Hanif Mohammad: Record-breaking former Pakistan batsman dies aged 81

Hanif scored 12 Test centuries and 15 fifties, at an average of 43.98

Former Pakistan batsman Hanif Mohammad, who played the longest innings in Test history, has died aged 81.

Hanif played in Pakistan's first Test match in October 1952 and scored 3,915 runs in his 55 Test appearances.

The 499 he made for Karachi against Bahawalpur in 1959 was the highest first-class score for 45 years, until Warwickshire's Brian Lara made 501.

Hanif's 337 against West Indies in Barbados in 1958 lasted 16 hours 10 minutes, which remains a Test record.

The original 'Little Master', Hanif co-founded The Cricketer Pakistan in 1972 and edited the magazine for two decades.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and had been having treatment for respiratory complications when he passed away in Karachi.

The modern day incumbent's tribute to the original 'Little Master'

Former Pakistan batsman Rameez Raja, speaking on the BBC's Test Match Special, said Hanif was "a true legend" and "cricketing genius".

He added: "He was a determined and solid player. He was the only renowned batsman Pakistan had in the 1950s and '60s and into the early 1970s."

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan said cricket was "in mourning" and Hanif's "legend shall live forever".

"His sublime technical skill, his unflappable temperament and his resolve and staying power in all conditions were most remarkable and won plaudits for him and for Pakistan," he added.