Alim-ud-Din (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played 25

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

for

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

between 1954 and 1962. His name is sometimes rendered Alimuddin. A fast-scoring, right-handed

opening batsman In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...

and occasional right-arm leg break bowler, he was the youngest player ever to appear in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

, aged 12 years and 73 days. In international cricket, he scored 1,091 runs at the

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 25.37, including two

centuries A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

and seven fifties. In 1954, he was a member of the Pakistani squad which toured

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and recorded Pakistan's first Test match win. Former Pakistani captain

Mushtaq Mohammad Mushtaq Mohammad PP (Urdu: مشتاق محمد‎; born 22 November 1943) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played in 57 Tests and 10 ODIs from 1959 to 1979. A right-handed batsman and a leg-spinner, he is one of the mo ...

said about him that he was "a thorough gentleman as well as a great cricketer for Pakistan".

Personal life

Alim-ud-Din was an ethnic

Muhajir Muhajir or Mohajir ( ar, مهاجر, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer ...

, born in

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

, a city in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, on 15 December 1930. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1947, he moved to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

along with his family. He lived in London and never married, instead providing for his family.

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

(PIA) had given him an opportunity to work at

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the Airports of London, London airport sys ...

. Two of his brothers, Salimuddin and Azimuddin, both also played first-class cricket. His nephew, James Uddin, the son of Salimuddin, is also a cricketer and currently plays semi-professional cricket in England. In later life, his pension was suspended after doubts over his actual birth date. The pension was restored after intervention from the Pakistani President.

First-class career

During his career Alim-ud-Din played 140 first-class matches and scored 7,275 runs, with the

of 32.77, including 14 centuries and 38 fifties; he also took 40 wickets. Critics considered him to be an excellent fielder. He made his debut for

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

aged only 12 years 73 days, becoming the youngest player to have played

. In 1942–43, he played his maiden match in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

, scoring 13 and 27 runs in his two innings. His highest score in first-class cricket was 142, against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

in 1954. Domestically, Alim-ud-Din represented

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, Rajasthan,

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

and

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, and became the first Pakistani batsman to face a ball bowled by an international bowler on Pakistani soil, in a match between the Sindh and

West Indians A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

in 1948. During Pakistan's 1954 tour of England, Alim-ud-Din scored more than 700 runs, including two centuries in the first two matches. He was most successful during 1961–62, scoring 1,020 runs in 12 matches at an average of 51.00. In the same season he captained Karachi, leading the team to victories in the

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganis ...

and Ayub Zonal Trophy. His final season in first-class cricket was 1967–68.

International career

Alim-ud-Din played 25 Test matches for

during his career and scored 1,091 runs in international cricket at the average of 25.37. He made two

and seven fifties. Cricket critics believed that he possessed a sound technique. In Test matches, Alim-ud-Din established an effective opening partnership with

Hanif Mohammad Hanif Mohammad PP ( ur, , 21 December 1934 – 11 August 2016) was a Pakistani cricketer. He played for the Pakistani cricket team in 55 Test matches between the 1952–53 season and the 1969–70 season. He averaged 43.98 scoring twelve ...

. Alim-ud-Din started his international career against

in June 1954, at the

Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, in a match in which he scored 19 runs. In the fourth Test of the same series Pakistan beat England by 24 runs, recording their first Test win over them to become the first team to defeat England during their maiden tour. Alim-ud-Din managed to score 10 runs in the match. In 1954–55, he played, against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, in Pakistan's first home Tests, finishing the series as the leading run scorer with 332; he made three fifties and in the fifth match scored 103

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

at the

National Stadium, Karachi The National Stadium (Urdu: نیشنل سٹیڈیم), also referred to as National Bank Cricket Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a cricket stadium in Karachi, Pakistan, owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board. It is the home ground of Karachi Kin ...

, his first international century. He was the first batsman ever to make an international century on the Ground. Alim-ud-Din also toured

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

as a part of Pakistan cricket team in 1957–58. He was not successful in the series and his highest score remained 41 runs which he made in the fourth Test at the

Bourda Bourda, or officially Georgetown Cricket Club Ground, is a cricket ground in Georgetown, Guyana, used by the Guyanese cricket team for matches with other nations in the Caribbean as well as some Test matches involving the West Indies. The groun ...

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...

. In 1962, under the captaincy of

Javed Burki Javed Burki ( ur, ; born 8 May 1938) is a Pakistani former cricketer who played in 25 Test matches from 1960 to 1969 to eventually become an ICC match referee. Burki received his early education from Saint Mary's Academy at Rawalpindi. He a ...

, Pakistan visited England where they played a five Test match series. In the fifth Test at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

, a low scoring match for Pakistan, Alim-ud-Din's scores of 50 and 60 made him the team's highest scorer of the match. In the fifth Test of the home series against England in 1962, he scored his career best 109 runs at the National Stadium. He played his last match against England in

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also t ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

in 1962. Former West Indian

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

Collie Smith O'Neil Gordon "Collie" Smith (5 May 1933 – 9 September 1959) was a West Indian cricketer. A hard-hitting batsman and off-spin bowler, Smith was rated highly in West Indies. He idolised Jim Laker, for which reason he was nicknamed "Jim" for a ...

was his only wicket in international cricket. He is variously known as "Alim-ud-Din" and "Alimuddin", with ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' using the former in earlier editions and the latter in his obituary.

Death

On 12 July 2012, Alim-ud-Din died in

Northwick Park Hospital Northwick Park Hospital (NWPH) is a major National Health Service hospital situated near the town of Harrow, London, Harrow, North West London, managed by the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. It is located off Watford Road in th ...

, Harrow, London. He suffered from

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

and

lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

diseases. He also had

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

and was on dialysis. The

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Coun ...

(PCB) released a press statement expressing sorrow and conveying condolences to Alim-ud-Din's family.

Career statistics

Records against opponents

;Key

Test centuries

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alim-ud-Din 1930 births 2012 deaths Bahawalpur cricketers Central Zone (Pakistan) cricketers Gujarat cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers Karachi cricketers Karachi A cricketers Karachi Blues cricketers Karachi Whites cricketers Muslims cricketers Pakistani cricketers Pakistan Test cricketers People from Ajmer Public Works Department cricketers Rajasthan cricketers Sindh cricketers Pakistani people of Rajasthani descent