LONDON: Pakistan Test team captain Shan Masood says leading Yorkshire County Cricket Club at the historic Lord's in the ongoing County Championship is an extremely proud moment for him.
The southpaw, who’s leading Yorkshire again this year in the county championship division two, spoke to Geo News during the game with Middlesex CCC.
“It’s a privilege enough to play at this historic cricket ground let alone captaining a team at this level. In a player’s cricketing career, there are some checklists like playing and scoring at famous venues. I played my first ever county championship game here too while playing for Derbyshire CCC in 2022 when I scored 91 and 62 runs to save the match”.
“I still remember when the first time I played here for Pakistan was during the famous 2016 test match against England, which became famous of then team captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s press ups celebrations after scoring a century and subsequently the team’s post-victory salute and press-ups in front of the pavilion”.
Although his first outing for Yorkshire this season was a total failure as he got out without scoring after just six deliveries against Leicestershire CCC but made a strong comeback in the next game against Gloucestershire CCC.
In the first innings of the match, Shan scored a magnificent century, match-saving innings of 140 runs oFf 180 deliveries after players like Joe Root and Harry Brooks failed and Yorkshire lost half of their team for just 90 runs.
Shan said that it’s just the beginning of the season but he’s satisfied with his performance so far. “In the whole season the runs scored is a relative thing but doesn’t reflect the whole picture of a batters' approach. But with these initial few innings, I’m feeling comfortable that mentally and physically I’m in a good space and happy with the practice session I’m having. I’m satisfied with my approach and preparations and trying to convert the good starts of my innings into big runs”.
Unlike the last season when Yorkshire started the season without the services of Harry Brooks and Joe Root due to their commitments in IPL, this year Shan has got the experienced duo back in the squad right from the beginning. This means he’s got a chance not only to spend quality time with both Root and Brooks but also time to discuss various aspects of the game with them.
“The experience of playing with the likes of Joe Root and Harry Brooks has been wonderful. It'S just like playing along with your heroes who are among the best players in the world. Joe Root is indeed ranked as one the best test batters in the world and Harry Brook, in my opinion, there won’t be a better batter than him in world cricket in the future so to sit with them and have conversations on different aspects of the game and the captaincy”.
“It is so encouraging not only for me but for the whole team to have them around as we have a number of youngsters in the squad. The level of professionalism I’ve seen in both players is exemplary, the way they practice and train, their approach towards the game is a lesson to learn for any international cricketer”, he added further. Shan stressed that having Root around is also a great opportunity to gain experience from his captaincy stint.
“I value a lot Joe Root’s opinion on and off the field even about my batting style I take advice from him. Having such brilliant cricketers in the world playing under you, speaking with them about the game, and gaining knowledge from them is a great tool to have”.