Ghulam Mustafa Guard (12 December 1925 – 13 March 1978) was an Indian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played in two

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

from 1958 to 1960. Ghulam Guard, 'a tall, high-shouldered man, who shuffled up to the wicket in twelve steps and ran the ball away from the right-handed batsmen at distinctly above medium pace, especially when fresh', was the first left-hander to open the bowling for India. At 6' 3", he was the tallest cricketer to play for India between

Ladha Ramji Ramji Ladha Nakum (10 February 1900 – 20 December 1948) was an Indian Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as ...

in the 1930s and Abey Kuruvilla in the nineties. Guard bowled successfully in Indian domestic cricket for

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

and

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

for more than 15 years from 1946 to 1947. But he was almost 33 before he was picked for his first Test appearance, the first match against

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

at Bombay (Mumbai) in 1958–59. He took three good wickets – John Holt (Jr),

Conrad Hunte Sir Conrad Cleophas Hunte, Knight or Dame of St. Andrew (Barbados), KA (9 May 1932 – 3 December 1999) was a Barbadian people, Barbadian cricketer. Hunte played 44 Test cricket, Test matches as an opening batsman for the West Indies crick ...

, and

Gary Sobers The Right Excellent Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, NH, AO, OCC (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a Barbadian born former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowle ...

– but was dropped for the rest of the series, and did not tour England in 1959. Guard reappeared in the third Test against

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in 1959–60, also at Bombay (Mumbai), but failed to take a single wicket and was again dropped. That season, his wickets, allied to a strong batting line-up, were instrumental in Bombay's winning of the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

, and he took nine wickets for 135 runs against

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

in the trophy final. He took 31 wickets in the season at an average of 15. He went on to become the Superintendent of Police in Gujarat.Richard Cashman, ''Patrons, players and the crowd'', Orient Longman (1980), p.179

References

External links

* 1925 births 1978 deaths India Test cricketers Indian cricketers Mumbai cricketers Gujarat cricketers Cricketers from Surat {{India-cricket-bio-stub