Mohammad Yousuf Biography
Source(google.com.pk)
Mohammad Yousuf, born on August 27, 1974, is a Pakistani middle-order batsman who went on to become one of the highest run-scorers produced by the country in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Yousuf could have achieved so much more and become one of the modern-day greats, had it not been for some unfortunate circumstances in the latter half of his career. Jaideep Vaidya reflects on the career of the stylish batsman.
With a flowing, bearded look that resembled WG Grace, an insatiable hunger for runs that rivalled Don Bradman, an elegant and effective high backlift that he made his own and the ability to inconspicuously accumulate tons and tons of runs; Mohammad Yousuf was easily one of the most delightful batsmen to watch in recent times.
Former coach Bob Woolmer likened him to a Ferrari when he is batting and a truck when he isn’t.
With a pragmatic manner of scoring runs, but still elegant enough to make you go wow at his strokes, Yousuf ploughed his way to 7,530 runs in Test matches — the third-highest run-tally among Pakistanis, behind Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq) — including 25 hundreds and 46 fifties. In ODIs, he is Pakistan’s second-highest run-getter with 9,554, behind just Inzamam, including 15 centuries and 62 fifties. It’s a tally that is hard to match, and if circumstances in his career were better, he would easily have gone on to be Pakistan’s greatest batsman ever.
Early career
He was born Yousuf Youhana, a Christian, in Lahore in 1974; and like most Christian minorities in Pakistan, who had converted from Hindu untouchables in the 19th century, he was born into poverty. His father worked at the railway station and, thus, his family lived in the Railway Colony. Yousuf took to cricket from a young age, but unlike his peers he could not afford a bat; so he had to make do by swatting a taped tennis ball around, tossed by his brother, with stray wooden planks.
When he was 12, he was spotted by a local gymkhana who asked him to play for them. As he grew up, he joined the Forman Christian College and played for their cricket team as well, before giving up for almost a year in 1994, when he was 20. Although he was and probably realised that he was very good at cricket, he never gave it a serious thought. A steady income was always at the top of the priority list; never did the thought of playing for the country cross his mind. “I just wanted a job in an organisation with a First-Class cricket team, and to make a living,” were as far as his humble ambitions went, as quoted by Wisden. Yousuf had found work at a tailor’s shop when a local club hauled him up when they were short of players. Yousuf stepped in to make the numbers, and went ahead of score more than hundred of them. It led to a season in the Bradford League, which was a stepping stone into First Class cricket.
Batting and fielding averages
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
Tests 90 156 12 7530 223 52.29 14372 52.39 24 33 957 51 65 0
ODIs 288 273 40 9720 141* 41.71 12942 75.10 15 64 785 90 58 0
T20Is 3 3 0 50 26 16.66 43 116.27 0 0 5 1 1 0
First-class 141 239 20 10505 223 47.96 30 51 84 0
List A 338 322 47 11026 141* 40.09 15 75 70 0
Twenty20 27 22 3 368 57* 19.36 337 109.19 0 1 37 8 11 0
Bowling averages
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 90 1 6 3 0 - - - 3.00 - 0 0 0
ODIs 288 2 2 1 1 1/0 1/0 1.00 3.00 2.0 0 0 0
T20Is 3 - - - - - - - - - - - -
First-class 141 18 24 0 - - - 8.00 - 0 0 0
List A 338 8 13 1 1/0 1/0 13.00 9.75 8.0 0 0 0
Twenty20 27 1 1 1 0 - - - 6.00 - 0 0 0
Career statistics
Test debut South Africa v Pakistan at Durban, Feb 26-Mar 2, 1998 scorecard
Last Test England v Pakistan at Lord's, Aug 26-29, 2010 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut Zimbabwe v Pakistan at Harare, Mar 28, 1998 scorecard
Last ODI Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai (DSC), Nov 8, 2010 scorecard
ODI statistics
T20I debut England v Pakistan at Bristol, Aug 28, 2006 scorecard
Last T20I England v Pakistan at Cardiff, Sep 7, 2010 scorecard
T20I statistics
First-class debut 1996/97
Last First-class Warwickshire v Durham at Birmingham, May 24-27, 2011 scorecard
List A debut 1996/97
Last List A Warwickshire v Durham at Birmingham, May 22, 2011 scorecard
Twenty20 debut Karachi Dolphins v Lahore Lions at Lahore, Apr 25, 2005 scorecard
Last Twenty20 Lahore Lions v Faisalabad Wolves at Lahore, Dec 9, 2012 scorecard
Recent matches
Bat & Bowl Team Opposition Ground Match Date Scorecard
3* Lahore Lions v Wolves Lahore 9 Dec 2012 T20
- Lahore Lions v Stags Lahore 8 Dec 2012 T20
8 Lahore Lions v S Stallions Lahore 7 Dec 2012 T20
- Lahore Lions v Zebras Lahore 1 Dec 2012 T20
35 Lahore Lions v R Rams Faisalabad 30 Jun 2011 T20
5 Lahore Lions v Hawks Faisalabad 29 Jun 2011 T20
18 Lahore Lions v Leopards Faisalabad 27 Jun 2011 T20
13 Lahore Lions v S Stallions Faisalabad 25 Jun 2011 T20
0, 0 Warwickshire v Durham Birmingham 24 May 2011 FC
74* Warwickshire v Durham Birmingham 22 May 2011 LA
Mohammad Yousuf, born on August 27, 1974, is a Pakistani middle-order batsman who went on to become one of the highest run-scorers produced by the country in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Yousuf could have achieved so much more and become one of the modern-day greats, had it not been for some unfortunate circumstances in the latter half of his career. Jaideep Vaidya reflects on the career of the stylish batsman.
With a flowing, bearded look that resembled WG Grace, an insatiable hunger for runs that rivalled Don Bradman, an elegant and effective high backlift that he made his own and the ability to inconspicuously accumulate tons and tons of runs; Mohammad Yousuf was easily one of the most delightful batsmen to watch in recent times.
Former coach Bob Woolmer likened him to a Ferrari when he is batting and a truck when he isn’t.
With a pragmatic manner of scoring runs, but still elegant enough to make you go wow at his strokes, Yousuf ploughed his way to 7,530 runs in Test matches — the third-highest run-tally among Pakistanis, behind Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq) — including 25 hundreds and 46 fifties. In ODIs, he is Pakistan’s second-highest run-getter with 9,554, behind just Inzamam, including 15 centuries and 62 fifties. It’s a tally that is hard to match, and if circumstances in his career were better, he would easily have gone on to be Pakistan’s greatest batsman ever.
Early career
He was born Yousuf Youhana, a Christian, in Lahore in 1974; and like most Christian minorities in Pakistan, who had converted from Hindu untouchables in the 19th century, he was born into poverty. His father worked at the railway station and, thus, his family lived in the Railway Colony. Yousuf took to cricket from a young age, but unlike his peers he could not afford a bat; so he had to make do by swatting a taped tennis ball around, tossed by his brother, with stray wooden planks.
When he was 12, he was spotted by a local gymkhana who asked him to play for them. As he grew up, he joined the Forman Christian College and played for their cricket team as well, before giving up for almost a year in 1994, when he was 20. Although he was and probably realised that he was very good at cricket, he never gave it a serious thought. A steady income was always at the top of the priority list; never did the thought of playing for the country cross his mind. “I just wanted a job in an organisation with a First-Class cricket team, and to make a living,” were as far as his humble ambitions went, as quoted by Wisden. Yousuf had found work at a tailor’s shop when a local club hauled him up when they were short of players. Yousuf stepped in to make the numbers, and went ahead of score more than hundred of them. It led to a season in the Bradford League, which was a stepping stone into First Class cricket.
Batting and fielding averages
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
Tests 90 156 12 7530 223 52.29 14372 52.39 24 33 957 51 65 0
ODIs 288 273 40 9720 141* 41.71 12942 75.10 15 64 785 90 58 0
T20Is 3 3 0 50 26 16.66 43 116.27 0 0 5 1 1 0
First-class 141 239 20 10505 223 47.96 30 51 84 0
List A 338 322 47 11026 141* 40.09 15 75 70 0
Twenty20 27 22 3 368 57* 19.36 337 109.19 0 1 37 8 11 0
Bowling averages
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 90 1 6 3 0 - - - 3.00 - 0 0 0
ODIs 288 2 2 1 1 1/0 1/0 1.00 3.00 2.0 0 0 0
T20Is 3 - - - - - - - - - - - -
First-class 141 18 24 0 - - - 8.00 - 0 0 0
List A 338 8 13 1 1/0 1/0 13.00 9.75 8.0 0 0 0
Twenty20 27 1 1 1 0 - - - 6.00 - 0 0 0
Career statistics
Test debut South Africa v Pakistan at Durban, Feb 26-Mar 2, 1998 scorecard
Last Test England v Pakistan at Lord's, Aug 26-29, 2010 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut Zimbabwe v Pakistan at Harare, Mar 28, 1998 scorecard
Last ODI Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai (DSC), Nov 8, 2010 scorecard
ODI statistics
T20I debut England v Pakistan at Bristol, Aug 28, 2006 scorecard
Last T20I England v Pakistan at Cardiff, Sep 7, 2010 scorecard
T20I statistics
First-class debut 1996/97
Last First-class Warwickshire v Durham at Birmingham, May 24-27, 2011 scorecard
List A debut 1996/97
Last List A Warwickshire v Durham at Birmingham, May 22, 2011 scorecard
Twenty20 debut Karachi Dolphins v Lahore Lions at Lahore, Apr 25, 2005 scorecard
Last Twenty20 Lahore Lions v Faisalabad Wolves at Lahore, Dec 9, 2012 scorecard
Recent matches
Bat & Bowl Team Opposition Ground Match Date Scorecard
3* Lahore Lions v Wolves Lahore 9 Dec 2012 T20
- Lahore Lions v Stags Lahore 8 Dec 2012 T20
8 Lahore Lions v S Stallions Lahore 7 Dec 2012 T20
- Lahore Lions v Zebras Lahore 1 Dec 2012 T20
35 Lahore Lions v R Rams Faisalabad 30 Jun 2011 T20
5 Lahore Lions v Hawks Faisalabad 29 Jun 2011 T20
18 Lahore Lions v Leopards Faisalabad 27 Jun 2011 T20
13 Lahore Lions v S Stallions Faisalabad 25 Jun 2011 T20
0, 0 Warwickshire v Durham Birmingham 24 May 2011 FC
74* Warwickshire v Durham Birmingham 22 May 2011 LA
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
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