Mohammad Ilyas, former Pakistan opener, dies aged 79

Mohammad Ilyas, the former Pakistan opener has died in Lahore after an illness. He was 79 years old.

Ilyas, fondly if somewhat curiously known as 'John' to friends, played ten Tests for Pakistan in the 1960s, during a relatively fallow period in the country's history. Six of his Tests came against New Zealand, in one of which - in Karachi in 1965 - he hit his only Test hundred. He had a more substantial first-class career, scoring 4607 runs in 82 games from 1961 to 1972 (though he played his last recognised first-class match in 1975) at an average of 35.71.

He had, however, a far more colourful career in his playing days - and post - than those numbers attest to. Boxing was his first love in his youth, and he achieved some success with it at school level, as a flyweight.

But he drifted into cricket as a fast bowler in pick-up games near his Lahore home, before catching the eye of a teacher at Muslim Model school (a renowned cricket nursery in the 1950s), who asked him to come to school nets. He impressed and was picked immediately for a Lahore schools' side; in his very first game in Faisalabad, he bowled well but turned up as a nightwatchman and scored a fifty. He eventually switched to bowling leg spin but set on the path to becoming a top-order batter.

He worked his way up through a vibrant school and club circuit, playing for Crescent club, a powerhouse in Lahore and one of the oldest clubs in the city. His first-class debut, for a Lahore B side in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy followed not long after, in November 1961, when he was just 15. He took a wicket and made an unbeaten 15, though a fellow debutant - Majid Khan - stole the headlines with a six-wicket haul and a century.

Three years and three first-class hundreds later - including in a warm-up game against Queensland - he was debuting for Pakistan, in their one-off Test at the MCG. He was joined again as a debutant by an illustrious contemporary, this time Ian Chappell. As an aggressive and enterprising batter, with a strong hook shot, he did well on the tour, scoring another hundred against South Australia after the Test.

He remained in and around Pakistan squads through the decade, touring England in 1967, playing against England at home in 1969. But that series proved to be his last Test. He toured Australia and New Zealand for the 1972-73 series but was, infamously, turfed out of the squad after an alleged physical altercation with then BCCP (as the PCB was known) chief Abdul Hafeez Kardar.

Kardar was, at the time, the most influential figure in Pakistan cricket, as board head, close to the ruling party of the day and a seminal captain in the 1950s. In other words, the worst person to pick a fight with. Ilyas was kicked out and chose to stay on in Australia, where he played some Sydney grade cricket. He would only play one more first-class match after that tour, signing off with a duck.

He moved around thereafter, playing Scottish league cricket, appearing in games in Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia) and settling in England for a while. He eventually returned to Pakistan and in the 2000s was a member of various national selection committees.

Typically, he was often in the news for other reasons in this time; picking a fight with a selector after his son-in-law Imran Farhat was overlooked; threatening to go on a hunger strike after he was banned from entering Gaddafi Stadium; talking in a leaked conversation about fixing in the ICL (Indian Cricket League); and a high-profile dispute with Shahid Afridi, who was Pakistan's white-ball captain at the time.

His last stint with the PCB was in 2014, when he was appointed as a junior selector. But administrative changes meant that tenure was short-lived. Shortly after his removal, he filed a petition against the PCB at the Lahore High Court.

The PCB said in a statement that chairman Mohsin Naqvi "extended his heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the bereaved family. He paid homage to the late Mohammad Ilyas for his valuable services to cricket."