Hanif Mohammad: The man who built the foundations of Pakistan cricket and built its walls He was Pakistan's first great batsman and a player gifted with remarkable powers of concentration Hanif was just 16 years old when he walked out to bat in the first unofficial Test between Pakistan and MCC in Lahore in November 1951. It was his first-class debut and a match of immense significance for his country. He stood 5ft 3in and weighed barely nine stone. "He looked 12," Brian Statham said. But as the day wore on, the sympathy faded: Hanif made 26 in 165 minutes. “We never looked like moving him. The MCC attack was the first to experience what bowlers around the world would discover over the next two decades: bowling for Hanif was the most rewarding job in cricket. In the next game, he batted for over four hours for 64 as Pakistan chased down 288. It was an innings of incalculable value: they were granted Test status eight months later. . With Abdul Hafeez Kardar as the capta...