Date of Birth:
9 July 1987
Teams Played for:
Male’ Sports Club / Maldives U15 / Maldives U17 / Maldives U19 / Maldives (Senior) Team
Playing style:
Right Hand Bat
Left Arm Orthodox Spin
Profile:
Mohamed Mahfooz, who is more commonly known as Mahey, began playing cricket at the age of twelve after the 1999 ICC World Cup in England which was closely followed by number of Maldivians.
His first coach was former national team player, Ibrahim Riyaz, and it was under coach de Silva, who himself was a decent left arm spinner, Mahfooz discovered his spinning abilities with the cricket ball.
Just three years after he started playing serious cricket in school and national under aged teams, he was selected to represent the Maldives’ senior squad in 2002, which toured Nepal in the Emerging Nations’ Tournament played between Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan.
He made his debut against Bhutan taking two wickets, immediately catching the eye of many there on that day. Mahfooz is arguably the best spinner Maldives has ever created and his wickets tally confirms this.
Playing on flat pitches, he combined the ability to vary his flight and pace and even exert some turn even on the most unhelpful pitches. He has established his presence in the international circuit with many outstanding and match-winning performances overseas.
Mahfooz is also noted for his exuberant and effective lower-order batting. He showed his batting abilities when he scored a brisk 49 against Afghanistan in the SAARC competition held in Fuvahmulah, Maldives. He is one of the best fielders in the country usually donning critical positions like Point and Cover.
Currently 28, Mahfooz still has a good decade of cricket left in him, during which he will very probably lift many more trophies for himself, club and for Maldives.
Domestic Achievements:
Best Batsman – Interschool Cricket Tournament (Majeedhiyya School vs Galolhu Madharusaa)
Best Cricketer 2002 – 2003
YDP Best Bowler 2004 (Under 19)
Best Bowler – Division 1 (LOCT 2007)
Best Bowler – Cyprea National Cricket Tournament 2009
Best Bowler 2007
Best Player – Division 1 (27th LOCT 2009)
Best Bowler – Division 1 2013
Best Fielder – Division 1 2013
Best Bowler – National Cricket Tournament 2013-2014
International Achievements:
Best All-Round Player – Sri Lanka Practice Tour 2003
Selected among the best 14 players of Youth Asia Cup in 2004 in India.
Man of the Match – ACC Tour ( Asia11 vs Mysore District/ Maldives )
Champions of Emerging Nations 2005 (Member of team)
Champions of ACC Emerging Nations Tournament 2006
Man of the Match – ACC Challenge 2009 (MAL vs IRA)
Man of the Match – ACC Trophy Challenge 2010 (MAL vs CHI)
Champions of ACC Trophy Challenge 2010 (Member of team)
Player of the Match – ACC Elite League 2014 (MAL vs BAH).
What Others Say:
Mahey, as he is known to all is a reliable left arm bowler with variations to trouble any batsman. His record of wickets at International and Domestic level speaks for itself. As a batsman, although he is not a prolific run scorer he is the soldier of many teams – digging in and turning the pressure back on to the opposition.
Recently Mahey has taken well to captaincy and has shown potential to be a successful leader. Learning the psychological role of motivating the team and communicating game plans will be the measure of this player at the end of his playing career.
As a fan of all aspects of cricket It will be a pleasure to encourage him to administer the game once his tweaking days are done.
– Liam McCumiskey (General Manager)
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It is always a pleasure to take the field with Mahey. He is a great mate on and off the field. He is one of the most professional cricketers in Maldives and he understands the game like very few does.
Having played almost my entire career alongside Mahey, domestically and internationally, I have learned a lot from him and shared a lot of good and bad experiences with him on the field. The success in 2005, 2006 and 2010 will definitely be a highlight of both our careers.
For as long as I have known Mahey, he has been one of my best friends and it was under his captaincy in Under 17 team which toured to Chennai, that I got the opportunity to be an opener.
If anyone can bring Maldives Cricket success in the future, it would be Mahfooz with his huge understanding of the game and the tactics he uses to take his team over the line.
– Ahmed Hassan (Team Mate)
