He played four Test matches between 1964 and 1967 and became the first Pakistani batsman to score a hundred on Test match debut.
By ESPNcricinfo Staff
Former Pakistan all-rounder Billy Ibadullah passed away on Friday at the age of 88. He played four Test matches between 1964 and 1967 and was the first Pakistani batsman to score a hundred on Test match debut.
Ibadullah made his Test match debut against Australia at Karachi in 1964, scoring 166 in the first innings. He shared an opening partnership of 249 with fellow rookie wicketkeeper Abdul Qadir, which remains the highest partnership between rookies on any wicket in Test match cricket.
However, Ibadullah played only three more Test matches, with his highest score being 32. He took one wicket with an off-break.
He was more successful in first-class cricket, scoring 17,078 runs at an average of 27.28 and taking 462 wickets at an average of 30.96. Of his 417 first-class appearances, 377 were for Warwickshire, a team he played for over ten years.
“He was a special cricketer, one of the best and we had many great times together,” Warwickshire chairman Dennis Amis, who played with Ibadulla at club level, wrote in a tribute to his former team-mate. “He could be really mischievous and teasing at times but he gave back in return. He was much loved at Warwickshire.”
Ibadura then moved to New Zealand and played for Otago for several seasons.
Ibadullah scored 829 runs and took 84 wickets in 64 List A matches, and also umpired in 20 first-class matches and 12 List A games, and ran private coaching clinics in New Zealand.
His son, Kasem Ibadullah, also played 31 first-class matches and 19 List A matches for Gloucestershire and Otago.
More to come
