We all know Shan Masood the opener as that is what he has been for the most part of his career.

Even the international cricket he has played for Pakistan has been as an opener in Tests and in ODIs.

An average of 29 in Tests and 22 in ODIs suggests that he has been mediocre in international cricket, despite turning it on in domestic cricket for the past few years.

He was never regarded as a T20 batsman. So much so that he did not even make it to the XI at times for his PSL franchise, the Multan Sultans.

However, in 2022, Shan Masood transformed his game. He has had a fine year in T20 cricket in 2022 and he has credited Mickey Arthur for this success.

In yesterday's first T20I between Pakistan and England, Shan Masood walked out to bat at 4 and the commentators, particularly Wasim Akram and Urooj Mumtaz, went on about how Shan is an opener and that he would find it difficult to adjust to batting at number 4.

I wondered why both commentators were so clueless when making those statements. I also wondered why no one in the combox corrected them.

The thing is that Shan Masood has not only transformed his game to become an attacking batsman suited to all formats of the game, he has also shifted to playing at number 4 in T20 cricket.

I believe he made this switch considering that Pakistan currently possess solid opening pairs in all three formats. With no opening position up for grabs in the Pakistan team, Shan likely wanted to create his space in the middle order.

And this is how he did it.

In the just completed National T20 Cup, Pakistan's domestic T20 competition, Shan Masood played 9 matches for Balochistan, and he batted at number 4 in all of those 9 matches.

In these 9 innings, he scored 215 runs at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 128.

Decent returns that definitely made a case for his presence in Pakistan's abysmal middle order.

Here's a breakdown of his 9 innings at number 4 for Balochistan in the National T20 Cup:

So no, Shan Masood was not new to batting at 4, nor did the Pakistan team management make it difficult for him by making him bat at an unfamiliar position.

Shan Masood batted at 4 in the Pakistan's T20 competition with some success, which resulted in his selection for Pakistan, who were looking to shore up their middle order after the consistent failures in the Asia Cup.

Shan Masood batted for Pakistan in the same position that he batted in Pakistan's most recent T20 competition.

Would be good if the commentators had a bit more knowledge.

Anyhow, not that it makes any difference to Pakistan's middle order though - they are all damn rabbits!

In both innings of the first test, he looked out of sorts, with scores of 3 off 41 deliveries and 6 off 32 deliveries. 

Pakistan fans generally have very short memories. Their daggers were out immediately after Azhar's two sluggish failures, and no one remembered that in Pakistan's last test series, against Australia, he amassed 300 runs in 5 innings, including a solid knock of 185.

"oh but that was scored at home, he does nothing away from home"

Hellooo, who scored a double ton at the MCG? Surely the fans have forgotten that too.

Azhar has been one of Pakistan's most dependable test batters in the past decade. 19 test centuries is no joke, neither are 7,000 test runs. The only Pakistan batters who have got more are the big 4 - Younis Khan, Javed Miandad, Inzamam Ul Haq, and Mohammad Yousuf.

He is not in the same league as the big 4 but his test average is at par with the likes of Misbah, Saeed Anwar, Hanif Mohammad, Saleem Malik, and Zaheer Abbas.

For those who think that he scores only on flat UAE decks need a reminder that Azhar has scored a test century in every country he has played except for New Zealand and South Africa. And he has scored a test ton against all opposition except for South Africa.

Azhar may not be a test great, but he has given his fair share of great test knocks, and totally deserves his place in the side.

What the current and past team managements think of him will forever remain a mystery. Despite being the most prolific first class batter in Pakistan he was kept out of the side for 10 years. That too after scoring a debut test century.

When he eventually made a come back in 2020, he showed what Pakistan was missing by hitting test hundreds against New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the West Indies.

In 12 tests since his comeback, he scored 703 runs at an average of 50. In this period, he had more centuries than anyone else from Pakistan, was one of the only three batters to average 50, and was one of the mainstays of their batting line up.

Then he had one bad series against Australia and found himself on the bench for the first test against Sri Lanka.

Why?

I have no answer for this, and I hope someone can explain this with some level of reasoning.

For the past 5 years, Shan Masood has been plundering runs in domestic cricket in Pakistan. This year, he did the same in county cricket, which is why there have been many a cry from fans to include him in the playing XI.

Shan has had a start-stop career with Pakistan. Having made his test debut in 2013, he has played test matches every year for Pakistan since then, with the last one in January 2021.

After 25 tests, he has an average under 30. Despite scoring some match winning centuries, he is too inconsistent for Pakistan as an opener.

The last time he was dropped from the team it was after scores of 0,1, 4, 18, 10, 0, 0, 0 across 5 test matches. That is 4 ducks in 8 innings for an opener.

He has had his fair share of international cricket and shown that he is not consistent enough to be a regular Pakistan test opener.

Even when he had a record domestic season in 2018-19 in List A cricket, he was given a run in Pakistan's ODI team and in 5 consecutive ODIs he managed only 111 runs at an average of 22.

While a prolific domestic runs scorer, I am afraid he cannot replace Pakistan's current top order in any format.

How does someone with a first class average of 37 make it to Pakistan's test squad in the first place is beyond me. How he makes it to a starting XI ahead of the likes of Fawad Alam (Test Ave 41, FC Ave 55) and Saud Shakeel (FC Ave 50) is just mind boggling.

The only reason I could think of was that he bowls handy off spin, which would be beneficial against the left handers in Sri Lanka's line up.

But to sacrifice proper test batters for that, I am not too sure.

Are there no good off spinners in Pakistan that they could have, and probably should have, included in the squad?

Or play Nauman Ali instead of one of the pacers. Surely you don't require 3 pacers at Galle.

Yes, Pakistan won the test, but the team selection was far from ideal.

With the next test also in Galle, I think Pakistan should put things right and bring back Fawad Alam in place of Agha Salman, and also bring in Nauman Ali in place of either one of the three pacers that played the first test.

20 Test Matches, 38 innings, 1189 runs, average of 31.28, three hundreds, six fifties.

This is Shan Masood's Test Career, which began 6 years and a few months ago. 6 years and only 20 test matches? Exactly!

These numbers don't provide a true picture of Shan Masood the test cricketer.

Having scored 75 on his debut, in October 2013, one would have expected to see Shan as a regular test opener for Pakistan, but after two tests in that series, he did not play for another year, till his return in October 2014 for two more tests.

Following that, he played 7 months later in July 2015 when he scored his first test century and became a part of Pakistan's test history with that record chase in Pallekele.

He played another two tests at the end of 2015, and then went to England with the Pakistan team in  the summer of 2016 but played only two of the four test matches.

After that tour he was sidelined again and returned a year later in May 2017 for one of the three tests in the West Indies. He played Pakistan's next two tests in October 2017, and then was sidelined once again till December 2018.

Since Shan Masood's test debut in October 2013 and his latest return to the test team in December 2018, Pakistan played 45 tests, out which Shan played only 12!

How can any player perform consistently if he plays only 2 to 3 tests every year? How can anyone expect a player to perform if he plays only 12 tests in the first 5 years of his career?

In these 12 tests, Shan scored 565 runs in 24 innings at an average of 23.54 with 1 hundred and 3 fifties.

Shan returned to Pakistan's test side in December 2018 for the tour to South Africa. Since then he has played all of Pakistan's 8 test matches.

In South Africa he stood out for his temperament and the way he countered the new ball against Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, and Kagiso Rabada. Shan was Pakistan's top run scorer in that series and the second highest run scorer between both sides, behind only Quinton de Kock.

He went to Australia and continued to demonstrate immense skill countering the new ball. He gave a good account of himself against the best pace attack in the world comprising Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins.

When Test cricket returned to Pakistan in December 2019, Shan Masood was there as Pakistan's first choice test opener. In that series, he marked his presence with a solid 135 in Karachi, in another record breaking test match.

Yesterday, Shan walked out to open against Bangladesh, in his 8th consecutive test match for Pakistan. When he walked back to the pavilion he had scored his third test century, and a second consecutive one!

Finally, he has had an interrupted run for over a year in Pakistan's test side and he is completely repaying the faith placed in him by the selectors and the team management.

In these 8 tests, Shan has scored 624 runs at an average of 44.57 with two centuries and three fifties.

In these 8 tests, he is Pakistan's second highest run scorer in Tests, behind only Babar Azam.

Now these numbers are more representative of a test opener, a regular Pakistan test opener. These numbers are also representative of a talented batsman who has been given a consistent run in the team.

Shan is Pakistan's first choice test opener now. Ahead of Imam Ul Haq, ahead of Fakhar Zaman, ahead of Abid Ali. He is a test regular and notably the one that Pakistan rely on the most after Babar Azam.

Shan had shown glimpses of this promise in his debut test innings (7 years ago), and again in that record partnership with Younis Khan in Pallekele (5 years ago). Perhaps he should have never been sidelined and maybe then he would have delivered on this promise much earlier.


But he has a lot to look forward to.

He is still only 30.

Pakistan will play plenty of test cricket going forward...

... and Shan Masood will be the first name on that team sheet for a long time to come.

Quite a start to the day for Pakistan cricket fans.

A first test victory under Azhar Ali, a 5 wicket haul for teen pace sensation Naseem Shah, and a test series win that saw the rise of Babar Azam in test cricket, the legendary test debut of Abid Ali, many shattered records, and a jump to number 3 in the World Test Championship!

Yes, number 3 ...

Here is a look at the feats of Naseem, Babar, and Abid in the just concluded Test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

The Arrival of NASEEM SHAH
Everyone was excited to see a new teen pace sensation coming out of Pakistan when he was selected in the test squad to face Australia.

A video of his 8 over spell in a side match in Australia circulated on social media with enthusiasm not seen since Mohammed Aamer's breakthrough series in 2010.

On his test debut in the first test against Australia, he bowled with pace and snared the prized wicket of David Warner. But he was left out of the second test against Australia and everyone thought he was going to be mismanaged like so many others in Pakistan.

Then there was news of him joining the U19 team for the U19 World Cup. Moving backwards? Not surprising given Pakistan.

Sanity prevailed however and he was part of the test squad to face Sri Lanka.

Two wickets in the only innings of the first test and wicket-less in the first innings of the second test resulted in some saying he was over rated.

But like most Pakistanis, who like to surprise you when you are least expecting it, Naseem Shah showed the world why he was so highly rated by the Pakistan management.

A haul of 5-31 with the last 3 wickets coming in the space of 11 deliveries and Naseem Shah had arrived!

He finished the test in no time this morning and made fans reminisce the times when Wasim and Waqar used to mop up tails within minutes.

Naseem became only the second 16 year old in Test Cricket history to pick up a 5 wicket haul in an innings. He is also the second youngest ever to do so!


Creating records already!

The Rise of BABAR AZAM
For the past three years, he has dominated limited overs cricket and has shown that he is one of the best ODI and T20 batsmen in the world at the moment. While he averaged above 50 in both white ball formats during this time, his test average languished in the mid-30s.

The start of this season however, his fourth in test cricket, Babar made it a point to translate his ODI and T20 success to the Test format.

He started the season with a 104 against Australia at Brisbane and with the end of the Test series against Sri Lanka he has scored 3 test centuries in 4 tests. In the one test that he missed out on, he scored 97.

With scores of 1, 104, 97, 8, 102*, 60, and 100*, in 7 tests innings this season, Babar has cemented his position as Pakistan's premier test batsman.


In the two year period starting January 2018, Babar has the best test average in the world among all batsmen who have scored at least 1,000 test runs.

He has a better average than Smith, Kohli, Williamson, and Root during this time.


In all international cricket formats in 2019, Babar Azam is right up there with the very best in the business. He has the third highest runs tally, third best average, third most 100s, and third most 50s in all formats this year.

Babar is the number 1 ranked batsman in T20Is, number 3 in ODIs, and number 6 in Tests. He is the only batsman in the world who is among the top 6 in each format currently! (Kohli is number 1 in tests and ODIs and number 10 in T20s).

Babar's time is now and he is set to dominate all formats of the game for many years to come.

The Legendary Debut of ABID ALI
Abid Ali has been a heavy scorer in domestic cricket for the past many years, and he finally got an opportunity to represent Pakistan this year.

He began his international career with a bang scoring a century on ODI debut in the UAE against Australia earlier this year.

Abid followed that up with a century on Test debut against Sri Lanka becoming the first batsman in the 142-years of cricket history to score a 100 on ODI and Test Debut.

I say we hand him a T20 debut too asap!

Abid has also become the first Pakistan batsman to score a 100 in each of his first two Tests.


He has really been on a roll.

With scores of 109*, 38, and 174, Abid Ali has scored 321 runs in his first three test innings, which is the third highest number of runs scored by batsmen in their first three test innings (behind Tip Foster's 355 and Lawrence Rowe's 336).

It is not without reason that Abid Ali is referred to as "Legend" in the dressing room.

Records Broken by PAKISTAN BATSMEN
Abid Ali, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, and Babar Azam all scored centuries in the second innings of the second test against Sri Lanka. This was only the second instance of a team's top 4 batsmen scoring centuries in the same innings; and the first ever instance of it happening in the second innings.

Shan Masood, brought up his second test century, cementing his position as Pakistan's first choice opener in Tests. He put on a 278 run opening partnership with Abid Ali, which made its entry in multiple places in the record books.

It was the highest opening partnership in tests against Sri Lanka, breaking a 15 year old record set by the legendary duo of Hayden and Langer.


It was the second highest opening partnership in tests for Pakistan ever, missing the record by a mere 20 runs.


It was the third highest opening partnership in the third innings of a Test.


ICC World Test Championship
This series win by Pakistan has catapulted them to number 3 in the WTC table, and now they join India and Australia as the only teams with a series win in the WTC.


Pakistan rank ahead of Sri Lanka because of more series wins (SW). RPWR stands for Runs per Wicket Ratio (Runs scored per wicket lost minus run given per wicket taken). If teams are on equal points then the team with more series wins ranks higher; and if still equal then the team with a better RPWR ranks higher.

Now that Pakistan has opened its account in the WTC and new Tests stars have emerged at home, there is much to look forward to in 2020 and beyond.

May this be the start for these exciting players and may they reach greater heights in the years to come.

Pakistan recently announced a 16-man squad for the 5 match ODI series against Australia, which will be played in the UAE, starting 22nd March.

Pakistan have decided to rest a number of their key players, including captain Sarfraz Ahmed, keeping in mind the hectic PSL schedule and the upcoming ICC World Cup.

There are more ODIs to be played leading up to the World Cup so Pakistan can afford to rest the likes of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, and Shaheen Afridi who have been playing all formats for Pakistan since the start of this season.

This also gives the Green Caps a chance to test their bench strength and build a strong squad for the World Cup. There are still a few places up for grabs in the 15-man WC squad, and this series against Australia will help the selectors decide who will be on that plane to England in the summer.

Here is a look at the new additions to Pakistan's ODI squad.

THE BATSMEN
In my view, Fakhar, Imam, Babar, Hafeez, and Malik are automatic selections for Pakistan's World Cup Squad, which leaves space for two more batsmen.

Asif Ali wasted the ODI opportunities he was given, and Hussain Talat did not do enough either to grab his chances.

This sets up the competition among the 4 new names in Pakistan's ODI squad and any of these two have the chance to make it to the World Cup by impressing the selectors and team management against Australia.


UMAR AKMAL
Not a new name for anyone, but the last time Umar Akmal played an ODI was over two years ago in January 2017. He still has a healthy average and strike rate in ODIs but he was dumped by Pakistan following lackluster form that saw him make only two 50+ scores in his last 25 ODI innings.

Umar has been in scintillating form in the PSL having scored 228 runs in 8 innings at an average of 38 and strike rate of 136.5.

In addition to this, he has also performed well at the domestic level - in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup he was among the leading run scorers with 410 runs in 10 innings at an average of 41.

Umar Akmal has been given a great opportunity to extend his domestic form to the international level and cement a place in Pakistan's World Cup squad.

SHAN MASOOD
He is also not a new name, however Shan is yet to play ODI cricket for Pakistan. While he has been in and out of the test team for the past few years, he has been on the fringes of ODI selection on the back of his magnificent domestic form.

Shan's current List A average of 56.5 has just fallen behind Michael Bevan's, but a few months ago, Shan held the world record List A average.

Shan had a breakthrough 2018, finishing the year as the leading run scorer in all List A matches. He amassed 1,789 runs in 30 innings at an average of 74.54. His 30 innings included 7 hundreds and 10 fifties!

That run tally included 5 innings for Pakistan A against the England Lions, where Shan was the second highest run scorer between both sides, with 238 runs at an average of 47.6.

With Fakhar rested for the series against Australia, Shan will definitely make his ODI debut and he is in with a chance to make the World Cup squad as a third opener.

ABID ALI
He is a domestic veteran having been around Pakistan's domestic circuit for the past 14 years, during which Abid Ali has played 91 List A and 102 First Class Matches.

He averages 38 in both formats, which is not world class, but following a successful 2018, he was deserving of chance, which he has got now.

2018 was his most successful year yet, where he scored 1,318 runs in 24 List A innings, including 3 hundreds and 9 fifties. He ended the year with a List A average of 60! This included 299 runs in 5 innings in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup where he averaged 59.8. His 5 innings included 4 fifties with a top score of 91.

He got only two chances in the List A matches against England Lions, and in one of those he smashed 140. He was also among the leading run scorers in First Class matches against the England Lions and New Zealand A, scoring a century against each of the teams.

Abid Ali will have to make the most of his chances against Australia to be in the running for the 1-2 batting spots that are available in Pakistan's WC squad.

SAAD ALI
He has been around the domestic circuit for almost 7 years and has an impressive List A and First Class record, averaging over 46 in both formats.

Saad impressed in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup scoring 243 runs in 5 innings at an average of 48.6. He was also impressive in the only First Class innings he got against New Zealand A scoring 144.

Like Abid Ali, Saad will also have to make the most of his chances against Australia to try and impress the selectors for a World Cup selection.

THE BOWLERS
Pakistan is spoiled for choice when it comes to pacers. The likes of Mohammad Aamir, Usman Khan Shinwari, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, and Hasan Ali are already in the fold.

And for the upcoming series against Australia, Pakistan have recalled Junaid Khan, given a first time chance to Mohammad Abbas, and are also going to try out the raw pace of 18-year old Mohammad Hasnain.

On the spin front, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim should be the first pick for Pakistan's World Cup Squad, but Yasir Shah could also be considered if he can replicate his test form into ODIs in the series against Australia.

It is going to be tough for Pakistan to pick 7 bowlers out of this talented line up for the World Cup.




























MOHAMMAD HASNAIN
He is only 18 years old and has only played 2 First Class Matches and 4 T20 Matches - all of them in the ongoing PSL.

He has picked up 5 wickets in the 4 PSL matches and has impressed everyone with his sheer pace, at times clocking over 150kmh!

Considering Pakistan's battery of pacers, Mohammad Hasnain may find it tough to make it to the World Cup squad, but you never know what could happen if he excels in the ODI series against Australia.

MOHAMMAD ABBAS
He has been Pakistan's Test spearhead for the past two years, picking up 66 wickets at an average of under 19 in the 14 tests he has played.

He has an impressive List A record too with an average a shade under 28 and an economy rate well under 5. Yet he has never been tried in ODIs by Pakistan.

He has had most of his test success on the docile UAE pitches, and he also spearheaded Pakistan's test win at Lord's last summer with an 8 wicket haul that got him the Man of the Match Award.

His bowling style is well suited for English pitches and if he performs in the ODIs against Australia he could be the first name on Pakistan's team sheet come the World Cup.

JUNAID KHAN
Injuries and indifferent attitude of the selectors towards him has kept Junaid in and out of Pakistan's ODI squads.

He is among the senior bowlers for Pakistan and has a super international record with 104 wickets at an average of 27.8 and an economy rate of 5.2.

In my view he is an automatic selection for the World Cup, but with this ODI series against Australia being considered his comeback, he would need to impress the right people given the number of left arm pacers Pakistan already has.

YASIR SHAH
In the 19 ODIs that Yasir has played, of which the last was in July 2018, he has never really excelled the way he has in Tests.

He is Pakistan's go to spinner in tests, but Shadab and Imad have been preferred in the shorter formats.

Including Yasir in the presence of Shadab and Imad along with the part time of Hafeez and Malik seems superfluous, and two leg spinners in a playing XI never really makes sense.

I don't think Yasir has a chance to make it to the World Cup squad, and it could be that he was considered for this series to allow Shadab some rest.


Pakistan are going into the series against Australia with 5 uncapped players - Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Saad Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, and Mohammad Abbas; and 3 players who are returning to ODIs - Umar Akmal, Junaid Khan, and Yasir Shah.

It is the perfect opportunity for all of these players to display their talent and book a ticket to England for the summer.

It will be interesting to watch how these players perform in the ODI series against Australia and who from there makes it to the World Cup party.

Pakistan have now played 4 ODIs at Port Elizabeth and haven't lost even one!

That is quite a record for them in a place like South Africa.

No one really expected Pakistan to win the first ODI. I mean our ODI team is worse than our test team, and with the way the test team was wiped out, it was really difficult to expect the ODI team to win anything.

For starters, I felt Pakistan played the wrong XI.

I had wanted Shan Masood, Mohammad Amir, and Shaheen Afridi to be in the starting XI.

Leading up to the match a lot of people had said that they wanted Shan Masood to replace Imam Ul Haq at the top of the order.

That is not what I wanted.

Imam averages 60+ in ODIs and you can't drop someone who has scored 4 centuries and 3 fifties in ODIs because of his failures in test cricket. Imam deserved his spot in the team and he also showed everyone why he should be Pakistan's first choice opener in ODIs.

After this innings in the first ODI, Imam averages 64.6 and has scored 4 hundreds and 4 fifties in 17 innings!

What I had actually wanted was for Pakistan to go in with a top 6 comprising Fakhar, Imam, Shan, Babar, Hafeez, and Malik.

I feel Sarfraz at 6 is one position too high. He is not the batsman you want coming in at 50-4, which is something that happens to Pakistan quite often.

I know that means playing a bowler short but Hafeez, Malik, and Fakhar should be able to provide 10 overs among them. Moreover in a place like South Africa, and England (during the WC later in the year), even Shan Masood can turn his arm over for a few overs.

With the above mentioned top 6, followed by Sarfraz, Shadab, Faheem and any two pacers out of Amir, Hasan, Shaheen, Usman is a solid line up in my opinion.

The fact that Pakistan won the first ODI with what was arguably not their best XI is quite heartening.

The bowlers did a tremendous job restricting South Africa to only 266. They looked set for a 300 plus total but never really accelerated. It was a really odd scoreline seeing 266-2 on the board.

Despite that, no one really thought Pakistan could chase 266.

But Imam and Fakhar had different thoughts.

They gave Pakistan a solid start and when Fakhar departed after a quick 25, Babar Azam took over like he does every time he bats in colored clothing.

Imam held the innings together with a 45 run opening partnership, 94-run partnership with Babar, and a 46-run partnership with Hafeez.

Imam has scored 4 ODI centuries, but this 86 was his best ODI innings in my opinion.

After Imam left, it was all about Mohammad Hafeez. He was just sublime.

Dale Steyn missing from the line up probably helped, but after beginning slowly, Hafeez just owned the game and never made it feel like Pakistan will not get there.

It was great to see Pakistan win something on this tour after the embarrassing test losses, and it was heartening to see Pakistan win against a top team in ODIs, a format in which they have struggled heavily in recent times.

With 2019 being the World Cup year, it is a fantastic start for Pakistan's ODI team. 

When Pakistan's Asia Cup squad was announced last month, there was little surprise as most of the members were automatic selections. The only choice that created some news was the omission of Mohammad Hafeez and selection of Shan Masood.

But was it a surprise?

Shan has played 12 tests for Pakistan and has been pretty much termed a test match specialist.

He has rarely been given a prolonged run as opener for Pakistan, and hence the limited success, but everyone remembers him for his epic 125 in Palekelle, where he, in the company of the illustrious Younis Khan, led Pakistan to a successful record run chase.

So what led to his selection in the ODI team?

I had the pleasure of meeting Shan Masood this past weekend, thanks to a friend.

While I am usually at the top of records and stats regarding cricket (both international and domestic), but when Shan told me about the record he had established and currently held, I was pleasantly surprised.

Shan told me that he has the highest List A average in the world at the moment, and that his successful domestic season in 2018 led him to a List A average above Michael Bevan's, who had held this record for over a decade.

Shan's 58.2 average is a good 0.4 runs above Bevan's and gives him a record that was considered quite difficult to break.

For the uninitiated, List A includes all ODI Cricket and all domestic 50-over games recognized by the domestic cricket boards.

Shan has had a tremendous domestic season, which resulted in his selection for the Asia Cup that got underway yesterday in the UAE.

In 20 List A games, Shan amassed 1,325 runs at a phenomenal average of 94.6 and a strike rate of 93.8. He has the best average in the format this season, the highest number of fifties, and the joint second highest number of centuries.

No wonder he has been given a chance to represent Pakistan in the limited overs format.

Not surprised any more, are you?

Shan is a record holder and hopefully he can translate this domestic form into some international runs too!

In less than an hour, Pakistan and England will start the first test of their series at the home of cricket, Lord's.

For all cricketers, it is a dream to play at Lord's. Some realize this dream early in their careers, while others at the twilight.

For Pakistan's 42-year old captain, Misbah Ul Haq, this will be his first test at Lord's. His first in England.

Unfortunately, Pakistan don't schedule international test tours as frequently as other Asian teams like India and Sri Lanka. It is unfortunate that in a test career that began in 2001 and has spanned 60 odd test matches, with the majority since 2007, Misbah has not played a single test in England or Australia.

However, at the same time, it is a dream come true for him. This tour marks a full circle of Misbah's captaincy tenure, which started after the demoralizing tour to England in 2010. Since then he has led Pakistan's team in whites with aplomb and is today the most successful captain in Pakistan's test history.

Many cricketers dream of playing a test at Lord's; Misbah would not have thought that he would realize it at 42. 

Another cricketer who probably thought that he would never play cricket again, let alone play at Lord's, is Mohammad Aamer.

Lord's is the scene of his crime that almost ended his career way too prematurely. Having served his punishment and returned to white ball cricket for Pakistan since the start of the year, Aamer is all geared up for his return to test cricket at the venue where he lost 5 years of a promising career.

The build up to Aamer's return has been as expected with a number of current and former England cricketers and the British media reminding the world of what he did in 2010. The England captain has also warned Aamer about the possible abuse he may receive from the crowd at Lord's.

Pakistan's cricketers have been supportive like a bunch of elder brothers looking to protect the problem child. While other supporters, like myself, cannot wait to see Aamer back in action.

Aamer might have dreamed of playing for Pakistan again, but he would have never thought that he would resume his career at Lord's!

Shan Masood recently spoke about living in St. John's Wood, walking and jogging around the neighborhood, and thinking about playing at Lord's every time he passed by the gates. That is quite some story for this opener who has gradually cemented his place in Pakistan's Test XI.

For Shan, stepping into Lord's as a Pakistan test cricketer, is a very filmy story. I can just picture this Pakistani kid standing outside the Lord's gates and imagining himself playing a cover drive before continuing on his jog and dreaming about playing cricket for Pakistan.

Shan dreamed about playing for Pakistan, he dreamed about playing at Lord's, and today he will realize that dream is Pakistan's first choice test opener.

Besides Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Wahab Riaz, and Mohammad Aamer none of the players from Pakistan's test squad have played at Lord's.

Today is going to be a dream come for all of them, however it will be a bit more special for Misbah, Aamer, and Shan.

ICC's annual update of the test rankings pushed Pakistan down from number 3 to 6 just before the start of their series against Sri Lanka. For them to go back to number 3, Pakistan had to win the series against Sri Lanka. Something they had not managed to do in the island since 2006.

But they did it!

Pakistan won the test series 2-1, a scoreline that could have so easily been 3-0 for Sri Lanka.

First innings scores of 138 and 215 in the 2nd and 3rd tests respectively showed how inept Pakistan's batting line up can be. Yet it was two brilliant counter attacks with the bat that resulted in a series win for Pakistan.

In the 1st test, they had collapsed to 96-5 after Sri Lanka had posted 300 in the first innings when Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed came together. The two Karachi boys turned it on with so much confidence that it was hard to believe that Pakistan had lost their top 5 batsmen for under a 100.

Asad and Sarfraz put on 139 runs for the 6th wicket with Sarfraz playing in his usual aggressive fashion. His 96 off only 86 deliveries took the game away from Sri Lanka. Asad continued in his dogged style and added another 101 runs for the 9th wicket with Zulfiqar Babar. That was the first of the two times that Pakistan's batsmen turned it around during the series.

The next turnaround was even better.

With the series level at 1-1, Pakistan faced a daunting target of 377 and were staring at a series loss. At 13-2 the writing was on the wall and Pakistan's fate as test number 6 seemed certain. Social media was buzzing with criticism. A series that could have gone 3-0 for Pakistan was going to be lost 2-1 said some. Ahmed Shehzad was abused left, right, and center.

However, as always, there were some optimists out there who made outrageous statements like:

"Shan Masood 150 maarega"

"YK ka 200 likh lo"

"Buss Younis 100 kar jaye"

It all happened! I have all the messages saved to show the world that believers still exist.

Shan and Younis produced a fairy tale performance that made the dreamers smile like never before. It was a performance that could have only come from Pakistan to make sure the non-believers start believing in the magic again. It was a turnaround that was so often orchestrated by Wasim and Waqar in the 90s, but this time it was two batsmen doing it for Pakistan.

Shan and Younis added 242 runs for the third wicket in a series defining partnership.

Pakistan chased down 377 and won the match by 7 wickets, and the series 2-1. They made it look so easy; as if the target was just 150.

Off late, it has become common for Pakistan to create new records with every test series and this was like no other. Both kinds of records, team and individual, were achieved.

1. Pakistan's Highest Chase Ever - 377

For Pakistan, this is only the third time in their history that they have successfully chased down a target of over 300 in a test match.

It is by far their highest successful chase ever.












It is their highest 4th innings total ever.











It is the highest target ever achieved in a test in Sri Lanka.
It is the 2nd highest target ever achieved in a test in South Asia.
It is the 6th highest target ever achieved to win a test match.

2. Sarfraz Ahmed - Pakistan's Best Wicketkeeper Batsman Ever - Average > 50

Sarfraz Ahmed has been a match winner for Pakistan. He was there when Pakistan chased 302 against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in January last year. He was there during Pakistan's historic test series win over Australia. And he is there now. He hasn't been there merely; he has made his presence felt with the bat like no wicketkeeper ever has for Pakistan.

He is already among the only 7 wicketkeepers from Pakistan to score over 1,000 test runs. He has by far the best average among all of them, and at the rate he is going it will not be long before he displaces Kamran Akmal at the top of this list.

Sarfraz is not only one of the best in Pakistan, but he is also among the best in the world. He is among the only 3 wicketkeepers in the history of test cricket who have scored over 1,000 runs with an average of over 50.

The way Sarfraz' career has shaped up, I will not be surprised if he ends his career as the most successful wicketkeeper batsman ever.

3. The Younis-Shan Partnership - 242

If there was ever a partnership that could define "monumental", this would have to be it. At least in modern times. Everyone knows that the 4th innings is the most difficult innings to bat in; to score big in the 4th innings to save a test or to win one is by far the most fulfilling achievement for a batsman. So you can imagine what this 242 means for Pakistan, more so because it came after Pakistan had been reduced to 13-2.

In the 4th innings of a test, it is Pakistan's highest partnership ever, it is the highest partnership for the 3rd wicket ever, and it is the highest partnership against Sri Lanka ever.

It is the 4th highest and only the 7th 200 run partnership ever in the 4th innings to win a test.

4. Yasir Shah - The Best Leg Spinner in the World? - 61

With 61 wickets in 10 tests, Yasir Shah has achieved something that no other leg spinner ever did. Neither Shane Warne, nor any of Anil Kumble, Abdul Qadir, Stuart MacGill, or Clarie Grimmett had as many wickets as Yasir has after their first 10 tests.

During the series, Yasir became the first bowler from Pakistan to pick up 50 wickets before his 10th test. Yasir managed it in 9 tests breaking the record that was jointly held by the legendary Waqar Younis, Shabbir Ahmed, and Mohammad Asif.

Yasir reched his 50 test wickets in lesser time and fewer tests than any bowler in the history of Pakistan's test cricket. He left everyone from Imran Khan to Wasim, Waqar, Qadir, Mushtaq, Saqlain, Shoaib, Asif, and Ajmal behind.

Yasir is also one of the only 6 spinners in this world and one of the only 3 leg spinners in this world who managed 50 wickets in 9 tests or less. The only other leg spinners who managed this are Australia's Stuart Macgill and Arthur Mailey.

That is some elite company that Yasir is in.

How far can Yasir Shah go is anybody's guess, but for Pakistan he has turned out to be a trump card like none other. He has taken over from Saeed Ajmal like no one would have imagined and he has brought leg spin back as a weapon that Pakistan had so dearly missed. He is undoubtedly the best leg spinner in the world at the moment and if he can keep going the way he has started, he will also be remembered as one of the best leg spinners ever to play the game.

5. Misbah Ul Haq - Pakistan's Best Captain Ever? - 18

This was Misbah's 18th test win as captain. He is 4 clear of Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, Pakistan's (former) most successful test captains. Even though Misbah's W/L ratio is less than that of both Imran and Javed and his win % is less than many others like Wasim, Waqar, and Saleem Malik, Misbah has presided over some of Pakistan's most historic and iconic test victories.

Some include clean sweeping England when they were ranked number 1, beating Australia in a test series for the first time in 20 years, and now this chase against Sri Lanka.

It is not only these victories, which make Misbah Pakistan's most successful test captain, but also his batting. He finished the game off today with a 6 that took him to 4,000 career test runs, 2,992 of which have come as captain of Pakistan.

No one has scored as many runs as Misbah has as captain of Pakistan and he is only 8 runs away from becoming the only Pakistani cricketer to score 3,000 test runs as captain. Misbah's test average of 56.45 as captain of Pakistan is second only to that of Hanif Mohammad.

Misbah has not only scored lots of runs as Pakistan's captain, he has also scored more runs and more centuries as Pakistan's captain in test wins than anyone else. Yes, even more than Pakistan's biggest match winner ever, Inzamam Ul Haq.

6. Younis Khan - Pakistan's Best Test Cricketer Ever

He has achieved so much that I am going to dedicate an entire post to him. As I always do after every test series Pakistan plays in.

It has been 12 hours since Pakistan defeated South Africa in the first test of the two match series in Abu Dhabi, and the feeling that what a great achievement the win is for Pakistan has started to sink in.

There could not have been a more stark contrast between the test record of the two teams coming into this match.

South Africa - undefeated in 15 tests prior to this one, ranked world number 1, and boasting the presence of the top two ranked test batsmen and the top two ranked test bowlers in their XI.

Pakistan - 1 test win in their last 8 tests that too against lowly ranked Zimbabwe, ranked number 6, and coming fresh of a test defeat to Zimbabwe.

South Africa were clear favourites. No one really gave Pakistan a chance.

Except for those quietly confident eternally optimistic fans who believed that the UAE always brings about special performances from Pakistan.

It was just last year, in the UAE, that Pakistan had clean swept the then world number 1 test team - England. However, since then Pakistan had been poor in tests. They had lost a series to Sri Lanka, were whitewashed in South Africa, and drew a series 1-1 in Zimbabwe.

Pakistan, who had risen to number 4 in the test rankings, had fallen to 6 this year.

The slide was unfathomable for the fans.

Yet for the quietly confident eternally optimistic fans, it was just a matter of time before those fortunes swung again.

Pakistan might have become poor travellers, but they are a super power at home. They have not lost a single test match in the UAE since it became "home" for them in 2010.

Even prior to that, Pakistan's home record was second to none. They have the best W:L ratio among all teams in test matches played at home.



Pakistan's record in the UAE prior to this match against South Africa was also enviable. Played 12, Won 6, Lost 2, Draw 4.

Despite the fact that South Africa were favourites going into the first test in Abu Dhabi, I am sure that there were others like me who thought that Pakistan could not be counted out.

Yet to achieve a victory like Pakistan did was a big achievement.

Forget the fact that Pakistan defeated the world number 1 test team. Think about the fact that Pakistan managed to bowl out a team, whose batting line up comprised of the names Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, AB De Villiers, JP Duminy, and Faf Du Plessis, not once but twice for less than 250 inside 4 days.

Those 6 names are synonymous with feats like chasing 414 to win a test match in Australia and batting out 148 overs to save a test match in Australia. Two of those names sit pretty at the top of the test batsmen rankings.

The fact Pakistan's 4 man attack bowled them out for 249 and 232 on a relatively good batting surface highlights the enormity of Pakistan's achievement.

Every bowler chipped in. Mohammad Irfan softened the batsmen upfront and got the initial breakthroughs; Junaid Khan troubled the batsmen with his swing and got the prized wicket of Kallis twice in the match; the debutant Zulfiqar Babar bowled rippers and asked questions of the batsmen in every over; and the magician Saeed Ajmal continued to cast a spell ending the match as the leading wicket taker among both teams.

Pakistan's bowling has delivered time and again in the past and it did so again. What made Pakistan count in this match was its batsmen, who stood up to be counted, and almost ensured that Pakistan would not have to bat again.

There are numerous examples of test matches in which Pakistan's batsmen have thrown away the advantage that their bowlers have created for them.

That did not happen this time round.

Besides the two centuries and a solid 75 by the debutant opener, the highlight of Pakistan's batting performance was the running between the wickets. There was assurance and confidence in the manner the Pakistan batsmen ran.

The strike was rotated constantly and there was hardly any time in their innings that one felt that the Pakistanis were embroiled in meaningless defence for prolonged periods.

That allowed them to score at over 3 an over (3.18 for the innings). There were even long periods of the game when Pakistan was scoring at over 4 an over. In contrast, South Africa's run rate in its two innings was 2.67 and 2.80.

Pakistan have a lot to be proud of after this win and there are many feats that they will treasure and take with them into the next test match in Dubai.

1. Khurram Manzoor's 146 was the highest score by a Pakistan batsman in a test match against South Africa.
2. Khurram Manzoor and Shan Masood's 135 run opening partnership was the second highest opening partnership for Pakistan against South Africa. They fell short by two runs of the record partnership, which was between Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat in 2003.
3. The opener's century stand was Pakistan's first after 10 tests. The last century opening stand came 22 innings ago.
4. Misbah, with scores of 100 and 28*, became the leading run scorer in all international matches played in 2013.
5. Asad Shafiq scored his 7th test 50 while batting at number 6. That is now the highest number of test 50s for a number 6 batsman in tests in the past three years (since 1st November 2010). Angelo Matthews and Ian bell have 6 fifties each at number 6 during this period. Asad Shafiq also has 3 centuries at this position during this period; Only Michael Hussey with 5 centuries has more. Asad Shafiq needs 101 more runs to over take Hussey and become the leading run scorer at the number 6 position in tests since 1st November 2010.
6. Misbah became the oldest man to score a test century for Pakistan.
7. Dale Steyn's opening spell of 5-0-31-0 was his most expensive opening spell ever in test cricket.

UAE is fast becoming Pakistan's fortress, while Pakistan is fast gaining the reputation of being Giant Killers. This was their fourth consecutive win in the UAE against the number 1 test team.

Additionally, in the past two years they have managed to:

Beat England (World #1 Test Team) 3-0
Beat India (ODI World Champions) 2-1
Beat West Indies (World T20 Champions) 2-0

This win against South Africa is no surprise. Not for the quietly confident eternally optimistic fans. However, it is one big achievement and all Pakistani should be proud.

Especially Misbah and his men.