Aftab Baloch ( ur, آفتاب بلوچ) (1 April 1953 – 24 January 2022) was a Pakistani cricketer.

Career

He played in two

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from 1969 to 1975. A right-handed middle order batsman and capable right arm offbreak bowler, Baloch is best known for being a member of the 400 club. The feat was achieved in a game for Sind at the National Stadium in Karachi during the 1973/74 season. After bowling out their opponents,

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, for 93, Sind responded with 951 for 7 declared. Captaining the side, Baloch made 428 of those runs. At the time it was the sixth-highest score by a batsman in first-class cricket history and he was the seventh player to pass the 400-run milestone. The final margin, of an innings and 575 runs, made it one of the most one-sided games of all time. Baloch was rewarded with a tour of England but he didn't play a Test. His record-breaking innings, however, kept following him around; he was by coincidence given room 428 in their team hotel. A year later, in February 1975, Baloch was recalled again to the side. He had made his debut back in November 1969, at the age of just 16 and 221 days. That made him the second-youngest Test player in history. Playing against New Zealand at

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

, Baloch made 25 runs in the first innings before being bowled by

Vic Pollard Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense) ...

. Needing just 184 runs for victory in the fourth innings, Baloch was not required to bat. Recalled to the side, Baloch lined up at number seven in the Pakistani batting line-up for a Test against the West Indies at Lahore. He made 12 in his first innings, and was one of

Keith Boyce Keith David Boyce (11 October 1943 – 11 October 1996) was a cricketer who played 21 Tests and 8 One Day Internationals for the West Indies between 1971 and 1976. He died from the effects of chronic cirrhosis of the liver, while sitting in a c ...

's three victims. When Baloch came into bat in his final Test innings, his side led the West Indies by 199 runs and had five wickets in hand. Baloch made an unbeaten 60 and helped put his side 358 runs clear, but the West Indies managed to hang on for a draw.

Personal life and death

Baloch came from a mixed Baloch and

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

-origin family. After retiring from playing, Baloch took up coaching. He served as coach of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

at the

2001 ICC Trophy The 2001 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament played in Ontario, Canada in 2001. It was the Cricket World Cup qualification tournament for the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Three spots in the World Cup were on offer and the Netherlands, host nation Canada ...

in Canada. He died in Karachi on 24 January 2022, at the age of 68.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baloch, Aftab 1953 births 2022 deaths Baloch people Pakistani people of Gujarati descent Cricketers from Karachi Pakistan Test cricketers Pakistani cricketers Sindh cricketers Karachi cricketers Pakistan International Airlines cricketers Public Works Department cricketers Karachi Blues cricketers Pakistan International Airlines A cricketers Karachi Whites cricketers National Bank of Pakistan cricketers Coaches of the Nepal national cricket team Pakistani cricket coaches