As Pakistan international, Shan Masood, prepares to join up with his new Derbyshire teammates, we take a look at our latest overseas star.
Masood, 32, has appeared in 30 all-formats games for Pakistan (25 Tests and five ODIs), scoring a total of four centuries and seven half-centuries, while the left-hand batter has more than 13,000 career runs to his name.
Each of his international centuries have come in Test matches, with the first being a crucial 125 against Sri Lanka in 2015, guiding Pakistan to victory at Pallekele, while his latest was also Masood’s highest score, as he hit a stunning 156 against England at Emirates Old Trafford last year, after being based at The Incora County Ground with his national team throughout 2020.
The international high-score in England should put Masood in good stead ahead of his stint with Derbyshire, as the batter will already have an idea of what to expect in English conditions. However, Masood’s experience of this country extends beyond the international scene, having scored a Stamford School-record 1,237 runs at an average of 103 in 2009, while he also featured in three first-class matches for Durham University.
Masood made his first-class debut for Karachi Whites in the 2007 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, scoring 54 in the first innings of a drawn game against Hyderabad. Since then, he’s scored a further 35 half-centuries and 16 first-class centuries at an average of 35.
He would have to wait until 2013 for his international debut, but quickly made up for lost time, scoring 75 against South Africa in a seven-wicket win for to kick off the Test series in Abu Dhabi.
Centuries against Sri Lanka (2), England and Bangladesh have followed, while Masood’s most recent international appearance came in a Test against New Zealand in January.
While the majority of his international success has come in the Test arena, Masood has a formidable record in domestic List A cricket, scoring more than 4,500 runs at an average of 57.46, including 14 centuries. One of those three-figure scores came in his most recent 50-over appearance, as Masood hit 141 from just 128 balls as captain of Southern Punjab.
Masood (472) finished as the sixth-highest run-scorer in the 2020-21 Pakistan 50-over Cup, with his average of 118 from just five innings the highest of any player in the competition
In joining Derbyshire, Masood will reunite with Mickey Arthur, who he played eight Test matches and five ODIs under while Arthur was Head Coach of Pakistan, scoring 543 runs, including four half-centuries.
Arthur has already emphasised that Masood will bring more than just international quality into the Derbyshire team, with the batter’s work-rate a key factor in the Head of Cricket’s decision to bring him to the Club.
Speaking to Cricingif about Masood in 2019, Arthur said: “Shan’s gone back and worked so hard on his game. He knows what it takes to play international cricket and there’s no one who deserves [an opportunity] more than Shan Masood, bearing in mind how hard he’s worked for it.”
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