22nd January 2010

 

Khurram Manzoor had not played any cricket for more than 7 weeks when he was thrown in at the deep end against Australia in Hobart. In those 7 weeks he had witnessed the highs and the lows of test cricket. Khurram had seen his team mates level the test series in New Zealand and then seen his colleagues go two nil down to their Australian counterparts, despite dominating for long periods in Sydney.

The Pakistan team reached Hobart knowing they were on a hiding to nothing in Ricky Ponting territory, having self destructed in the second test. Instead of reaching Hobart jubilant and level in the test series, they reached Tasmania a team that had already lost the test series and facing yet another whitewash.

Faisal Iqbal who had flattered to deceive once again was dropped and his 23 year old PIA team mate Khurram Manzoor was given his 7th opportunity in test cricket.

"I was naturally pleased to be given another chance by the captain and coach in Hobart. It wasn't easy having not played much cricket but I wanted to do my best for my country and salvage some pride in the third test", stated Manzoor.

"The first innings duck was a real body blow when I was caught in the slips off the bowling of Siddle. Yousuf, Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt comforted me though and told me not to feel too down and to try and do my best in the second innings" added Manzoor, who was skipper of the Pakistan team that toured Kenya and Zimbabwe in 2008.

"When I went into bat in the second innings, we needed 438 to win and were already 11 for 1 having lost Salman Butt. Before I went out to bat, our skipper told me to dig in, rotate the strike, build partnerships and to try and bat for as long as I could. It was tough work out there, but I received good support and advice when batting with Shoaib Malik. Sarfraz Ahmed did his best and then Aamer batted very well with me".

Manzoor who has 3 half centuries in his seven test appearances continued "the wicket was very difficult to bat on as the ball was keeping very low off a length and skidding through. I adjusted my technique to cope with the low bounce and wanted to really work hard to stay out there for as long as I could. I did not want to give my wicket away cheaply and wanted to fight it out to the end. One of my biggest concerns was being out leg before to a "shooter" of a delivery, so I tried to make adjustments to avoid being given lbw".

Manzoor whose current highest test score is 93, which was achieved against Sri Lanka, felt that the innings in Hobart was a career best innings. "No doubt about it, that innings of 77 was a career best innings. I've made centuries and double centuries in domestic cricket and my highest test score is 93, but the innings at Hobart ranks as the best in my mind. The reasons I think that it is my best innings is down to the nature of the wicket, the class of the opposition, the hostile atmosphere and the fact that it was in Australia. I have learnt so much from that innings and I hope that it proves to be a springboard for my future".

Whilst many cricket fans and pundits around the world have criticised the current Australian bowling lineup, Manzoor rates it as the best in the world. "They are a great bowling lineup and I rate them as the best all round bowling line up currently in test cricket. They have variety, skill and in their home conditions are a very difficult attack to bat against".

There seemed to be quite a few choice words flying around in Hobart on the last day as Manzoor faced 239 deliveries and batted for 306 minutes but the PIA batsmen laughed off the sledging. "Yes Johnson and Watson had a few words to say to me on a few occasions, words that I won't repeat, but you get used to it, take no notice of it and try and focus on your batting".

The fine innings from Khurram Manzoor will have done him no harm at all and he looks like a solid candidate for the summer test series against England and Australia, in England.