He served as a national selector several times from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was the chief selector when Pakistan beat India 3–0 at home in 1982–83.

Personal life

Waqar Hasan's family was of Kashmiri descent.[12] He married Jamila Razzaq, the daughter of actress Sultana Razzaq, one of the earliest film actresses from India. Jamila is also the granddaughter of India's first female film director, Fatma Begum,[13] and the niece of Zubeida (the leading actress of India's first talkie film, Alam Ara), who was the younger sister of her mother Sultana.[14]

In 1954 Waqar moved from Lahore to work for the Pakistan Public Works Department in Karachi as a cinema inspector. In the early 1960s he went into business.[15] In 1970, with his partner Abdul Majeed, he took over National Laboratories, a food testing facility, and turned it into the spice-manufacturing company National Foods Limited.[16] [17] In 2002, with the assistance of the cricket journalist Qamar Ahmed, he wrote For Cricket and Country: An Autobiography.[18]

Waqar died aged 87 on 10 February 2020 after suffering from illness for some years. The Pakistan Cricket Board expressed their sorrow, their chairman Ehsan Mani describing Waqar, as "not only an outstanding cricketer but a thorough gentleman who set very high standards".[19]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Waqar Hasan, last link to Pakistan's inaugural Test XI, dies at 87 . ESPN Cricinfo . 10 February 2020.
  2. Web site: Waqar Hasan, last-surviving member of Pakistan's maiden Test XI, passes away at 87 . International Cricket Council . 11 February 2020.
  3. [Christopher Martin-Jenkins]
  4. Wisden 1953, pp. 872–83.
  5. Wisden 1955, pp. 215–19.
  6. Web site: Pakistan v New Zealand, Lahore 1955–56. CricketArchive. 26 August 2015.
  7. [Don Neely]
  8. Web site: Waqar Hasan, Test batting by season. CricketArchive. 26 August 2015.
  9. Web site: Hasan Mahmood's XI v L. W. Cannon's XI, 1953–54. CricketArchive. 26 August 2015.
  10. Web site: Karachi Blues v Karachi Whites, 1963–64. CricketArchive. 26 August 2015.
  11. Web site: Karachi Blues v Lahore Greens, 1964–65. CricketArchive. 26 August 2015.
  12. Web site: Waqar Hasan – A pioneer with a touch of class. Salim Parvez Monday 17. February 2020. Cricket World.
  13. Web site: Sultana-actress . IMDb.com . 13 September 2012 .
  14. Web site: sultana . Cineplot.com . 13 September 2012 .
  15. Web site: Chaudhry. Ijaz. Pakistan's first tour of India was my most memorable. Cricinfo. 26 August 2015.
  16. Web site: 14 June 2008. Spicing up Seth’s business . The News . 10 February 2020.
  17. Web site: Rating report: National Foods Limited . The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited . 14 November 2023.
  18. [Peter Oborne]
  19. Web site: PCB mourns the passing of Waqar Hasan, the last surviving member of the first Test squad . Pakistan Cricket Board . 11 February 2020.