Few Pakistani cricketers were as graceful as Fazal Mahmood, A. H. Kardar, Maqsood Ahmed, Waqar Hassan and Saeed Ahmed. Their demeanor and presence on the ground was incomparable and so pleasing to the eye.
The greatest cricket writer C. L. R. James, upon seeing Kardar lead his men out to field at the opening match of the 1954 tour against Worcestershire, wrote that no captain could match his grace, presence and style. Nimble footed Saeed too walked with an unparallel style and grace. The first decade, 1947-57 of Pakistan cricket was the age of learning as it largely rested on the performances of its two key players, Fazal Mahmood and Hanif Mohammed who literally carried the team on their shoulders
The second decade, 1957-67 saw the emergence of a new dashing star Saeed Ahmed who rose like a phoenix on Pakistan cricket’s horizon during the first tour of the West Indies in 1957-58. Saeed’s majestic cover drives were so powerful that they struck the boundary boards much before the bowler completed his follow through. According to Fazal Mahmood, the Oval hero, Saeed was the bravest of all the batsmen he had ever seen in the days when helmets, thigh pads, arm covers, and chest guards were not in use.
Standing at 5′-11″ Saeed Ahmed would gracefully walk out without any protective paraphernalia to face the demonic bowlers of his times like Roy Gilchrist, Tom Dewdney and Wesley Hall. The only protective article he wore besides the abdominal guard was the green Pakistani cap with a star emblazoned on it which he would often nonchalantly remove to show his fearless contempt to irritate the bowler.
His graceful and stylish walk to the wicket and back could only be matched by Skipper Kardar. When Saeed was hit on the head by a fast delivery from Tom Dewdney in the third Test at Kingston, he was asked to go out for a while. Not only he refused to go, but he also removed his cap, looked straight in the eyes of Dewdney and yelled, “Can’t you bowl any faster?’. Saeed made 52 in the first innings and 44 in the second innings. In the five tests he played on the tour he scored 508 runs.
Saeed debuted in the famous Test at Bridgetown where his partnership of 154 runs with Hanif Mohammed who made historic 337 runs helped to avert defeat. In the first innings, Saeed, batting at No.4, was stumped by Alexander off Collie Smith for 13. In the second innings he was caught by Alexander off Collie Smith for 65. Collie Smith dismissed Saeed four times in Tests in the West Indies including the first three Test innings. Collie Smith even dismissed Saeed in the Lahore Test at the Gymkhana Ground in 1959. Saeed made a glorious 150 in the fourth Test at Bourda and narrowly missed another century in the fifth Test at Trinidad when he was caught by Alexander off Taylor for 97.
His record of 50-plus scores in six consecutive Test matches was unmatched at the start of his career. Wisden wrote of Saeed, “A young batsman of attractive, upright style and a hard driver, who scored readily and seemed a player with a big future.” Saeed is the only Pakistani to score the fastest 1000 runs in Tests in just 11 matches (20 innings). Although it was Kardar’s casting vote, against all opposition including Punjab Cricket Association, that selected Saeed for the touring squad to the West Indies in 1957, yet Fazal Mahmood had a different story to tell.
According to Fazal, Kardar was not willing to include Saeed in the touring side as he thought Saeed was not a completely fit since his right leg was a bit shorter than the other. As a child Saeed had fallen off a guava tree in Jullundur before partition and the accident had affected his leg. Against all odds Saeed had overcome the handicap, and one could never detect any flaw or weakness in his walk or running. Saeed’s footwork was quick and neat. His very stance was suggestive of attack. It was upright with the weight thrown more on the right foot than on the left, and the left shoulder up and pointed towards the bowler. His pickup of the bat was short, all in the correct style but his unorthodox style of gripping the bat was noticed by Richie Benaud the Australian captain who witnessed Saeed’s magnificent innings of 166 runs against his team in the Lahore Test in 1959, making Saeed the first Pakistani to score a test century at the Lahore Stadium (Gaddafi Stadium) Lahore.
According to Fazal, Kardar was so adamant in not taking Saeed on the team that Fazal had to put his foot down by saying that if Saeed does not go to the West Indies, he won’t either! This worked and Saeed was selected. Fazal went on further with the story that batting at No.3, Saeed fell lbw to Sobers for 54 in the opening match of the tour against Barbados, followed by a century in another side match.
Fazal promptly cornered Kardar to make his point and chided him to send Saeed back as he was unfit with a shorter leg. Kardar replied that how could anyone in his right mind send Saeed back as he was performing continuously! It seems to be rather an unlikely story by Fazal. It was Kardar, who as Secretary, Pakistan Sports Board, had spotted Saeed at a coaching camp for University cricketers.
Despite strong opposition from PCA and other individuals, Kardar invited the youngster to the Bahawalpur camp and finally selected him. Saeed’s first-class debut match for Punjab against NWFP at Peshawar in 1954 was captained by Fazal Mahmood who sent Saeed at No.8 instead of sending him at an upper position. Still Saeed came out as a top scorer with 63 runs. The matches Saeed played in the captaincy of Fazal, he was always sent into bat in the middle or lower order.
When Saeed appeared for the Combined Universities against the Indian touring side under Vinoo Mankad in 1955, his captain S. F. Rahman sent him to bat at No.4 and he failed in both the innings. Playing for Punjab under the captaincy of Fazal Mahmood, against the Indian touring side at Sialkot, Saeed batting at No. 5 in both the innings was the top scorer with 29 and 42. Saeed played under A. H. Kardar for the first time when he was chosen for the Prime Minister’s XI at Bahawalpur.
He batted at No.4 against the New Zealand touring side under Henry Cave and was again the top scorer in both the innings with 43 and 38 not out. From the second test match onwards in the West Indies, Saeed permanently occupied the slot No.3 in the batting order. A master batsman on turf and matting, with his ability to face the new ball he tore away the leading bowlers of his time.
Saeed was born at Jullundur on October 15, 1937. Though the year of his birth could be 1935, as one of his relatives present at his funeral talked about Saeed’s age to be about 89. He said Saeed’s late mother had narrated that Saeed was about twelve years old when she carried him to hear Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah in a public meeting in 1947. During the partition in 1947 people fled from their homes to save their lives and could not carry any documents with them. Therefore, there was no accurate proof of age.
Saeed, who had made his first-class debut in 1954 at the Peshawar Cricket Club Ground for Punjab, incidentally, played his last first-class match at the same ground as well against England in 1978 to end his cricket career. Batting at No.5, Saeed scored his first century of 120 runs not out in first-class cricket in his twelfth match for Punjab against Punjab B at the Punjab University ground in 1957.
Captaining Punjab, Gul Mahomed promoted Saeed to No. 3 against Pakistan Railways at the Railway Stadium Lahore, where he scored 19 and 9. Playing at the Services Club Ground Peshawar, Punjab Captain Gul Mahomed sent Saeed to bat at No. 6 where he scored 66 runs.
After fourteen first class matches under his belt, he was selected for the West Indies tour in 1957-58. According to cricketer Salim Altaf, Saeed was their cricket coach at St. Anthony’s school and it was his advice that I become a fast bowler.
In 1956, Saeed played against D. B. Carr’s MCC ‘A’ at Qasim Bagh ground Multan for Railways- Baluchistan under the captaincy of Masood Salahuddin. Batting at No.6, Saeed was caught by Ken Barrington off Tony Lock for 27 in the first innings and coming at No.4 in the second innings he remained unbeaten with 44 and remained the top scorer for his team in both the innings.
It was never easy for Saeed in the beginning as he was made to bat at Nos.5, 6, 7 and 8 continuously despite his successful batting. He was hardly ever sent in to bat at a higher slot.
Arriving at Lahore after partition in 1947, the family took up residence at the Government Quarters Chauburji and Saeed began his schooling at the Central Model High School, Lower Mall, Lahore which had a lovely sports ground. There was a ground attached to his neighborhood where the boys had a cricket team, but they would not take him in the side as he sadly stood there watching them play.
Gradually they started giving him batting at No.11 and soon Saeed was promoted to No.3 after he showed extra ordinary batting skills and ability. He was now also the wicket keeper of the team.
After some time, he started going to the Minto Park, Railway Stadium, Carson Institute and Griffin Club to play cricket. It was a far distance from his house and Saeed would travel on his old bicycle with a faulty chain. Every few yards it would come off and in the scorching heat with wet towels covering his head to keep him cool, Saeed would struggle to put the chain back.
He then joined the Universal Cricket Club at the Burt Institute under the captaincy of Q. D. Butt where he was now playing with stars like Fazal Mahmood, Khan Mohammed, Waqar Hassan, Mahmood Hussain, Shakoor Ahmed, Mohammed Aslam and S. F. Rahman.
After a while Waqar Hassan and Mahmood Hussain got him admission in the Government College Lahore where in 1953 Saeed scored his first individual century against Islamia College in the Inter-Collegiate Tournament. That year he scored 1500 runs.
Justice A. R. Cornelius not only selected Saeed for his first tour abroad to England with Pakistan Eaglets in 1956 but also paid all his expenses. According to Saeed, he never had to pay anything for all of his three Eaglets tours of 1956, 1959 and 1961. Twice he was captain of Pakistan Eaglets in England in 1959 and 1961. All his expenses were paid with the help of Justice Cornelius.
During the last couple of years of his life, Saeed planned with me several times to go to the grave of the late Chief Justice A. R. Cornelius, where he wanted to pray for the departed noble soul and offer his gratitude for the good things he had brought to his life. However, the visit never materialized. Perhaps now both are discussing cricket in heaven.
Saeed admired Kardar, Fazal and Imtiaz during his College days. He was particularly very impressed by the style of Imtiaz Ahmed. He believed, like Imtiaz, that a bat was made to hit out and not for defensive play. To him cricket meant aggression, he believed that cricket was a fighting game where every player had to be aggressive, and struggle to fight it out. He considered Sir Frank Worrell and A. H. Kardar to be the best captains.
Although Saeed had fallen out with Kardar, but he always acknowledged that all the good work Kardar did for Pakistan cricket could not be denied. He maintained his differences with Kardar were on principles. He admitted that “During Kardar’s captaincy there was strict discipline in the team. In fact, all the players were scared of him. If only the era of Kardar and Fazal Mahmood could return to cricket once more to revive its golden era.”
Saeed scored a dashing 91 in the last Test match played on matting when the American President Eisenhower had come to watch. It remains the only time in history when an American President came to see a Test match. Saeed scored two memorable Test centuries on the Indian tour of 1960-61 at Bombay and Madras.
Whenever Saeed was spotted on the ground by Maharajkumar Vizianagaram ‘Vizzy’ during his commentary, he would say the initials of Saeed Ahmed, S and A stand for Stylish Action. Saeed completed his bachelor’s degree in arts in 1961 to join PIA. He started to work at their Shah Din Building Lahore office as an officer of a good grade with a salary of Rupees 700/-. He would often walk to our house from there to have lunch or tea with my family.
Although Saeed topped the runs on the disastrous England tour of 1962, yet his captain Javed Burki thought that he was suspect against the moving ball. The tour also changed his life forever when he met his future wife Salma who boarded the plane at Teheran carrying the team to England. Her father, Akhtar Hussain, was Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran at the time. Salma was going to England to deliver her baby. At the time she was married to Nasim Qureshi of Multan. After a whirlwind affair and a divorce, Saeed became her third husband on March 27, 1963, much against the wishes of his family. Only four days earlier, Saeed had duly received the President’s Medal for Pride of Performance on March 23, 1963. The marriage lasted for nearly fourteen years but when it ended it deeply affected Saeed. Not only did he develop psychological problems and abnormal traits, but he also became the first Pakistani cricketer to join the Tableeghi Jamaat.
Saeed played two seasons in the Lancashire League for Nelson and achieved Worsley Cup double in 1965 and also received the distinction of Lancashire League’s “Cricketer of the Year”. He scored 637 runs in 24 innings, carrying bat twice, and took 99 wickets. According to cricketer Shafqat Rana, “Saeed was the best Off-Spin bowler who could move the ball away with a slight push of his shoulder, but he was mostly underrated. Surrey being interested in Saeed, played him in their Second XI for a couple of matches but Saeed changed his mind and instead his younger brother Mohammed Younis was inducted for Surrey.
Although Mohammed Younis Ahmed was mostly neglected in Pakistan cricket but he emerged as the most successful player on the English County circuit. During the 1967 tour of England, Pakistan captain Hanif Mohammed, alleged that Saeed had locked himself in the washroom during the Test match at the Lord’s to avoid facing John Snow and Ken Higgs at No.3. He eventually emerged at No.7. He had a reputation of being nervous with butterflies in his stomach before going into bat but once in the middle he was always a delight to watch. Hanif also blamed Saeed for dropping Brian Close at mid-off in the second innings costing Pakistan a rare win.
However, after meeting the Queen at the match, Saeed claimed that she had extended to him an open invitation to visit her at the Buckingham Palace whenever he liked but the occasion never arose. Saeed showed his class and mettle when he made 44 and 68 in the next Test at Nottingham. Had it not for his great innings on a difficult wicket, Pakistan would have been out for under hundred. The two innings remain one of his most classic ones. He toured with the International XI to Rhodesia, the Rest of the World XI in 1968 and the International Cavaliers in 1969.
In 1969 Saeed was appointed Pakistan captain against the touring England team under Colin Cowdrey. In a three- Test series, only two Tests at Dacca and Lahore could be completed while the final Test at Karachi was lost to a public uprising and riots. Chairman of the Selectors A. H. Kardar stripped Saeed of the captaincy to which he publicly protested.
He even tried to manhandle BCCP President I. A. Khan when they met by chance at a hospital in Karachi. A ban was imposed on him but was removed soon after. He was back in Favour to tour England in 1971 but there were various complaints against his behavior by his teammates. He would constantly disappear on unauthorized shopping trips with his wife. Imran Khan, being on his first tour, was Saeed’s roommate and had to put up with the tantrums of the senior player.
Saeed’s international career came to an abrupt and unexpected end in 1972-73 when he was sent back from Australia. Saeed was being forced to play as an opener and after an exchange of hot words with Dennis Lillee who threatened Saeed that he has arranged an ambulance for him in the Sydney Test, he declared himself unfit with a back trouble. The same evening Saeed was spotted dancing in a club. Kardar who by then had arrived in Australia ordered team Manager M. E. Z. Ghazali and Assistant Manager Zafar Altaf to send Saeed back to Pakistan.
Saeed protested and was abandoned without a ticket or a passport while the rest of the team moved on. Saeed was left on his own for two weeks. It was only due to his wife’s influence he was bailed out of Australia. The sad and humiliating experience destroyed Saeed forever. He was never his old self again. He had a brief stint in politics. He was first seen in some political meetings with Z. A. Bhutto. Soon he joined G. M. Khar, the former Governor of Punjab who had developed differences with Bhutto.
In 1975, Saeed was arrested at the Lahore railway station where he had gone with a group to receive a political figure from Sindh. After spending two nights in jail Saeed was granted bail. Not only his marriage crumbled, but he was also removed from the Emperial Rubber Industries, a company established by his wife that manufactured rubber parts for textile industry. Being left high and dry, Saeed tried to get a job with the National Bank of Pakistan but instead joined PIA for a very short period. Soon after he met a group of Tableeghi Jamaat at the South London Islamic Centre, Streatham.
Till the time he died on March 20, 2024, Saeed was living between his home and Madni Masjid just a few yards away from his house in Faisal Town, a suburb of Lahore. I was his only friend of over 60 years who could meet him all the time otherwise he had become a recluse and was immersed in prayers only.
Saeed played 41 Tests and scored 2991 runs with 172 as his highest in 341 minutes against New Zealand and captured 22 Test wickets. His highest score in first-class cricket was 203 not out for Karachi Blues in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 1970-71. He was made a life member of MCC in 1980.