Mushtaq Mohammad: Pakistan's First Genuine Allrounder

Mushtaq Mohammad was Pakistan's first genuine cricket allrounder — a player who contributed significantly with both bat and ball at Test level. Born in Junagadh (now in India) in 1943, Mushtaq played 57 Tests for Pakistan between 1959 and 1979, scoring 3,643 runs at 39.17 with 10 centuries, and taking 79 wickets at 29.22 with his leg-break and googly bowling. He was also one of cricket's most productive Northamptonshire cricketers in English county cricket, where he played for 16 years. He is part of cricket's famous Mohammad brothers — five brothers who all played first-class cricket.

The Mohammad Brothers

The five Mohammad brothers are a unique phenomenon in cricket. Wazir Mohammad (two Tests for Pakistan), Raees Mohammad (domestic player), Hanif Mohammad (55 Tests, regarded as Pakistan's greatest pre-modern batter), Mushtaq Mohammad (57 Tests) and Sadiq Mohammad (41 Tests) all played professional cricket. Hanif and Mushtaq are the most celebrated — Hanif holds the record for the longest-ever Test innings (970 minutes, 337 runs against the West Indies in 1958) while Mushtaq was the most rounded in terms of contributing both batting and bowling.

Captaincy and County Career

Mushtaq captained Pakistan in 19 Tests, winning eight and losing four. He guided Pakistan through a transitional period in the mid-to-late 1970s as Pakistan began competing regularly against the strongest nations. His county career at Northamptonshire spanned 1964-1977 and yielded over 16,000 first-class runs. He later served as Pakistan's national coach from 2004 to 2007, with the team performing inconsistently under his watch during the post-2003 transition period.