Pakistan's Shan Masood shines in English county cricket

Pakistan’s opening batter Shan Masood got his name into record books on Friday when he became the first-ever Pakistani to score two back-to-back double centuries in the county championship.

The 32-year-old batter is representing county Derbyshire. He played a knock of 219 off 268 deliveries against Leicestershire on Friday to score his second consecutive double-century. In the previous match, he had scored 239 against Sussex.

Masood is the first Pakistani batter to score two consecutive double centuries in two innings in the county championship.

He is the 2nd Pakistani batter to do so in first-class cricket after Arshad Parvez, who had scored 243 (vs Baluchistan) and 236 (vs MCB) in BCCP Patron’s Trophy in 1978.

The last time any Asian batter was able to score back-to-back double centuries in the county championship was before partition, in 1933, when Nawab Iftikharuddin scored 231 and 224 in 1933 for Worcestershire.

Masood was overlooked for Test matches against Australia. However, he has proved to be in the best form of his life by amassing overall 611 runs in just four innings he has played in the county championship this season.