Former Test cricketer and chief selector Mohammad Ilyas passes away at 79

Staff Report

LAHORE: Former Test cricketer and chief selector Mohammad Ilyas passed away at the age of 79 after fighting a prolonged illness, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Monday. Ilyas — a right-hand batter and right-arm leg-spin bowler — played 10 Test matches along with 82 first-class and two List-A games between 1961 and 1976, PCB said in a statement as it expressed its grief following Ilyas’s passing. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi also extended his heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the bereaved family, while also paying homage to the late Ilyas for his valuable services to the game of cricket in Pakistan. Ilyas made his Test debut against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 4, 1964 and played his last Test match against England at Dhaka from February 28 to March 3, 1969, according to the national board. Apart from one Test century, the opening batsman boasted a record of 12 first-class tons, having scored 4,607 runs in the format.

His solitary Test century came in the third Test match of a 2-0 home series win over New Zealand in March-April 1965. He played a masterful 126 while opening the batting as Pakistan hunted down the 202-run target in Karachi to seal the series. He played twice when England toured in 1968-69, making 42 runs in four innings. Early on his second tour to Australia, he was struck in the face, and he was also accused of indiscipline. Rather than fly home, he applied for Australian citizenship and ended the season playing grade cricket for Waverley in Sydney. He made his last appearance in Pakistan in the BCCP Trophy final in 1971-72 when he helped PIA to victory.