By Saj Sadiq (September 17, 2011)

Surrey’s comfortable victory at Lords today over Somerset was Yasir Arafat’s eighth title in his sixth season in English county cricket. It was also the Rawalpindi born all rounder’s fourth appearance at Lords in County cricket.

Whilst his international appearances for Pakistan have been limited in recent times, he has continued to be a very useful acquisition in County cricket for the likes of Sussex, Kent and now Surrey. A hard working and committed cricketer, Yasir’s proved to be a popular man in the dressing room wherever he has played and has been an integral part of his county team’s success over the years.

Speaking to PakPassion.net, Arafat expressed how tough the current season had been given that he has been playing through the pain barrier for large parts of the season as well as describing how wonderful it is to play at Lords.

“I’ve had a problem with my elbow for part of the season. It’s been very painful at times and I will have surgery on the injury very soon, before I return to Pakistan. However on days like today you forget about the pain, you just concentrate on making sure that you give your all and that your efforts help the team win.”

“Despite this being my fourth appearance at Lords in County cricket, it’s always a special occasion to play at the Home of Cricket. It’s always a great experience to play at Lords and I always get goose bumps when I walk out onto the field. They are always great occasions and today was another fantastic day and hopefully the start of something big at Surrey as there are so many talented young cricketers here. When you look around the dressing room you realise just what a talented bunch of guys I have had the privilege to play alongside this season.”

The final at Lords today was the first part of an important double header this weekend for Yasir as he is due to get married on Sunday to Fatima Sheikh and Arafat described the weekend naturally as the biggest of his life.

“Undoubtedly the weekend is the biggest of my life. There have been some huge occasions such as my debut for Pakistan etc but of course marriage is such an important and big occasion. Part one of the weekend has gone well with the victory over Somerset and the second part of the memorable weekend will occur God Willing on Sunday."

"I’m really pleased that so many friends and family members will attend the function and I request all of them and my fans around the world to pray for a happy and successful future.”

Yasir and Fatima will tie the knot at the Oval cricket ground in a ceremony that will see some of Arafat’s team mates and former Pakistani cricketers attend.

Some of the current and former cricketers that are due to attend the ceremony include such illustrious names as Mohammad Yousuf, Kevin Pietersen, Saqlain Mushtaq, Saurav Ganguly, Mushtaq Ahmed, Mohammad Akram, Mark Ramprakash, Robert Key and Alec Stewart.