Former Pakistan allrounder Billy Ibadulla died on Friday at the age of 88. He played four Tests between 1964 and 1967, and was the first Pakistan batter to score a century on Test debut.
However, Ibadulla played only three more Tests, where his best was 32. He picked up one wicket with his offbreak.
He was more prolific in first-class cricket, scoring 17,078 runs at 27.28 and picking up 462 wickets at 30.96. Of his 417 first-class outings, 377 were for Warwickshire, for whom he played for more than a decade.
“He was a special cricketer, one of the greatest, and we had lots of fun times together,” Warwickshire president Dennis Amiss, who played alongside Ibadulla at the club, wrote in a tribute to his former team-mate. “He could be really naughty at times, lots of micky taking and he gave as good as he got. We loved him at Warwickshire.”
Later, Ibadulla moved to New Zealand and turned out for Otago for a couple of seasons.
In 64 List A matches, Ibadulla scored 829 runs and took 84 wickets. He also stood as an umpire in 20 first-class matches and 12 List A games. He also ran a private coaching clinic in New Zealand.
His son, Kassem Ibadulla, also played 31 first-class games and 19 List A games for Gloucestershire and Otago.
