Masood watch

It has been a pleasure in recent days to watch Shan Masood, the Pakistan batsman who will be opening the batting for Derbyshire in 2022.

One of the first things that stood out for me was his obvious enjoyment in playing the game. There are regular smiles, even laughs, pats on the back for opponents and hugs for team mates. He looks a good bloke to have on your side and is clearly valued. 

Then there's his fitness. Tall, lean, very quick between the wickets and an asset in the field. A feature of his batting game is his timing and placement of the ball, so ones become twos, the latter become threes. Dean Jones was good at that and he keeps the strike rotating. 

His stance is upright, the technique uncomplicated, classical even. He can hit a long ball, but brute force isn't the raison d'etre. Masood has shots around the wicket, from the deft late cuts that use the pace of the ball so well, through a glorious cover drive, where his speed of foot opens up the angles when the bowlers try to close them down.

He is very strong straight and over mid-wicket, as all left-handers tend to be. That is his arc for long hitting, but the real strength of his batting is that ability to keep the scoreboard moving. By minimising the dot balls, success usually follows and his side are thus far unbeaten. 

Another feature of his game - and that of his team - seems to be to go big early in the over, then knock it around. It was a big feature of the win over Lahore Qalanders, when he and the excellent Mohammad Rizwan led off with 150 in 14 overs in pursuit of 200-plus. A four or six off the first ball meant the rest of the over was largely well-run and the necessary rate achieved. 

Mind you, it also helps that batsman still struggle with our old boy, Imran Tahir, in the middle overs. He can't bat, isn't much use in the field but his potent mix of leggies, googlies, sliders and flight mean he is rarely collared. He is astonishingly playing in the Staffordshire Leagues this summer, but don't be surprised if someone picks him up for the Blast. Nor if he cuts through batting line ups in those leagues like a knife through butter. 

Like many of the pros of old, he will be brought on in April and taken off in September.. 

Finally today, I have been hearing a few names 'suggested' for that quick bowler that Mickey Arthur mentioned will be announced soon 

I will save most for another piece, but if it is, as he said, someone for the entire season, I would be surprised if it is Marco Jansen. 

There is much to like in the 6'8 South African paceman, who bowls at great pace and with steepling bounce. He is also a decent bat, but will likely get an IPL deal and be a key component of his country's pace attack for their tour of England this summer. 

For me, 'all summer' means 'April to September' not 'the bit between the IPL and the late summer tourists'. 

He does fit the bill as someone known to Mickey Arthur and who would benefit from a big summer here. But so do two or three others I have spotted around the world. 

To be continued...