Majid Khan (cricketer)

Majid Jahangir Khan (Punjabi, Urdu: ماجد جہانگیر خان‎) is a former cricketer, batsman and captain of the Pakistan cricket team. In his prime, Majid Khan (often referred to as "Majestic Khan" by the British press) was considered one of the best batsmen in the world. In an 18-year Test career, he only played in 63 Test matches, primarily because Pakistan played a very limited Test match schedule. Khan's first-class career spanned 1961 to 1985. Overall, he played 63 Tests for Pakistan, scoring 3,931 runs with 8 centuries, scored over 27,000 first-class runs and made 73 first-class centuries, with 128 fifties.[1] Majid played his last Test for Pakistan in January 1983 against India at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore[2] and his last One Day International (ODI) was in July 1982 against England at Old Trafford, Manchester.[3]

Majid Khan
ماجدخان
Personal information
Full nameMajid Jahangir Khan
Born (1946-09-28) 28 September 1946
Ludhiana, Punjab, British India
BattingRight-hand batsman
BowlingRight-arm medium
Right-arm off break
RelationsJahangir Khan (father)
Asad Jahangir Khan (brother)
Javed Burki (cousin)
Imran Khan (cousin)
Bazid Khan (son)
Ahmed Raza (uncle)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 44)24 October 1964 v Australia
Last Test23 January 1983 v India
ODI debut (cap 4)11 February 1973 v New Zealand
Last ODI19 July 1982 v England
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODIs FC LA
Matches 63 23 410 168
Runs scored 3931 786 27,444 4,441
Batting average 38.92 37.42 43.01 28.28
100s/50s 8/19 1/7 73/128 2/31
Top score 167 109 241 115
Balls bowled 3584 658 7,168 2,817
Wickets 27 13 223 71
Bowling average 53.92 28.76 32.14 22.67
5 wickets in innings – – 4 1
10 wickets in match – n/a 0 n/a
Best bowling 4/45 3/27 6/67 5/24
Catches/stumpings 70/- 3/- 410/- 43/-
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 4 February 2006

Early life

Born on 28 September 1946 in Ludhiana, during the British Raj to a Burki Pashtun family, Khan grew up in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab in Pakistan. His father, Jahangir Khan, had played Test cricket for British India before the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Majid Khan started his career as a pace bowler, but a back injury and doubts over his technique converted him into an off-spin bowler and batsman.[4] He also played for Glamorgan and Cambridge University in Britain, for Queensland in Australia, and in Pakistan for Pakistan International Airlines, Rawalpindi, Lahore and the province of Punjab.

Majid's father, Dr. Jahangir Khan, famously killed a bird in flight while bowling during an MCC vs. Cambridge University match in 1936.[5][6] This bird is now part of the permanent MCC museum exhibit at Lord's Cricket ground.[7] Dr. Jahangir Khan was the Chief Selector of then Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) when Majid Khan was close to national selection. Dr. Jahangir Khan resigned from his post to maintain the impartiality of the Cricket Board during selection.

International career

Majid's Test career started in 1964 against Australia at National Stadium, Karachi.[8] Majid Khan is one of only six batsmen (the other five are Trumper, Macartney, Bradman, Warner) and Shikhar Dhawan, to have scored a century before lunch on the first day of a test match, scoring 108 not-out off 112 balls against New Zealand in Karachi during the 1976–77 test series.[9][10][11] Khan made his ODI debut against New Zealand in 1973 at Lancaster Park, New Zealand.[12] He also holds the unique honour of scoring the first one-day century for Pakistan, in an ODI against England at Trent Bridge on 31 August 1974.[13][14][15] Khan scored 109 from 93 balls with 16 fours and a six, leading Pakistan to victory.[13][14]

Majid had played for Lahore since 1961–62 and had made his Test debut against Australia in 1964–65 and toured England and Wales with the 1967 Pakistanis. During a match with Glamorgan, Majid blasted a rapid 147 in 89 minutes, hitting Roger Davis for five sixes in one over. Wilf Wooller, the club secretary, had been a close friend of Majid's father when Dr Jahangir Khan had been up at Cambridge, and the influential Glamorgan secretary persuaded Glamorgan county to sign him as the overseas player from 1968.[16][17][18] In 1972 he won the Walter Lawrence Trophy for the season’s fastest century which he scored in 70 minutes for Glamorgan against Warwickshire. He captained the Welsh county between 1973 and 1976, scored over 9000 runs punctuated with 21 first-class centuries for them. Imran Khan,[19] the legendary Pakistani ex-captain and fast bowler, and Javed Burki[20] are his cousins.[21] Bazid Khan,[22] Majid's son, has also played for Pakistan, making the family the second, after the Headleys, to have three consecutive generations of Test cricketers.[21][23]

Initially, Majid Khan continued to boost Pakistan's middle order, until he was promoted to fill the opener's slot with Sadiq Mohammad in 1974.[24][25] He was the first century scorer for Pakistan in One Day International Cricket, scoring 109 runs against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham in the same season.[13][14] Majid Khan was also a specialist slip fielder and made most catches look easy. Khan was also well known as a "walker", maintaining the standards of the game in an era when professionalism was straining at the game's traditional etiquette.

The 1976–77 tour of West Indies was the most remarkable period for Majid Khan, where he scored 530 Test runs against one of the most powerful bowling attacks in the history of the game. His best innings was perhaps the 167 in Pakistan's second innings at Georgetown that saved Pakistan from likely defeat. Pakistan lost that series 2–1.[26]

After retirement from International Cricket, Khan became an administrator with the Pakistan Cricket Board, becoming the CEO of the board in mid-1990s.[23] He now lives in Islamabad.


Bibliography
  • Zahid Zia Cheema, Mighty Khan : a tribute to Majid Khan (1996, 2008)

References
  1. Majid Khan, ESPNCricinfo, retrieved 19 April 2012
  2. India in Pakistan Test Series – 5th Test, ESPNCricinfo, 23 January 1983, retrieved 19 April 2012
  3. Prudential Trophy – 2nd ODI, ESPNCricinfo, 19 July 1982, retrieved 19 April 2012
  4. Omar Noman, Pride and Passion: An Exhilarating Half Century of Cricket in Pakistan, OUP, Karachi, 1998, p. 120.
  5. BBC SPORT / Funny Old Game / An uneven contest, BBC, 30 June 2002, retrieved 19 April 2012
  6. Five weird London museum exhibits, GreatWen, retrieved 19 April 2012
  7. Wisden Almanack – 1937, ESPNCricinfo, retrieved 19 April 2012
  8. Australia in Pakistan Test Match, ESPNCricinfo, 24 October 1964, retrieved 19 April 2012
  9. Seervi, Bharath (3 January 2017). "Warner only fifth to score century before lunch on first day". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  10. Records / Test matches / Batting records / Hundred runs before lunch, ESPNCricinfo, 30 October 1976, retrieved 19 April 2012
  11. New Zealand in Pakistan Test Series – 3rd Test, ESPNCricinfo, 30 October 1976, retrieved 19 April 2012
  12. Pakistan in New Zealand ODI Match, ESPNCricinfo, 11 February 1973, retrieved 19 April 2012
  13. Prudential Trophy – 1st ODI, ESPNCricinfo, 31 August 1974, retrieved 19 April 2012
  14. England v Pakistan – Prudential Trophy 1974 (1st ODI), CricketArchive, 31 August 1974, retrieved 19 April 2012
  15. Who made the 1st century for Pakistan?, ItsOnlyCricket, 27 December 2010, retrieved 19 April 2012
  16. Brief profile of Majid Khan, CricketArchive, December 2003, retrieved 19 April 2012
  17. Wisden – Majid Khan – CRICKETER OF THE YEAR 1970, ESPNCricinfo, retrieved 19 April 2012
  18. My Favourite Cricketer – The eternal idol, ESPNCricinfo, 12 June 2005, retrieved 19 April 2012
  19. Imran Khan, ESPNCricinfo, retrieved 19 April 2012
  20. Javed Burki, ESPNCricinfo, retrieved 19 April 2012
  21. Bazid keeps it in the family, BBC, 21 May 2005, retrieved 19 April 2012
  22. Bazid Khan, ESPNCricinfo, retrieved 19 April 2012
  23. Profile: Majid Khan, Lords, retrieved 19 April 2012
  24. 'Self-belief was my best attribute', ESPNCricinfo, 22 February 2011, archived from the original on 28 June 2012, retrieved 19 April 2012
  25. Records / Test matches / Partnership records / Highest overall partnership runs by openers, ESPNCricinfo, retrieved 19 April 2012
  26. Pakistan tour of West Indies, 1976/77 / Scorecard – Pakistan in West Indies Test Series – 3rd Test, ESPNCricinfo, retrieved 19 April 2012
Preceded by
Asif Iqbal		 Pakistan Cricket Captain
1975		 Succeeded by
Asif Iqbal
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