By Aadam Patel, ECB Reporters Network
Shan Masood went to school in England, before studying at Durham University. Now at the age of 32, the Pakistani opener is experiencing his first summer in county cricket, playing for Derbyshire.
“It’s been great so far. I’ve admired the county setup ever since I grew up in England and went to University here. It’s a brilliant place to play cricket and improve your game, especially as a batter,” says Masood, who made his debut for Pakistan almost nine years ago.
His stint in the UK has got off to a flyer. With 844 runs across the first six matches in Division Two of the LV= Insurance County Championship, the opener stands clear at the top of the run charts.
A rare failure against Nottinghamshire stopped Masood becoming the first player to score 1000 first-class runs in England before the end of May, since Graeme Hick achieved the feat with Worcestershire in 1988.
As captain of Derbyshire in the Vitality Blast, Masood is excited at the prospect of what lies ahead for the county, working alongside Mickey Arthur.
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Arthur, who coached Pakistan between 2016 and 2019, is the head of cricket at Derbyshire.
“Mickey has come in and changed the environment of the dressing room,” Masood said.
“I compare this to the time I captained South Punjab in Pakistan and inherited a very young team that ultimately rubbed their shoulders against the big boys. There’s a lot of similarities at Derbyshire, in terms of a team that’s growing in stature and where players are staking their claims.”
As skipper of South Punjab, Mahood led a youthful outfit to the final of the National T20 Cup last year, where they fell short against a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa side containing the likes of experienced Pakistani internationals like Mohammed Rizwan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, Wahab Riaz and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
“I’m hoping for more of the same here,” Masood said.
“It’s exciting but you also have to be patient and remember that when you have a team like this, results will always be the by-product. They’ll never be the priority at the start. It’s more about the brand of cricket that we’re playing.
“If we had dealt with the pressure moments better, we may be higher up the table but that’s all part of the process.”
Derbyshire began their campaign in encouraging fashion, winning two out of their first three matches of the Vitality Blast, before two successive defeats.
Masood insists that the quality of the competition provides a “stern test”.
Alex Hales’ unbeaten 91 fired Notts Outlaws to victory last Friday night, just a couple of days after a destructive 75 from Liam Livingstone, fresh from the IPL, saw Lancashire Lightning defeat the Falcons.
“The Blast is such a high-quality competition. You can see why England have the best white-ball team in the world, especially when it comes to striking the ball,” Masood said.
“We’ve played against some good teams and when you look at the teams on paper, when they’re at full strength, they’re equally as good as some of the franchises.”
Seeing fellow Pakistani players spend time in England on the domestic circuit is also something that pleases the left-hander and Masood wishes that it can open up a route for more to follow.
“I think the T20 World Cup turned a lot of heads and made a difference and that’s what has attracted a lot of counties,” he said.
“The tournament highlighted some world-class players within our setup and the performances of the players that have come over have been high-class.
“And when you speak to other people, they’ve been really impressed.”
He added: “It’s a chance for our guys to come over and help develop the quality of cricket here and in return, they learn better skills and grow as individuals. It’s certainly a very exciting time for Pakistani players.”
Pakistan internationals like Masood, Rizwan, Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali and others have all played on British shores thus far this season. Ali in fact said in a recent interview with The Guardian that it was the great Wasim Akram who advised him to play county cricket.
Masood made his Pakistan debut in 2013 and as one of the more senior names, he is adamant that the cricketing experience, combined with the living experience in the UK, can only be a good thing.
“I tell the younger guys that even when you’re sitting at home, just coming to England, playing cricket and spending six months independently and being a thorough professional is so important,” he said.
“It’s on us to be good professionals because if we make a good impression, that will create opportunities for yourself and others. That responsibility is on us.
“I look forward to seeing more Pakistani cricketers playing county cricket in the future.”
Judging by the way Masood’s first experience of county cricket is going, it’s fair to say that it is unlikely that it will be his last.