Mudassar Nazar is a former Pakistani cricketer who was a reliable opener in test cricket and a competent all-rounder in one-day internationals. He had an unrivalled patience and disposition, all of which were apparent in his play.
Nazar was born in the Pakistani city of Lahore on April 6, 1956. He batted right-handed and bowled right-arm medium. He was an important and successful opening batsman, which was remarkable considering his colorblindness.
Background
Nazar is the son of Nazar Mohammad, a retired Pakistani cricketer who opened the batting for the country in five test matches in 1952. Mudassar had loved to play cricket since he was five years old, and at the age of ten, he knew he wanted to play test cricket.
In 1971, Nazar made his first-class debut. When he first came onto the scene, his temperament as a batsman was admired by many. The bowlers in Pakistan’s domestic circuit used to come in hard and fast, and Nazar will often meet the ball with a dead bat.
Debut
Nazar is the son of Nazar Mohammad, a retired Pakistani cricketer who opened the batting for the country in five test matches in 1952. Mudassar had loved to play cricket since he was five years old, and at the age of ten, he knew he wanted to play test cricket.
In 1971, Nazar made his first-class debut. When he first came onto the scene, his temperament as a batsman was admired by many. The bowlers in Pakistan’s domestic circuit used to come in hard and fast, and Nazar will often meet the ball with a dead bat.
Rise to Glory
Nazar, a plodding batsman, displayed great grit and determination in just his second test match, when he batted a stern innings against England in Lahore in December 1977, facing a whopping 419 balls.
He set the record for the slowest ever century in test cricket history, which he still holds.
He batted for 591 minutes and scored 114 runs on 449 deliveries. The game finished in a tie, but Nazar had shown his tenacity and skill to the rest of the country. He was notorious for throwing long innings and did so throughout his career.
In ODIs, Nazar also demonstrated that he can be a useful all-rounder. In the 1982 World Series Cup, he scored 285 runs at 31.67 and took 12 wickets at 13.33, showing his all-round ability.
Nazar was given the moniker “Golden Arm” after he rocked the English batting line-up at Lord’s in August 1982, taking a match-winning 6/32.
In January 1983, he batted for 627 minutes against archrival India in Hyderabad, Sind, scoring 231 runs off 444 balls and forming a 451-run partnership with Javed Miandad.
Pakistan prevailed by an innings and 119 runs, tying the world record partnership at the time.
Records
Nazar has scored 4114 runs for Pakistan in 76 test matches at an average of 38.09, including 10 hundreds and 17 fifties. He has also taken 66 wickets at a strike rate of 38.36.
In 122 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), he has scored 2653 runs at 25.26, including 16 fifties, while also taking 111 wickets at 30.91.
After his dad, he became the second Pakistani batsman to take his bat through an innings. He was also the second Pakistani cricketer, after Imran Khan, to cross the ODI double of 2000 runs and 100 wickets, and the seventh in the world.
Retirement
In March 1989, Nazar played his last international match for Pakistan against New Zealand in Hamilton. After retiring, he worked as a coach for Pakistan before taking over as coach of Kenya in 2005.
He was also the director of the Pakistan Cricket Academy.