Sami Aslam makes presence felt at Edgbaston

KARACHI: It was a tragic end to what was easily a very valuable innings for Pakistan.

The 20-year-old Sami Aslam was on his way to becoming the youngest opener to hit a century in England when a suicidal call resulted in his run-out on the sedonc day of the third Test against England. But by then, the left-hander had cemented his place for the fourth and final Test at The Oval by hitting a resolute 82. Sami faced 176 balls, hitting nine fours and a six in his valiant knock.

It was a highly important innings for Pakistan considering that Sami’s senior partner – Mohammad Hafiz – had departed for 0 after playing a rash shot off Jimmy Anderson in the very first over. Together with Azhar Ali, Sami put on a valuable partnership of 181 in 61.4 overs. Their second-wicket stand could well turn out to be a match-winning one for Pakistan, who are looking to bounce back after getting thrashed in the second Test at Old Trafford.

The Lahore-born Sami only made it to the playing eleven for the Edgbaston Test because of the fact that Pakistan’s first-choice opener Shan Masood had proved himself to be unreliable especially when facing Anderson.

Before Edgbaston, Sami had played two previous Tests, against Bangladesh last year, but made just 47 runs in three innings. In 30 first-class matches he has scored more hundreds (six) than he has half-centuries (four) which suggests he has the hunger to convert into big scores (three of his centuries are over 150) although his first-class average is a modest 35.47 at the moment. He was prolific at Under-19 level and is currently the second-highest run-scorer in U-19 ODI history with 1695 runs. He was captain of the Pakistan U-19 side when they toured England in 2013 and made two centuries in a tri-series, including 110 in the final against England, before catching the eye with another hundred in victory over India at the U-19 Asia Cup.