November 02 Saturday 2002
Hanif Mohammad appointed batting coach of Pakistan team

KARACHI: Former Pakistani Test legend Hanif Mohammad has been appointed batting coach to the national side for upcoming tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa in a bid to reverse their woeful recent record at the crease, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Friday. 

"The objective is to improve the technique and patience of the batsmen in the current team and Hanif was a champion in both these areas," PCB media spokesman Samiul Hasan said. 

"Hanif will serve as batting coach during the two-match Test series in Zimbabwe and then fly to South Africa for two Tests in December." Pakistan was dismissed for their lowest-ever Test scores of 59 and 53 during their 3-0 routing by Australia in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month. 

Pakistan has also been struggling to find an opening pair, having torn through eight different ones in the last 18 months. "I would be pleased to help the youngsters and have seen them at regional academies. They have promise and potential," Hanif said. "The youngsters need to learn some basic things, like patience and the requirements of international cricket, and I hope they will learn fast." 

Hanif, 67, one of four Mohammad brothers who have represented Pakistan, played 55 Tests for Pakistan and tallied 3,915 runs. His best-ever score of 337 was netted against the West Indies during the 1957-58 season in an innings that lasted a Test record time of 990 minutes. 

He also hit 499 runs in a first class match in 1958-59, which stood as a record until West India's Brian Lara surpassed it in a 1994 English county match. "The decision has been conveyed to Pakistan's team coach Richard Pybus and he is delighted to know that he will be working with a legend," the PCB spokesman said. Pakistan's 15-man squad left for Zimbabwe Thursday night and will start their tour with a four-day game against Zimbabwe "A" in Harare from November 4.