Sheikh Mazhar Hussain is a former cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er who played for various Lahore teams from 1984–85 to 1988–89 before emigrating to the United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates cricket team

The United Arab Emirates national cricket team is the team that represents the country of the United Arab Emirates in international cricket matches...

. Hussain then played international cricket for his adopted nation between 1993–94 and 1995–96.

Hussain notched up a total of 24 first-class

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 games while playing in his native Pakistan

Pakistani cricket team

The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....

, making a top score of 139. He also played for Pakistan B in three first-class games on their tour to Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean cricket team

The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...

 in 1986–87. However, he was never selected for the full Pakistan side and blamed his non-selection on "petty politics and favouritism".

He first represented the UAE in the 1994 ICC Trophy

ICC Trophy

The ICC World Cup Qualifier is an international one-day cricket tournament run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council. Any Associate or Affiliate member of the ICC may attempt to qualify for the ICC Trophy by means of a system of regional qualifying events. The test-playing Full...

 and established himself as one of the leading cricketers, if not the leading cricketer, in the UAE team. Indeed, it was in the 1994 tournament, against Ireland

Irish cricket team

The Ireland cricket team is the cricket team representing all of Ireland. Because of political difficulties, the Irish Cricket Union was not elected to the International Cricket Council until 1993, and qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2007. The Irish Cricket Union is the...

, that Hussain became the first Emirates batsman to score a century. In the 1994 Pepsi Austral-Asia Cup, held in Sharjah

Sharjah (city)

Sharjah is the third largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.Sharjah is the seat of government of the emirate of Sharjah...

, he played his first two One Day International, scoring 70 in the first ODI, against India

Indian cricket team

The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....

. This 70 was the first half-century made by an Emirati batsman in an ODI and as of 2006 is the second highest score made by an Emirati batsman in ODI cricket.

Hussain went on to play in five more ODIs in the 1996 World Cup

1996 Cricket World Cup

The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...

. Hussain's 179 runs in ODI cricket make him the highest-scoring Emirati in One Day Internationals.