Asif Ahmed (Pakistani cricketer)

Asif Ahmed (born 1 April 1942) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1960 to 1972.

Asif Ahmed
Personal information
Born (1942-04-01) 1 April 1942 (age 82)
Karachi, British India
BattingRight-handed
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1959-60Pakistan Universities
1959-60 to 1960-61Karachi University
1961-62 to 1970-71Karachi
1963 to 1964Oxford University
1971-72Public Works Department
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 61
Runs scored 2186
Batting average 26.65
100s/50s 4/8
Top score 148
Balls bowled 114
Wickets 0
Bowling average
5 wickets in innings
10 wickets in match
Best bowling
Catches/stumpings 30/–
Source: Cricket Archive, 13 May 2014

Career

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A right-handed batsman, Ahmed made a century on his first-class debut at the age of 17, scoring 148 for Pakistan Universities against East Pakistan in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in 1959-60.[1]

In 1961-62 he scored 75 for the Karachi Blues team that defeated Combined Services in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.[2] He was selected to play for a Combined XI against the touring MCC team a few weeks later, and made 58, the top score on either side in a match ruined by rain.[3] Then in the final of the Ayub Trophy, he scored 115 in Karachi's victory over North Zone.[4] In that season he made 613 runs in 10 matches at an average of 51.08.[5]

Ahmed was selected to tour England in 1962 with the Pakistan team. However, he played only nine of the 29 first-class matches and sometimes "went weeks on end without playing"[6] and finished with only 155 runs at 11.92, with a highest score of 43 against Essex.[7]

He studied at Oxford University after the tour and appeared for the university side irregularly in 1963 and 1964. He played 18 matches for Oxford, scoring 456 runs at 16.88, with a top score of 54 (retired hurt) against Pakistan Eaglets in 1963.[8]

In his first match after returning to Pakistan, in November 1967, Ahmed opened the batting for Karachi Blues against Lahore Greens in the long-delayed final of the 1965-66 Ayub Trophy and made 114 in a ten-wicket victory.[9] Later that month, in the final of the 1966-67 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, he again opened the batting for Karachi and made 109 to help them to victory over Railways.[10] He continued to play first-class cricket, with moderate success, until 1972.

References

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