They stopped playing very young

Players whose Test careers ended at an extremely early age

Does the name Khalid Hasan ring any bells? You should be working for us if it does. Hasan, a legspinner, made his Test debut at Trent Bridge in 1954 - scored 17, took two wickets - and never played for Pakistan again. Entirely unremarkable, except that he was not yet 17 when he bowled Denis Compton. Hasan was the youngest Test debutant at the time - ending West Indian Derek Sealy's 24-year record - and eventually became the youngest to never play again.

In this week's column we've dug up lists of players whose careers ended at the earliest age. The tables have different cut-offs for number of matches and exclude anyone who's played in the last 12 months.

Khalid Wazir, the son and nephew of pre-partition India Test cricketers, Syed Wazir Ali and Nazir Ali, was also on Pakistan's 1954 tour of England. An 18-year old student, he made his debut at Lord's and also played at Old Trafford, but scored only 14 runs in three innings. He didn't play any more first-class cricket after returning to Pakistan, though, and never represented his country again.

Elderly New Zealand cricket fans might remember former West Indian batsman Alphonso Roberts better than their Caribbean counterparts. He was part of the touring side that played the Auckland Test in 1956, which was New Zealand's maiden victory after 26 years of draws and defeats. Roberts, born in St Vincent and the first 'small islander' to play for West Indies, made 28 and 0 in that match. He was 18. After that tour, he moved to Trinidad, where he met with opposition from those championing local talent. Roberts then returned to St Vincent, emigrated to Canada in 1962, and never played competitive cricket again.

Players whose careers ended at the youngest age
Player	Span	Mat	Runs	HS	Bat Av	100	Wkts	BBI	Bowl Av	5	Match End	Age
Khalid Hasan (Pak)	1954-1954	1	17	10	17.00	0	2	2/116	58.00	0	Jul 5, 1954	16y 356d
Nazmul Hossain (Ban)	2004-2004	1	8	8*	8.00	0	2	2/114	57.00	0	Dec 20, 2004	17y 76d
CDUS Weerasinghe (SL)	1985-1985	1	3	3	3.00	0	0	-	-	0	Sep 11, 1985	17y 194d
Yasir Ali (Pak)	2003-2003	1	1	1*	-	0	2	1/12	27.50	0	Sep 6, 2003	17y 326d
Khalid Wazir (Pak)	1954-1954	2	14	9*	7.00	0	0	-	-	0	Jul 27, 1954	18y 91d
Ranjan Das (Ban)	2000-2000	1	2	2	1.00	0	1	1/64	72.00	0	Nov 13, 2000	18y 122d
Irfan Fazil (Pak)	2000-2000	1	4	3	4.00	0	2	1/30	32.50	0	Mar 15, 2000	18y 134d
AT Roberts (WI)	1956-1956	1	28	28	14.00	0	0	-	-	0	Mar 13, 1956	18y 177d
Qaiser Abbas (Pak)	2000-2000	1	2	2	2.00	0	0	-	-	0	Nov 19, 2000	18y 196d
DL Freeman (NZ)	1933-1933	2	2	1	1.00	0	1	1/91	169.00	0	Apr 3, 1933	18y 207d
AHP Scott (WI)	1953-1953	1	5	5	5.00	0	0	-	-	0	Apr 4, 1953	18y 249d
AG Cremer (Zim)	2005-2005	6	29	12	2.63	0	13	3/86	45.76	0	Aug 17, 2005	18y 332d
E Chigumbura (Zim)	2004-2005	6	187	71	15.58	0	9	5/54	55.33	1	Mar 13, 2005	18y 364d
Anwar Hossain (Ban)	2002-2002	1	14	12	7.00	0	0	-	-	0	Dec 10, 2002	19y 0d
Talha Jubair (Ban)	2002-2004	7	52	31	6.50	0	14	3/135	55.07	0	Dec 20, 2004	19y 10d
AE Ochse (SA)	1889-1889	2	16	8	4.00	0	0	-	-	0	Mar 26, 1889	19y 15d
DC Parkin (SA)	1892-1892	1	6	6	3.00	0	3	3/82	27.33	0	Mar 22, 1892	19y 31d
T Mupariwa (Zim)	2004-2004	1	15	14	15.00	0	0	-	-	0	May 17, 2004	19y 31d
P Utseya (Zim)	2004-2004	1	45	45	22.50	0	0	-	-	0	May 8, 2004	19y 43d
T Panyangara (Zim)	2004-2005	3	128	40*	32.00	0	8	3/28	35.75	0	Jan 18, 2005	19y 89d

Remember Ata-ur-Rehman? That Pakistani fast bowler who promised so much in the time of Wasim, Waqar and Aaqib and might have played a lot more had it not been for match-fixing shenanigans. He made his debut at the age of 17, played 13 Tests and 30 ODIs, but by 21 his career was over. Rehman did not play a game after 1996 and in 2000 he was banned for life. The ICC allowed him back in 2007 and Rehman was last seen playing competitive cricket for Derbyshire second XI that year.

By the time Ian Craig played his 11th and final Test in 1958, at the age of 22, he was the youngest Australian to do several remarkable things. At 16, he made his first-class debut for New South Wales in 1951-52. In the following season, he became the youngest Australian to score a first-class double century. At 17, Craig became Australia's youngest Test cricketer (he still is), making his debut against South Africa at the MCG in 1953. His second match was Jim Laker's Test, and Craig was lbw twice, though he battled more than four hours in the second innings. At 22, he was Australia's youngest captain, leading them to a 3-0 victory in South Africa in 1957-58. He missed the next home season because of hepatitis, though, and could not break back into the Test side after he recovered. He played first-class cricket until he was 26, after which he pursued a career in business.

Players whose careers ended at the youngest age (qualification - minimum of 10 Tests)
Player	Span	Mat	Runs	HS	Bat Av	100	Wkts	BBI	Bowl Av	5	Match End	Age
BRM Taylor (Zim)	2004-2005	10	422	78	21.10	0	0	-	-	0	Sep 22, 2005	19y 228d
Nafees Iqbal (Ban)	2004-2006	11	518	121	23.54	1	0	-	-	0	Mar 11, 2006	20y 131d
JN Crawford (Eng)	1906-1908	12	469	74	22.33	0	39	5/48	29.48	3	Feb 27, 1908	21y 88d
Ata-ur-Rehman (Pak)	1992-1996	13	76	19	8.44	0	31	4/50	34.54	0	Aug 12, 1996	21y 137d
Azeem Hafeez (Pak)	1983-1985	18	134	24	8.37	0	63	6/46	34.98	4	Feb 14, 1985	21y 200d
Hannan Sarkar (Ban)	2002-2004	17	662	76	20.06	0	0	-	-	0	Oct 22, 2004	21y 326d
H Masakadza (Zim)	2001-2005	15	785	119	27.06	1	2	1/9	19.50	0	Sep 22, 2005	22y 44d
Alok Kapali (Ban)	2002-2006	17	584	85	17.69	0	6	3/3	118.16	0	Mar 3, 2006	22y 61d
RP Singh (India)	2006-2008	13	91	30	6.50	0	40	5/59	39.10	1	Apr 5, 2008	22y 121d
T Taibu (Zim)	2001-2005	24	1273	153	29.60	1	1	1/27	27.00	0	Sep 22, 2005	22y 131d
CN McCarthy (SA)	1948-1951	15	28	5	3.11	0	36	6/43	41.94	2	Aug 18, 1951	22y 147d
Tapash Baisya (Ban)	2002-2005	21	384	66	11.29	0	36	4/72	59.36	0	Jun 5, 2005	22y 172d
WM Darling (Aus)	1978-1979	14	697	91	26.80	0	0	-	-	0	Nov 7, 1979	22y 190d
Haseeb Ahsan (Pak)	1958-1962	12	61	14	6.77	0	27	6/202	49.25	2	Feb 7, 1962	22y 207d
Enamul Haque jnr (Ban)	2003-2009	14	53	13	5.88	0	41	7/95	39.24	3	Jul 20, 2009	22y 227d
ID Craig (Aus)	1953-1958	11	358	53	19.88	0	0	-	-	0	Mar 4, 1958	22y 265d
Mohammad Wasim (Pak)	1996-2000	18	783	192	30.11	2	0	-	-	0	Jun 24, 2000	22y 321d
WU Tharanga (SL)	2005-2007	15	713	165	28.52	1	0	-	-	0	Dec 22, 2007	22y 323d
Mohammad Ilyas (Pak)	1964-1969	10	441	126	23.21	1	0	-	-	0	Mar 3, 1969	22y 349d
DR Smith (WI)	2004-2006	10	320	105*	24.61	1	7	3/71	49.14	0	Mar 29, 2006	22y 351d

"Collie was a greater allrounder than I," said Garry Sobers of O'Neill Gordon Smith, who played only 26 Tests for West Indies and died because of injuries sustained in a car crash in Staffordshire in September 1959. In his third first-class game, Smith scored a century for Jamaica against the visiting Australians in 1955 and a week later repeated the feat on Test debut at Sabina Park. On the 1957 tour of England, Smith scored 161 at Edgbaston, becoming the first batsman to make centuries on first appearance against both Australia and England. He was also a promising offspinner, taking 48 wickets at 33.85, but West Indies were deprived of his skills when he was only 26.

Players whose careers ended at the youngest age (qualification - minimum of 20 Tests)
Player	Span	Mat	Runs	HS	Bat Av	100	Wkts	BBI	Bowl Av	5	Match End	Age
T Taibu (Zim)	2001-2005	24	1273	153	29.60	1	1	1/27	27.00	0	Sep 22, 2005	22y 131d
Tapash Baisya (Ban)	2002-2005	21	384	66	11.29	0	36	4/72	59.36	0	Jun 5, 2005	22y 172d
MF Maharoof (SL)	2004-2007	20	538	72	19.92	0	24	4/52	60.75	0	Nov 20, 2007	23y 74d
C Sharma (India)	1984-1989	23	396	54	22.00	0	61	6/58	35.45	4	May 3, 1989	23y 120d
PA Patel (India)	2002-2008	20	683	69	29.69	0	0	-	-	0	Aug 11, 2008	23y 155d
IK Pathan (India)	2003-2008	29	1105	102	31.57	1	100	7/59	32.26	7	Apr 5, 2008	23y 161d
SS Das (India)	2000-2002	23	1326	110	34.89	2	0	-	-	0	May 22, 2002	24y 198d
KD Karthik (India)	2004-2010	23	1000	129	27.77	1	0	-	-	0	Jan 21, 2010	24y 234d
Rajin Saleh (Ban)	2003-2008	24	1141	89	25.93	0	2	1/9	134.00	0	Oct 29, 2008	24y 344d
BP Patel (India)	1974-1977	21	972	115*	29.45	1	0	-	-	0	Dec 21, 1977	25y 27d
DD Ebrahim (Zim)	2001-2005	29	1225	94	22.68	0	0	-	-	0	Sep 22, 2005	25y 46d
JA Rudolph (SA)	2003-2006	35	2028	222*	36.21	5	4	1/1	108.00	0	Aug 8, 2006	25y 96d
Sikander Bakht (Pak)	1976-1983	26	146	22*	6.34	0	67	8/69	36.00	3	Jan 8, 1983	25y 136d
JE Taylor (WI)	2003-2009	29	629	106	15.72	1	82	5/11	35.64	3	Nov 28, 2009	25y 159d
Mashrafe Mortaza (Ban)	2001-2009	36	797	79	12.85	0	78	4/60	41.52	0	Jul 13, 2009	25y 281d
OG Smith (WI)	1955-1959	26	1331	168	31.69	4	48	5/90	33.85	1	Mar 31, 1959	25y 330d
RG Pollock (SA)	1963-1970	23	2256	274	60.97	7	4	2/50	51.00	0	Mar 10, 1970	26y 11d
GJ Rennie (Zim)	1997-2002	23	1023	93	22.73	0	1	1/40	84.00	0	Feb 25, 2002	26y 44d
KR Pushpakumara (SL)	1994-2001	23	166	44	8.73	0	58	7/116	38.65	4	Sep 8, 2001	26y 49d
DNT Zoysa (SL)	1997-2004	30	288	28*	8.47	0	64	5/20	33.70	1	Jul 13, 2004	26y 61d

Waqar Younis appears in the table of players with a minimum of 50 matches to have finished his career the earliest. He was 31 when he played his 87th Test in 2003. Six years earlier, though, there appeared an interesting anecdote regarding Waqar's age in the 1997 Wisden.

"During the Pakistan tour last summer, the fast bowler Waqar Younis was quoted in The Sun as confirming what many people in cricket had long suspected, that he was not born on November 16, 1971, as recorded in Wisden and in every other reference book. He said he was two years older than that," Matthew Engel, the editor, wrote. "I then approached Waqar for confirmation of The Sun story. He did not deny it, but said the date should be left alone, and demanded to know why it mattered. There was no ready answer to that. After all, there is no age limit in Test cricket. He is not cheating anyone; why should it matter? When Waqar signed for Glamorgan, he stuck to the 1971 date on his registration form, so there it must rest."

We too have followed suit with other cricket references and used the 1971 date. If we were to use 1969, he would be well short of the following table, finishing at the age of 33, and that would perhaps be more realistic for the champion fast bowler that he was.

Players whose careers ended at the youngest age (qualification - minimum of 50 Tests)
Player	Span	Mat	Runs	HS	Bat Av	100	Wkts	BBI	Bowl Av	5	Match End	Age
CD McMillan (NZ)	1997-2005	55	3116	142	38.46	6	28	3/48	44.89	0	Mar 22, 2005	28y 190d
KR Rutherford (NZ)	1985-1995	56	2465	107*	27.08	3	1	1/38	161.00	0	Mar 22, 1995	29y 147d
RR Sarwan (WI)	2000-2009	83	5759	291	41.73	15	23	4/37	50.56	0	Dec 20, 2009	29y 180d
GD McKenzie (Aus)	1961-1971	60	945	76	12.27	0	246	8/71	29.78	16	Jan 14, 1971	29y 204d
ADR Campbell (Zim)	1992-2002	60	2858	103	27.21	2	0	-	-	0	Nov 19, 2002	30y 57d
WJ Cronje (SA)	1992-2000	68	3714	135	36.41	6	43	3/14	29.95	0	Mar 6, 2000	30y 163d
RJ Shastri (India)	1981-1992	80	3830	206	35.79	11	151	5/75	40.96	2	Dec 29, 1992	30y 216d
ME Trescothick (Eng)	2000-2006	76	5825	219	43.79	14	1	1/34	155.00	0	Aug 21, 2006	30y 239d
CJ McDermott (Aus)	1984-1996	71	940	42*	12.20	0	291	8/97	28.63	14	Jan 29, 1996	30y 290d
AL Logie (WI)	1983-1991	52	2470	130	35.79	2	0	-	-	0	Jul 28, 1991	30y 303d
SJ Harmison (Eng/ICC)	2002-2009	63	743	49*	11.79	0	226	7/12	31.82	8	Aug 23, 2009	30y 304d
AW Greig (Eng)	1972-1977	58	3599	148	40.43	8	141	8/86	32.20	6	Aug 30, 1977	30y 328d
KJ Hughes (Aus)	1977-1984	70	4415	213	37.41	9	0	-	-	0	Dec 27, 1984	30y 336d
JN Gillespie (Aus)	1996-2006	71	1218	201*	18.73	1	259	7/37	26.13	8	Apr 20, 2006	31y 1d
JN Rhodes (SA)	1992-2000	52	2532	117	35.66	3	0	-	-	0	Aug 10, 2000	31y 14d
Waqar Younis (Pak)	1989-2003	87	1010	45	10.20	0	373	7/76	23.56	22	Jan 5, 2003	31y 50d
MJ Hoggard (Eng)	2000-2008	67	473	38	7.27	0	248	7/61	30.50	7	Mar 9, 2008	31y 69d
AC Parore (NZ)	1990-2002	78	2865	110	26.28	2	0	-	-	0	Apr 3, 2002	31y 70d
SL Campbell (WI)	1995-2002	52	2882	208	32.38	4	0	-	-	0	Feb 4, 2002	31y 95d
DM Jones (Aus)	1984-1992	52	3631	216	46.55	11	1	1/5	64.00	0	Sep 13, 1992	31y 173d