Mudassar Nazar

Quick and understated as a cricketer and a personality, Mudassar was far more of a "mode" batter than his more gifted partner Mohsin Khan, but he made the most of what he had in an era of stodgy, draw-heavy Test cricket.

One of Mudassar's predecessors as Pakistan's opening bat was his father, Nazar Mohammad. Mudassar himself was at his best on slow, low pitches: his hundred against England in Lahore in 1977 was ground out in a shade under ten hours - the slowest Test century of all time. His 126 against India in Bangalore in 1979 was spry by comparison, taking less than eight.

He hit a vein of rich form against India in Pakistan's 3-0 series win against them in 1982-83, topping the run-makers' list for the series, with 761 at 126; that total included four hundreds, one of them a double, and two 152s. In the Faisalabad Test against the old enemy the following year, Mudassar earned the unfortunate distinction of being the first batter ever to be out on 199 in a Test. At Edgbaston in 1987, in the series Pakistan memorably won 1-0, his first-innings 124 nearly helped his side eke out another win. One Test later, he was among the runs again in the return series, with a 120 that set up a crushing win in Lahore.

Mudassar developed his medium pace as a league pro in England, and had his moments with that skill. After retiring he took up the occasional coaching stint, taking charge of the Kenyan national side in 2005, and working as interim coach of the UAE in 2023. He also was director of Pakistan's National Cricket Academy for a while, served with the ICC's Global Cricket Academy in Dubai, and as a national selector for the Emirates Cricket Board.