Maqsood Ahmed (26 March 1925 – 4 January 1999) was a
Pakistani 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 in 16
Test matches from 1952 to 1955. He was educated at
Islamia College, Lahore.
Maqsood Ahmed was a useful all rounder in the first ever cricket team of Pakistan. Before the creation of Pakistan, he played for Southern Punjab in India, scoring 144 in his very first match. An aggressive hitter of the ball, Maqsood played a vital role in the recognition of Pakistan as test playing nation when he made 137 against the visiting
MCC in 1951–52.
A right-handed middle-order batsman, Maqsood was a hard hitter of the ball and is one of the Test cricketers whose highest score was 99, which he made in the Third Test 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 1954–55. Though a brilliant batsman, his performance in Test matches was rather irregular because of his carefree attitude. In England in 1952 he became the first Pakistani to play as a professional cricketer. The English press dubbed him "Merry Max".
He played 16 Test matches, scoring a total of 507 runs. He was also a right-arm medium fast bowler with three wickets in test matches to his credit. His first-class record is better, with 3815 runs in 85 matches between 1945 and 1964, including six centuries. He also took 124 wickets, with 7 for 39 and 6 for 44 against
Sargodha
Sargodha (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as t ...
in 1962–63 his best bowling figures. He was the leading bowler in the
Quaid-i-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 ...
in 1962–63 with 34 wickets at an average of 9.29.
Quaid-i-Azam Trophy bowling averages, 1962–63
/ref> He captained Karachi Blues
Karachi cricket teams competed in the Pakistani first-class cricket tournaments the Patron's Trophy and Quaid-e-Azam Trophy from 1953-54 to 2018-19. Beginning with the 2019-20 season, the city of Karachi has been represented in the Quaid-e-Azam T ...
and Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.
After retiring from cricket, Maqsood Ahmed worked as a commentator and sports journalist for PTV, BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. He also served as the Chief National Cricket Coach and coached many Test stars including
. He was the Chairman of the National Selection Committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board which selected the World Cup winning team in 1991–92.
From independence to the time of his death he was associated with cricket in Pakistan and dedicated all his life and abilities for the promotion of Pakistan cricket. In recognition of his service one of the gates of the
carries his name, "Maqsood Ahmed Enclosure" and so does one of the benches at the
Cricket Ground located inside the historic Lahore Gymkhana.
Maqsood Ahmed died on 4 January 1999 in Rawalpindi.