Take a look at Shan Masood’s career statistics and it is easy to see why the Yorkshire captain loves 50-over cricket and believes it is his best of the game’s three leading formats.
Pakistan batter Masood averages 54.84 across 107 List A career appearances, with his 4,826 runs including 14 centuries and a best of 182 not out. In first-class cricket, he averages 38.08 and in T20s 27.06.
He is therefore going to be key to Yorkshire’s hopes of success in the ongoing Metro Bank One-Day Cup, which continues at Scarborough tomorrow against the old enemy, Lancashire (11am).
“It’s a format I love and one that I’ve always figured out,” said the 33-year-old left-hander, ahead of the Roses clash. “List A cricket has been my best format.
“I’ve not been given a lot of chances in international cricket, but if you look at my overall List A record, I’ve averaged close to 60. I’ve had a lot of success over the last five years in this format. I’ve scored a lot of runs. I’ve figured things out, and there’s a lot of evidence of that.”
Masood has just returned to Yorkshire duty having been in Sri Lanka with Pakistan for a warm-up game and two Test Matches.
He posted scores of 83 off 67 balls in the warm-up game and 39 off 30 and 51 off 47 in the Tests, which Pakistan won 2-0. It was very much one-day style batting against the red ball.
“I’ve just been in Sri Lanka, and you’re not always going to score a lot of runs there. But you want to make sure that whilst you’re there, you make the most out of it,” he continued.
“The way I’m playing, I’m pretty happy. I’m just hoping it can produce some decent scores as well in the next few weeks.”
Masood looked good for 31 in yesterday’s opening round defeat against Kent and has numerous reasons for wanting to build on that.
First things first, it could help seal a win over Lancashire tomorrow, a result which would get Yorkshire’s bid for silverware up and running in grand style.
Good form over the next few weeks would also increase his chances of being selected for Pakistan’s 50-over World Cup squad for the tournament in October and November.
“If it happens, it happens,” he said of the latter. “If it doesn’t, life goes on.
I won’t be putting a lot of pressure on myself.
“I’m taking it a day at a time and focusing purely on the next game. When that comes, hopefully I can extend the start I got against Kent into a bigger score.”
Masood described Yorkshire’s narrow defeat to Kent yesterday as “a pretty hard one to digest”.
“If we have a good day and beat Lancashire, that will be good. It will make the Kent one go away,” he said.
Like Yorkshire, Lancashire also have their club captain available for this fixture despite a host of Hundred absentees. Keaton Jennings leads a side who are coached by former England fast bowler Graham Onions. Their regular head coach Glen Chapple is working in the Hundred.
Lancashire’s opener against Essex at Sedbergh School yesterday finished in a No Result. The hosts made a commanding 270-7 from 36 overs before the Eagles responded 23-2 in six overs before the rain returned.
The two Roses rivals played each other twice in this season’s Vitality Blast, with Yorkshire winning at Headingley before the Emirates Old Trafford return leg was washed out by rain.
The Vikings are ahead in the 2023 head-to-head battle, and they want to keep it that way.
Masood added: “That would be nice.
“Right now, it’s about getting on the board.
“We know how important it is to get to 10 points to make sure we qualify and not leave it to run-rate or anything like that.
“It would be nice to get off the mark against Lancashire.”
