Wazir Mohammad
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| Born | 22 December 1929 Junagadh, Junagadh State, British Raj | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 13 October 2025 (aged 95) Birmingham, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 14) | 13 November 1952 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 13 November 1959 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 16 October 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wazir Mohammad (Urdu: وزیر محمد; 22 December 1929 – 13 October 2025) was a Pakistani cricketer and banker who played in 20 Test matches for the Pakistan national cricket team between 1952 and 1959.[1][2]
Biography
Wazir was born in Junagadh. His family moved to Karachi after the formation of Pakistan in 1947.[3]
He was a determined middle-order batsman with a strong defence.[4] His highest Test score was 189, in the fifth Test against the West Indies at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain in 1957–58, when he batted for six and three-quarter hours and laid the foundation for Pakistan's innings victory.[5][6] He was Pakistan's top-scorer with 42 not out when they won by 24 runs against England at The Oval in 1954.[7]
Wazir's first-class career extended from 1950 to 1964, when he captained Karachi Whites to a narrow defeat in the final of the 1963–64 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.[8] He captained the Pakistan Eaglets team of young players on their tour of England in 1963; 14 of the 18 players on the tour became Test cricketers, and four became Test captains.[2] Wazir was affectionately known as 'Wisden' for his encyclopaedic knowledge of cricket stats and trivia.[9]
Wazir worked as a banker, mostly with the National Bank of Pakistan.[10] He was one of the five Mohammad brothers, four of whom (Hanif, Mushtaq, Sadiq and Wazir himself) played Test cricket for Pakistan.[11] Wazir lived in Solihull, England.[2] After the death of Israr Ali on 1 February 2016, he was Pakistan's oldest living Test cricketer.[12] He died in Birmingham on 13 October 2025, at the age of 95.[13]
References
- ^ "Wazir Mohammed". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ^ a b c "Wazir Mohammad — Pakistan's oldest living Test cricketer". www.thenews.com.pk.
- ^ Wisden 1968, p. 75.
- ^ Christopher Martin-Jenkins, The Complete Who's Who of Test Cricketers, Rigby, Adelaide, 1983, p. 481.
- ^ Wisden 1959, pp. 817–18.
- ^ "West Indies vs Pakistan, 5th Test at Port of Spain, Mar 26 1958 – Full Scorecard". www.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
- ^ "4th Test, Pakistan tour of England at London, Aug 12–17 1954". Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ "Karachi Blues v Karachi Whites 1963–64". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ "Former Pakistan batter Wazir Mohammad dies at 95". www.espncricinfo.com. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
- ^ Chaudhry, Ijaz (2 October 2010). "I was known as Hanif's brother". The Cricket Monthly. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ "Wazir Mohammad". Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ "Oldest living players in Tests". Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
- ^ "Pakistan's oldest living cricket player passes away at 95 in Birmingham". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.