Mohammad Nissar - India's first trailblazing fast bowler in Test cricket

When one goes to Lord’s and looks at the honors board, there are many great players who have never been featured on that prestigious list. Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara have never managed to do well in Lord’s. But, for the players who have, it is a sign of how good they were. When it came to India, the likes of Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid have all been featured on the honors board. However, there is one bowler who features from an era bygone. His name is etched on the board 89 years ago when India played their first Test in cricket against England at Lord’s.

On 25 June 1932, India stepped out to become the first non-white playing nation to play a Test at Lord’s. A crowd of 25000 had come up. No one expected India to put up a fight. But, for three days, India had England on the ropes. It was made possible by the exploits of Mohammad Nissar, who created history on his debut. India may have lost the Test, but Nissar’s contribution and his achievements became the talk of England.

The prowess of Mohammad Nissar

Nissar was born in Hoshiarpur in Punjab in 1910. Over the years, he developed his fast bowling skills. At one point, he was considered one of the fastest bowlers in the world. According to India captain CK Nayudu, he was the fastest bowler not just in the sub-continent but in the world. Running in from 25 yards, with a leap and high hand position, Nissar would generate tremendous pace and bounce from the wicket. Nissar had the ability to get the ball to swing and bounce from the deck at an alarming pace.

In the Lord’s Test against England, the hosts chose to bat. Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe came out to bat. Both Holmes and Sutcliffe had established a partnership of 555 for Yorkshire just before the game. Sutcliffe was one of the great cricketers England had produced. He would go on to play 54 Tests at an average of 60. Holmes, on the other hand, had a modest average but was a First Class cricket behemoth.

None of that mattered to Nissar though. He bowled Holmes and Sutcliffe through the gate. India had reduced England to 19/3. Douglas Jardine, the captain who would later become infamous for his Bodyline tactics against Australia, steadied the ship along with Wally Hammond. Apart from Sutcliffe, Hammond was also one of the great players in the world at that time.

Nissar creates history

Jardine and Hammond shared an 82-run stand. But, CK Nayudu sent back Jardine and Amar Singh, Nissar’s opening bowling partner, sent back Hammond for 35. Nissar came back to run through the lower-middle order as he finished with 5/93. On his debut Test and India’s, Nissar created history. It was the prowess of Les Ames the keeper who hit a fifty and took England to 259.

India gave away a lead of 70 runs with no batsman scoring a fifty. In the second innings, England stretched the lead with Jardine hitting 85 and Eddie Paynter smashing 54. India lost the match by 158 runs in pursuit of 346. But, it was the exploits of Nissar that grabbed the imagination of India and England.

Nissar would go on to play six Tests and he took 25 wickets. Remarkably, there would be three five-wicket hauls in that period. During India’s first Test in their country, Nissar once again hurt England as he took 5/90 at the Brabourne stadium. In his final Test at The Oval in 1936, Nissar ended with another five-wicket haul to finish with 5/120. Out of his 25 wickets, 13 were bowled and LBW.   

Lost to partition and tension

After he retired from cricket, Nissar’s life was intertwined in the freedom struggle. The pacer wanted to reside in Lahore, whether it was on the Pakistan side or the India side. When Lahore went to the Pakistan side, Nissar went to Pakistan. But, this was where his life struggles began.

Nissar worked as an employee for Pakistan Railways and he would always carry his kit wherever he went. But, no one gave him recognition even in India or Pakistan. Many Indian fans were off the misconception that he was from Pakistan. Many Pakistan fans felt that Nissar’s Indian roots did not merit much attention for glory.

In fact, there were many memorabilia in possession with Nissar’s son, Waqar. However, Waqar gave them to the BCCI and they have reportedly misplaced the memorabilia. Speaking to the Indian Express at that time, Waqar said that he decided to give it to India as his father was from there. But, in hindsight, he admitted he should have given it to the ICC or the England Cricket Board.

To keep the glory of Nissar alive, the Mohammad Nissar tournament was organized by the joint collaboration of India and Pakistan Boards in 2006. It featured champion domestic sides from India and Pakistan and was held in Lucknow. Virat Kohli was named the Man of the Match in one such instance. However, the political tensions between India and Pakistan after 2008 brought about the end of the tournament.

Mohammad Nissar was a trailblazer for India in the early stages of their Test career. It is a shame that he could not get the due recognition.