[VIDEOS/PICTURES] Shan Masood at Derbyshire - 2022 County Season

[Saj]

Brilliant start for Shan.

91 on debut in the County Championship against Middlesex.

[MenInG]

Shan Masood scored 91 in his first LV= County Championship innings for Derbyshire, as the visitors began their fight back on Day Two at Lord’s.

Middlesex’s Tim Murtagh claimed his 900 first-class wicket, while Masood’s 91 for Derbyshire is comfortably the highest-ever score by a debutant for the county against Middlesex at Lord’s. His 220-minute vigil allowed the visitors to reply with 177-4 after bowling out the hosts for 401 on the stroke of lunch, Alex Thomson returning 4-103 his best figures in County Championship cricket.

Middlesex resumed on 307-4 with eyes on a fourth batting point ahead of the 110-over cut-off. What looked straightforward became a fraught chase as first Jack Davies lost his off-stump to Anuj Dal before Thomson struck twice in three balls in the 110th over to see off John Simpson and Toby Roland-Jones.

The precious point was only secured when Robbie White sent the final ball of the over to the mid-wicket fence. He perished soon afterwards for 65 and it needed a few meaty blows from Tom Helm in an unbeaten 30 to lift Middlesex beyond 400 in the first innings at Lords for the first time since September 2018.

Godleman, formerly of this parish, posted a landmark of 1000 runs at Lord’s when he reached eight, but the former teammate of Murtagh in the late noughties would later play the role of walk-on part in the veteran seamer’s historic moment.

Meanwhile, Masood forged on. The Pakistan Test opener was born in Kuwait, but raised in Lincolnshire and has graduated from both Durham and Loughborough Universities. Perhaps that explains why he felt so at home inside the Grace gates.

A sumptuous square drive took him passed 50 and at 58 he surpassed the previous highest score made by a Derbyshire debutant at Lord’s, Chesney Hughes’ 57 back in 2010.

He survived a testing spell from Tom Helm after tea and looked poised for a century when Murtagh, in search of a breakthrough, threw the ball to spinner De Caires, who lured him down the track with one he held back, and Simpson whipped off the bails to send him packing for 91. It marked the youngster’s debut wicket in first-class cricket.

At the close of play, Masood said: “I think in English conditions, you wait to get set and then take the attack on. You want to make it big, unfortunately I didn’t. The team would have been in a better position with only three down, but those things happen, you have to score runs and take a few chances, some of them come off and others don’t.

“It’s disappointing in the end, but I’m always happy to get stuck in and face around 150 balls, that sets me up well for the season.”

https://cricket.derbyshireccc.com/20...in-fight-back/

�������� ���������� ���������������� ��@shani_official goes to his first #DCCC 5️⃣0️⃣ in style! ��

Watch LIVE ⤵️

— Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) April 8, 2022

[MenInG]

India will travel to The Incora County Ground to face Derbyshire in a Twenty20 Tour Fixture on Friday 1 July (7pm start).

The number-one ranked T20 side in the world will continue their ICC Twenty20 World Cup preparations against a Derbyshire side, which includes the likes of Pakistan international, Shan Masood, and former Sri Lanka fast bowler, Suranga Lakmal.

India will also be contesting a Test Match, which begins at Edgbaston on the same day, but ahead of their IT20 series against England a strong white ball squad full of IPL stars will visit Derby and the likes of KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant could all be in contention to feature.

The fixture adds to a huge summer of world-class international cricket at The Incora County Ground, with England Women set to play a pair of T20 matches under the lights in Derby.

https://cricket.derbyshireccc.com/india-in-derby/

[MenInG]

Two innings, two half-centuries for Shani! He reaches this one in 52 deliveries, nine fours.

DER 62-0; Godleman (11*), 294 to win.

[gazza619]

Such a shame that Shan didnt play instead of Fawad Alam in the test series against Australia.

[MenInG]

Out for 62.

==

LUNCH: #DCCC end the first session 73-0, with Masood (57*) and Godleman (16*) in - 283 to win.

Here's just some of Shan Masood's best shots so far! ��

Watch LIVE ⤵️

— Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) April 10, 2022

[moghul]

Waseem does not pick a player when in form , no wonder he preferred chacha Iftikhar and other useless players like Khushdil and Asif , not Shaan who is form of his life.

[MenInG]

Pakistan international, Masood, scored half-centuries in each innings (91 & 62) on his LV= County Championship debut, only the second Derbyshire player in history to do so.

Mickey Arthur was delighted with the opener’s performance, but also reserved praise for his new ball partnership for their work-rate and attitude over the four days.

“Shan Masood is everything I knew he would be, he’s gone to another level again and that was some sublime batting from him over the course of the game,” he added.

[silentkiller187]

Derbyshire have won the toss and elected to bat frst, heres hoping for another good innings from Shan.

[silentkiller187]

Shan fine form continues, another 50, 3 in a row.

����������! ��

A third 5️⃣0️⃣ in as many innings for Shani! This one comes in 60 balls, with seven fours ��

DER 72-1; Guest (4*) also in.

Watch LIVE ⤵️

— Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) April 14, 2022

[MenInG]

What a start for Shani at #DCCC

Masood reaches three-figures in 121 balls, 12 fours

[MenInG]

What a start for Shani at #DCCC

Masood reaches three-figures in 121 balls, 12 fours

142* at the moment

Shan Masood is loving life with #DCCC! ������

Batted, @shani_official ��

Watch LIVE ⤵️

— Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) April 14, 2022

[MenInG]

Going strong Shan, 158*

[MenInG]

Going strong Shan, 158*

200 up for Shan Masood in 266 balls, including 22 fours

Mickey must be beaming!

[Anchorman]

200 up for Shan!

[MenInG]

200 up for Shan Masood in 266 balls, including 22 fours

Mickey must be beaming!

STUMPS: #DCCC end the day 327-2, with Masood (201*) and Madsen (88*) to resume on Day Two.

Here's the moment Shan Masood reached his double-hundred ��

Scorecard and clips ⤵️

— Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) April 14, 2022

[gazza619]

Wow!!! Double hundred in England in April is unthinkable.

[MenInG]

Shan Masood has today become the first Pakistani opening batter to score a double-century in the County Championship #Cricket #CountyCricket

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) April 14, 2022

[Maliq_Mudasir]

Wow this is incredible. What innings he has played.

[MenInG]

A superb career-best unbeaten double century from Derbyshire’s Shan Masood dominated the opening day of the LV=Insurance County Championship Division Two match against Sussex at Derby.

The Pakistani opener scored a brilliant 201 from 271 balls and shared a county third wicket stand against Sussex of 236 with Wayne Madsen who was 88 not out at the close.

An injury-weakened Sussex attack failed to take a wicket after lunch as Derbyshire closed on an imposing 327 for 2.

Masood had already impressed with two half centuries in the opening match at Lord’s last week when he narrowly missed out on a hundred in the first innings.

He made no mistake this time against a largely inexperienced attack after Derbyshire won the toss and batted first on what looks to be a benign pitch.

With the exception of Steve Finn, the bowling lacked the consistency to apply any sustained pressure and Mahmood took advantage to reach 50 from only 60 balls.

Sussex stuck to their task but the only wickets to fall in the first two sessions were down to batting errors with Billy Godleman tickling a leg-glance to Mohamed Rizwan and Brooke Guest bottom-edging a pull.

But the wicket Sussex dearly wanted was Masood and, a couple of false strokes against the left arm spin of James Coles apart, he gave them little encouragement.

At lunch he was 74 from 88 balls and after the interval he moved to his century with a succession of imperious, at times dismissive, strokes on both sides of the wicket.

Sussex probably realised it was not going to be their day when Tom Haines struck Masood on the back pad but his impassioned appeal left umpire Paul Baldwin unmoved.

There were few other alarms as Masood and Madsen cruised to a 100 stand in 28 overs and by tea, Derbyshire had scored at a quicker rate than any other team in the country.

Madsen has now shared century stands with 29 different batsmen, breaking the Derbyshire record of 28 held by Kim Barnett, and he reached another milestone when he completed his 100th first-class score of 50 or more.

Although he was content to play the supporting role, he was also largely untroubled apart from when a throw struck him a painful blow on the back of the right knee.

Sussex switched Finn to the Racecourse End at the start of the final session but the runs kept flowing with Masood reaching 150 from 191 balls.

The elegant left-hander will face more challenging attacks in the weeks to come but even at this early stage, head of cricket Mickey Arthur looks to have completed a very shrewd piece of business in bringing him to the club.

The visitors at least applied the brake towards the close of a long hard day in the field but could not prevent Masood and Madsen passing Derbyshire’s previous highest third wicket stand against Sussex of 215 set by Les Townsend and Albert Alderman at Eastbourne in 1938.

https://cricket.derbyshireccc.com/20...or-derbyshire/

[MenInG]

[gazza619]

Can anyone believe that Azhar, Fawad & Iftikhar were preferred over Shan in the tests against Australia!

[IAJ]

Ma sha Allah! Congrats, hard working lad. All of the sudden there is tough competition for the opening spot in the Test eleven.

[James]

What an innings!!

A truly incredible achievement.

Well played SM.

[RedwoodOriginal]

The best thing about him is that he is a hard-worker who is always looking to work on his weaknesses and improve as a cricketer.

In the last 4 years he has scored 2794 runs in FC cricket (Tests included) at an average of 47.4.

In List A, he has amassed 3800+ runs at avg 68 (SR 86) since 2015 with 14 tons in 67 innings.

Goes without saying that he is someone who should have gotten far more chances than he has gotten.

[Fenrir]

It was a brilliant innings.Most of the runs came from the middle of the bat.There were a few edges but overall it was a controlled innings.

[Maher96]

Must have helped knowing, Rizwan was keeping behind him all day long.

Joke aside fantastic to see Shan have such a great start.

[Adnan_Ilyas]

Brilliant batting 201 not out

[moghul]

Can anyone believe that Azhar, Fawad & Iftikhar were preferred over Shan in the tests against Australia!

Unbelievable

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Massive congratulations to him.

Shame he has not been able to grab his chances fully or hasn’t had an extended run unlike Asad Shafiq. He has the toughest job in cricket too.

Hope he gets a few more outings in Pakistan shirt. He was immense in PSL too.

[MenInG]

Brilliant batting 201 not out

And all in one day!

[Maliq_Mudasir]

Can we bring him to ODI side as middle order batter. The guy is extremely hardworking.

[Junaids]

His problem was always how he performed in English-style conditions.

But he has worked hard and had to w courage to throw himself into English conditions.

[Saj]

So far:

Shan Masood in the County Championship:

3 innings
392 runs
130.67 average

[ask_analyse_act]

Ma sha Allah! Congrats, hard working lad. All of the sudden there is tough competition for the opening spot in the Test eleven.

he and Imam should fight for opening and no.3

Both are suited to replace Azhar at 3.. Shani if intelligent should hunt down the no.3 spot and will have a good long career at 3 even if he is bit out of form..

Because as an opener both Imam and Shan have always been stop start in their careers.

Would like to go with younger Imam as opener and Shani as no.3

Azhar ali should be going home soon i believe if he continues with the form of scoring 1 hundred a series..

[ask_analyse_act]

Can we bring him to ODI side as middle order batter. The guy is extremely hardworking.

Babar and Wasim are in a spree with hackers for ODI middle order, which will soon backfire...Pakistan tail starts at no.4

[MenInG]

Nick Potts took three wickets as Derbyshire took control on Day Two of the LV= County Championship fixture against Sussex at The Incora County Ground

After Derbyshire racked up 505 for 8 declared, Sussex imploded, losing 6 for 63, to be bowled out in the final over for 174, a daunting 331 behind.

Fast bowler Sam Conners claimed 3 for 47 and 19-year-old seamer Nick Potts marked his first-class debut by taking 3 for 43 including the wicket of captain Tom Haines who top scored with 41.

Haines had been the pick of his team’s attack with 1 for 35 from 18 overs, ending the third wicket stand of 292 between Shan Masood and Wayne Madsen, a Derbyshire record for any wicket against Sussex.

Masood scored a magnificent 239 from 340 balls and Madsen 112, his 32nd first-class hundred for Derbyshire, before all-rounder Alex Thomson struck a 49 ball 50.

Masood and Madsen had begun the second day as they ended the first, moving remorselessly on, to eclipse Derbyshire’s previous highest stand against Sussex of 274 between Billy Godleman and Luis Reece at Derby in 2019.

Madsen reached his century, surprisingly his first in the championship at Derby for six years, when he turned Jamie Atkins off his hip for his seventh four.

He drove Haines down the ground for another but the Sussex skipper got his reward for a probing spell from the Racecourse End by beating Madsen’s drive in the 16th over of the morning.

It was Sussex’s first success since before lunch on day one but they did not have to wait long for the next as four wickets fell for 27.

Leus du Plooy never looked comfortable and his attempt to drive James Coles over the top ended in the hands of Haines at mid off.

Reece was caught behind as he tried to carve Atkins and Masood’s superb innings finally ended in the next over.

His seven and a half hour masterclass in timing and placement was ended by a reverse sweep which looped into the gloves of Pakistan team mate Mohammed Rizwan.

Masood left to applause from the Sussex players and a standing ovation but if Sussex hoped his departure would signal a quick end to the innings they were disappointed.

Thomson pressed hard on the accelerator and with Anuj Dal, added 76 before the declaration left Sussex needing 356 to avoid the follow-on.

When Haines was dropped on eight at second slip by Madsen in the 2nd over, it threatened to prove costly as the openers scored freely but the dismissal of the captain sparked a collapse.

Haines was trapped half forward by Potts and after Tom Alsopp was caught behind down the leg side, Conners brought one back to pin Ali Orr lbw.

Chateshwar Pujara dabbed at a wide ball and Rizwan also edged one he did not need to play before Tom Clark charged Thomson and edged to slip.

Coles and Oli Carter showed more application but Potts brought one back to remove Coles and Steve Finn fell to Dal before Potts claimed his third victim.

A miserable day for Sussex ended when du Plooy struck with his third ball to leave Sussex with the prospect of following on in the morning.

https://cricket.derbyshireccc.com/20...t-to-remember/

[MenInG]

A happy Mickey for Shan!

Just brillaint today...very well played @shani_official https://t.co/fBbHTzcZDw

— Mickey Arthur (@Mickeyarthurcr1) April 14, 2022

[Veteran]

What a travesty that Shan did not even make one of the squads against Australia. Made absolutely no sense. Apart from obvious ability and admirable hard work to overcome his limitations he is a very fine fielder. Not only that he clearly has leadership skills. Shows either that selectors are incompetent or worse that his presence poses a threat to someone who might lose his place in the team. Not to be even in the squad. Unbelievable. I wonder why not many people commented on this glaring omission at the time. I also wonder about Zafar Gohar being ignored.

[sweep_shot]

He seems to be in great form.

He definitely can replace either Fawad Alam or Azhar Ali.

[MenInG]

201 not out.
271 balls.@shani_official �� #LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/ueAmnbul6u

— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) April 14, 2022

[MenInG]

Absolutely no surprise what so ever that Shan Masood is smashing it

He is everything that you want from an overseas professional

������������#CountyCricket2022

— Azeem Rafiq (@AzeemRafiq30) April 14, 2022

[Markhor]

he and Imam should fight for opening and no.3

Both are suited to replace Azhar at 3.. Shani if intelligent should hunt down the no.3 spot and will have a good long career at 3 even if he is bit out of form..

Because as an opener both Imam and Shan have always been stop start in their careers.

Would like to go with younger Imam as opener and Shani as no.3

Azhar ali should be going home soon i believe if he continues with the form of scoring 1 hundred a series..

Another example of Babar's liking and disliking selection policy as captain to be quite frank.

Babar is quoted as saying he wants to be an aggressive captain like Imran Khan. Well Imran dropped Majid Khan in his first series as captain. Babar however believes in this senior-junior bhai bhai crap and is very reluctant to drop underperforming seniors. Azhar will only go when he decides to retire - let's face reality.

As for the opening slot - Ramiz gives big talk about wanting to beat Aus in Aus, Eng in Eng and SA in SA.

Well if that's the vision, then surely you'd pick Shan who actually has a better overseas record than Imam. The next Test series is in SL where Shan scored that hundred in the Pallekele chase.

However Babar will never pick Shan ahead of childhood friend Imam, or drop a sainted senior in Azhar. We've already seen him give another close friend Hasan Ali too many chances in white ball cricket.

[RedwoodOriginal]

Can't believe he is not playing for Pakistan after the monster run of form he has been on. Should be opening the batting in test matches for Pakistan. And once Azhar Ali retires, he can easily take over the No.3 slot aswell.

[gazza619]

Can't believe he is not playing for Pakistan after the monster run of form he has been on. Should be opening the batting in test matches for Pakistan. And once Azhar Ali retires, he can easily take over the No.3 slot aswell.

Shan will get his chance when he is out of form, dont u worry.

[volcyz]

Shan will get his chance when he is out of form, dont u worry.

Like Fawad Alam

[RedwoodOriginal]

Shan will get his chance when he is out of form, dont u worry.

Either that or they will pick him for the wrong format.

[GreenKhan]

I think people are either getting carried away or have short memories.

Well let me just bring some stats to the table .

Since his 156 against England he has scored 32 runs in 8 test innings which included 4 ducks .
On Pakistan’s tour to New Zealand his scores were 8, 0,0,0.

He has to wait his turn now and continue his form, a double ton does not mean he walks back into the team.

I rest my case .

[daytrader]

At Derbyshire, he'll get a chance at T20 vs India in a warmup. Let's see if he's improved in LOIs as well

[silentkiller187]

Shan Massod currently batting on 34 not out vs Leicstershire

[MenInG]

Shan Massod currently batting on 34 not out vs Leicstershire

Another 50 now - 79 balls. Six fours.

[MenInG]

This is getting silly now! Two centuries and two half-centuries in four innings for Shani!

This one comes in 152 balls and includes 12 boundaries.

[MenInG]

Innings �� 4️⃣
Half-centuries �� 2️⃣
Centuries �� 2️⃣

An incredible start to the summer for @shani_official ��#LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/RagNwvSwJ2

— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) April 22, 2022

[Hextro]

Do guys think Masood deserves another nation call-up? He's currently batting on 152* and has so far scored 544 runs in just 4 innings so far in this county season.

[MenInG]

Do guys think Masood deserves another nation call-up? He's currently batting on 152* and has so far scored 544 runs in just 4 innings so far in this county season.

Guess he should be given a chance but remember Derby in Division 2

Another double very likely for him at this rate

[Hextro]

Guess he should be given a chance but remember Derby in Division 2

Another double very likely for him at this rate

True, but scoring 2 double hundreds in a row is no easy feat even if the bowling is sub par. We have to remember that Masood is competing with Imam for the opening spot.

[MenInG]

200 again for Shan Masood

251 balls. 24 fours. One six. WOW!

[Markhor]

I've no beef with Imam but his Test record was mediocre prior to the flat track bashing vs Australia.

Shan should've played instead given his superior away record, or even ahead of Azhar.

However one's a childhood friend of Babar and the other is an untouchable senior...

[Saj]

Shan Masood's brilliance in the County Championship:

91, 62, 239 and 219
611 runs
152.75 average

[MenInG]

Shan Masood becomes one of only two Pakistan batters to score a double hundred in consecutive innings in FC cricket.

The first was Arshad Pervez in the 1977/78 season.

[MenInG]

Shan Masood became the first player in Derbyshire history to post back-to-back double centuries as Leicestershire’s bowlers were put to the sword on day two of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at the Uptonsteel County Ground.

The 32-year-old opener was out for 219, having hit 24 fours and a six as Derbyshire racked up 401 runs in the day to lead by 224 with six first-innings wickets still in hand. Wayne Madsen made 94 and Mattie McKiernan is 63 not out.

Masood’s magnificent innings followed his 239 in last week’s drawn match against Sussex, giving him an aggregate of 608 runs from his first four innings for Derbyshire, another county record.

Left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson finally claimed his wicket this time, bowling him with a ball that turned sharply from outside the left-hander’s off stump. Masood turned for the pavilion but could leave the field only after every Leicestershire player, led by Parkinson, had offered a handshake of congratulation on a superb exhibition of high-class batting.

It capped a day that began with Leicestershire’s bowlers hoping for a productive morning with a relatively new ball. Instead, after resuming on 36 for one, Derbyshire added 111 runs before lunch and lost only one wicket in doing so.

Brooke Guest was the sole casualty, given out leg before to Will Davis for 23. It might have been two but Madsen, having hit the first two balls of Wiaan Mulder’s third over of the morning to the fence, was dropped on the legside by wicketkeeper Harry Swindells on 14 in the same over.

Masood by that point was looking in ominously good touch and as he completed his first fifty just before Madsen’s let-off there was already a sense he had his eye on another big score. Callum Parkinson’s introduction helped stem the flow of runs in the last 40 minutes of the opening session but it was a different story after lunch when the Leicestershire bowlers conceded runs at more than four an over.

Madsen passed fifty and Masood his hundred from consecutive balls off Will Davis, the latter’s including 12 fours. There was seldom any hint of a breakthrough until Madsen, within sight of what would have been a sixth century against Leicestershire and a third on this ground, decided to chance a single to mid-off off Beuran Hendricks with the odds clearly against him and paid the price, Ed Barnes beating the 38-year-old’s despairing dive with a direct hit.

Understandably, Madsen looked mortified, yet his partnership with Masood had added 221 for the third wicket and put Derbyshire firmly in control. He and Masood shared a partnership of 292 against Sussex last week.

When tea arrived at 295 for three, their lead was 82. Now Leicestershire were pinning their hopes on the second new ball, which would be available an over into the final session.

But that proved fruitless too as Masood continued to prosper. Most of his boundaries had come from sweetly timed drives or clips off his legs but he showed an aggressive side when he drove Will Davis for four and pulled him for six in the same over.

McKiernan, though dropped on 39 off Mulder, was striking the ball confidently at the other end and he and Masood added 129 at almost five an over, passing his previous highest score of 52.

Derbyshire supporters are already likening Masood’s impact to that of the Australian Simon Katich, who scored 433 runs in his first four innings for the county in 2007, and Martin Guptill, the New Zealand batter, who was the key figure the last time Derbyshire won promotion from Division Two of the County Championship in 2012.

Although he is not alone in making consecutive double hundreds, no player in the history of cricket has made three in a row.

https://cricket.derbyshireccc.com/20...-pile-on-runs/

[gazza619]

200 again for Shan Masood

251 balls. 24 fours. One six. WOW!

What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Amjid Javed]

Shan Masood's brilliance in the County Championship:

91, 62, 239 and 219
611 runs
152.75 average

Bradman like form, well done.

[shamaan]

Do guys think Masood deserves another nation call-up? He's currently batting on 152* and has so far scored 544 runs in just 4 innings so far in this county season.

Maybe batting at 3 I don't think imaam or Abdullah will be dropped.

[Marooned]

He is moving towards a high strikerate approach.
This was evident in the recent qea too where he averaged 71 @96!!
This approach will be visible in his international performances too because it's clearly a concious change.

[MenInG]

Sit back and watch every boundary from @shani_official's second double century of the #LVCountyChamp season ��

Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/Zm7qtEmPs4

— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) April 22, 2022

[MenInG]

Catch me if you can says Shan!

[topspin]

Can anyone believe that Azhar, Fawad & Iftikhar were preferred over Shan in the tests against Australia!

Precisely.

I was the only one here who vouched him after he was dropped following one bad series against NZ.

I can't believe he was replaced by Imran Butt who's not even good enough to make the first team for any county side.

[topspin]

I've no beef with Imam but his Test record was mediocre prior to the flat track bashing vs Australia.

Shan should've played instead given his superior away record, or even ahead of Azhar.

However one's a childhood friend of Babar and the other is an untouchable senior...

Maybe I wasn't the only one then.

Honestly, I felt so bad for Shan Masood after seeing Imran Butt making the side ahead of him. Whoever was behind that needs to seriously give their head a wobble.

[BunnyRabbit]

Hardwork paying off for the good guy. Happy for him.

Is Derbyshire playing Lancashire anytime soon? Would be nice to see how he does against Anderson now.

[Xoib]

I've no beef with Imam but his Test record was mediocre prior to the flat track bashing vs Australia.

Shan should've played instead given his superior away record, or even ahead of Azhar.

However one's a childhood friend of Babar and the other is an untouchable senior...

This is a guy who is 30 plus averages below 30 from a large sample size in test cricket and was worse then Chris Martin in his last test series.

Imam is younger and sure his hundreds came on a feather bed but givin his odi record has earned his place ahead of Masood for time being .County cricket is no longer a barometer of success at top level givin the mediocrity that exists in english game.

[GreenKhan]

Just for the record Shan masood last 4 test innings for Pak was 8,0,0,0.

Many felt he had turned a corner after his 156 against England but he scored only 32 runs in his following 8 innings .

He was rightly dropped .

His loss of form was another persons gain.

[Xoib]

Just for the record Shan masood last 4 test innings for Pak was 8,0,0,0.

Many felt he had turned a corner after his 156 against England but he scored only 32 runs in his following 8 innings .

He was rightly dropped .

His loss of form was another persons gain.

Agreed some senior posters like Markhor are being fooled by division 2 runs Shan was woeful in his last 4-5 tests for Pakistan .Imam and if Abid Ali gets fit are ahead of him comfortably

[shaz619]

Agreed some senior posters like Markhor are being fooled by division 2 runs Shan was woeful in his last 4-5 tests for Pakistan .Imam and if Abid Ali gets fit are ahead of him comfortably

@Markhor is a big Mickey Arther Mark, he can’t help but want his relation with Shan to blossom and for their friendship to grow with the long term goal of praying for an Arther return so he can select all his friends from Derby

In the meantime Imam/Babar bashing will suffice. Poor Shan was batting like Bradman before he was dropped

[topspin]

Agreed some senior posters like Markhor are being fooled by division 2 runs Shan was woeful in his last 4-5 tests for Pakistan .Imam and if Abid Ali gets fit are ahead of him comfortably

@Markhor is a big Mickey Arther Mark, he can’t help but want his relation with Shan to blossom and for their friendship to grow with the long term goal of praying for an Arther return so he can select all his friends from Derby

In the meantime Imam/Babar bashing will suffice. Poor Shan was batting like Bradman before he was dropped

If you had to pick between Imran Butt and Shan Masood who would you opt for? Whatever you think of Masood, he didn't deserve to be replaced by Butt who I can comfortably say wouldn't make the first team of any county side.

[JibranAnsari]

Good performance but its division two.

You can be called to div1 for great performance but not in the national team.

[PakEngFan]

I've no beef with Imam but his Test record was mediocre prior to the flat track bashing vs Australia.

Shan should've played instead given his superior away record, or even ahead of Azhar.

However one's a childhood friend of Babar and the other is an untouchable senior...

Shan record is awful too with a bigger sample size. Let’s not forget Shan was getting ducks for fun before he was dropped. Imam rightly deserved a go while Azhar just needs to retire.

[Xoib]

Yeah i can understand if people vouch for shan for azhar though I don't agree but shan for Imam is silly. Imam is younger with more upside and have actual performances albeit in odis at the top level.

[Rana]

I think he can slot in at 3

Or Imam drops to 3

[ask_analyse_act]

I think he can slot in at 3

Or Imam drops to 3

Both are good options.

1. Shan open Imam at 3
2. Imam open Shan at 3