Ton-up Azhar delivers yet again for Pakistan

Azhar scores ton as Aaqib backs players to impress against England

KARACHI: Pakistani batsmen continue to impress ahead of their Test series against hosts England as they had yet another impressive outing in the second official tour match against Sussex, with middle-order batsmen Azhar Ali and Younus Khan impressing once again.

The visitors lost a couple of early wickets as openers Shan Masood (four) and Mohammad Hafeez (17) were both dismissed cheaply, but a 125-run stand between Azhar and Younus handed Pakistanis the control.



38-year-old Younus, however, was dismissed on 59 off 117 balls by Danny Briggs but Azhar continued on his merry way and notched his second consecutive hundred; having also scored an unbeaten ton against Somerset in the first tour game.

The Younus-Azhar stand was followed by another century partnership as skipper Misbahul Haq partnered Azhar in the middle, with the 42-year-old scoring his first half-century of the tour.

Former Test player Aaqib Javed — who recently resigned from his position as the Head Coach of UAE and joined Lahore Qalandars as the Pakistan Super League franchise’s director cricket operations — is confident Pakistan will impress with the bat in England since they are a settled unit in Tests.

“This batting line-up will do well in England despite people having qualms about it because they have been performing well over the last two or three years,” Aaqib told The Express Tribune.



And the former pacer believes the visitors are already used to English conditions. “When you perform well, regardless of where it is, the unit gains confidence and you can then deliver anywhere if you adjust quickly,” he said. Judging by the way the batsmen are playing, it looks like Pakistan have adjusted well. Azhar is among the runs and so are Younus, Asad Shafiq and Masood.”

Aaqib feels if Pakistan — who also boast the likes of Misbahul Haq and Sarfraz Ahmed in their ranks — can deliver with the bat and score in access of 250, then the bowlers can be in business.

“Pakistan have established batsmen till number seven, where Sarfraz comes in to bat, and he can score at a rapid pace,” said Aaqib. “Others have scored runs in tour matches but we must not forget they are also very good with the bat.”

And Aaqib feels Misbah can be particularly effective in favourable conditions. “Misbah may struggle if he faces the new ball but if he is batting with a slightly old ball, he can be as good as he is normally.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2016.

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