Pakistan's Hanif quietly moves on to 80 with a tinge of regret

Hanif Mohammad, often called the sub-continent’s original Little Master, celebrated his 80th birthday with the complaint that the Pakistan cricket authorities had to this day not recognised and rewarded him for his triple century against the West Indies in 1957.

“The cricket authorities have recognised and rewarded Younis Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq for scoring triple centuries but it still remains one of the saddest moments for me that my feat is yet to be recognised,” Hanif said.

He said he had scored his 337 runs at a time when the pitches were not covered and there was no proper gear for players to protect them.

“I took blows and also underwent an operation after that innings. But what is disappointing is that until today the authorities have not recognised my triple century or acknowledged my effort,” he complained.

Change for the good Hanif said that cricket had changed a lot from the time he played.

“Today I am happy to see the cricketers are so well paid and are well off. I wish professionalism had come into the game in my time as well.”